Jobs at the Oakland Schools Foundation
Grants and Programs Associate
Job Description
ABOUT OSF
The Oakland Schools Foundation is a dynamic, growing non-profit organization that develops resources and provides financial and operational services for Oakland’s public schools. OSF currently has eight fulltime staff and three part time staff and revenues of more than $1 million for 2008-09. The culture of OSF is mission-driven, outcomes-based, collaborative, and focused on continuous improvement for our schools. The staff decides on the organization’s projects, objectives, and strategies together to derive the highest standard of service and outcomes for our schools. Working with more than 45 mostly low-income public schools, OSF has developed a portfolio of fund development, administrative, operational, marketing, and data management services designed to help school staff access and manage resources to meet many needs that are typically unfunded in our public schools.
OUR MISSION
The Oakland Schools Foundation is dedicated to promoting excellence in Oakland's public schools so that all of our students have the opportunity to achieve. OSF is the only organization focused on securing and managing resources and providing expert operational and fundraising services for those Oakland public schools that serve primarily low-income students.
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Grants and Programs Associate will join a hard-working, deadline-driven team that has raised more than $10 million for low-income Oakland public schools over the past five years. The Grants and Programs Associate is responsible for the grants and reporting of programs for our school clients and the Oakland Schools Foundation; will ensure high-quality customer relations and high-impact services that help member schools identify, secure, and manage resources for unfunded needs; and will raise community awareness and support for schools.
The full-time Grants and Programs Associate position is at-will and exempt and is supervised by the Director of Operations and Development. The position interfaces with the Grants and Program Coordinator and other staff, as well as school principals and site staff, community members, parents, students, business owners, and other partners. This position is based at the OSF office in North Oakland, but requires some travel to school sites, partners offices, and events venues. Because OSF has grown at a rate of 50 percent per year, all positions at OSF have considerable opportunity for advancement.
QUALIFICATIONS
OSF seeks an entrepreneurial, intellectually curious, solutions-oriented professional with a proven combination of writing, editing, and research skills, creative problem solving, organizational skills, and fundraising, customer service, and project management experience to fill this fulltime position of Grants Associate. This position requires financial management and budgeting skills, as well.
• Bachelors Degree of relevant area and/ or equivalent work experience
• Minimum of two years of experience in grant writing, editing, and administration
• Skillful researcher and resourceful information gatherer
• Excellent written and oral communication, must be able to communicate articulately and sensitively with clients and co-workers
• Ability to multi-task and meet hard deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to organize assignments and prioritize work effectively
• Ability to maintain a high degree of quality and superior attention to detail in work
• Independent thinking, entrepreneurial spirit, and responsible
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Grants and Programs Associate has the following specific responsibilities:
Grants Coordination
• Perform research on funders for school and OSF grants
• Write grants and reports for OSF and for schools; write cover letters and Letters of Inquiry; collect collateral material as needed for proposals and reports
• Maintain a caseload of schools for grants and monitoring of OSF-funded programs
• Interface with assessment coaches to report on programs
• Support program managers assigned to particular school-based OSF-funded projects to ensure execution of scope, proper monitoring, execution of sharing workshops and documentation
• Support coordination of collaborative special grants; write and report
• Acquire data from schools as needed for reporting
• Assist in maintaining boiler plate text for proposals; acquire boiler plate text from schools
• Support grant program monitoring and assessment needs
Program Coordination
• Coordinate and support development of OSF-funded school programs
• Monitor programs to ensure outcomes are achieved
• Manage logistics for program meetings, trainings, and roundtables
School Portfolio Management
• Develop and oversee a portfolio of schools with goals and strategy frameworks for programs, assessment, fund development, individual giving campaigns, and community outreach
• Oversee each school’s School Growth Plan, which measures school progress across several variables
• Interface with other staff to ensure school progress in each area
• Participate in ongoing design, refinement, and development of school service packages to ensure highest quality product and results for school fundraising
• Participate in creating and executing school leadership trainings including Summer Institute, and other periodic trainings and workshops
Financial Systems
• Create and monitor program budgets
• Create school organizational budgets
Administration and other support
• Participate in regular staff meetings and staff retreats
• Support OSF fundraising initiatives
Perform other tasks as directed.
COMPENSATION
$40,000 - $44,000 annual salary; competitive benefits package
APPLICATION PROCESS
Submit cover letter, resume, and two relevant writing samples to osfjobs@gmail.com.
The Oakland Schools Foundation engages employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation or any other characteristic covered by law. All who believe they meet the stated qualifications are invited to apply. The Oakland Schools Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.
Page updated July 9, 2010