Cloudsplitter Foundation is announcing the creation of a new “Government Grants Advisor” position. Details of the position are below. For more information, or to submit a letter of interest and resume, please email Daniel KieferBach at dan@cloudsplitter.org.
Job Description and Responsibilities
Background
Cloudsplitter Foundation has for years offered a free (Nonprofit) Grants Advisor to Adirondack region nonprofits to strengthen their skills and capacity to raise more funds and offer expanded programming through grants. This Advisor spends extended periods with a small group of organizations at a time, not to write grants, but to apply for more and bigger grants, track reports, manage deadlines, and find new resources. The nonprofit community helped by this service has raised millions of additional dollars, many from outside the region, with this support.
Now the Foundation aims to enhance its support as well for local town/village authorities through the introduction of a dedicated Government Grants Advisor. We began by conducting a comprehensive survey and analysis (report available upon request) of the grant acquisition landscape for local Government entities in the Adirondacks. The report found that “many town and village administrator positions are part-time in the Adirondack region. This organizational model does not allow village and town managers to attend to long-term vision planning. Most grants dispersed by NYS require long-term vision planning and thorough preparation. There is great opportunity for a Grants Advisor sponsored by Cloudsplitter Foundation to lengthen the vision and provide long-term planning among local Government entities.” The topics of most concern to interviewees (town/village leaders) included water treatment and sewer, roads and transportation, parks and recreation, downtown revitalization, housing, and comprehensive planning. Additionally, economic development specialists cited business development, tourism, and private enterprise attraction as key needs.
The most important needs identified in the report and elsewhere include:
- Considering long-term issues and concerns of the community. Preparing plans to address these.
- Sorting through funding opportunities to find which could help fill a local need, and for which a specific town/village is eligible.
- Budgeting for upfront investment and match.
- Navigating complicated NYS grant processes and requirements, and responding through narrative and budget descriptions in a way that is likely to be competitive.
- Administering grants that are awarded, including managing invoices, reports, and more.
- Building capacity at the town/village level to continue to secure grant funding for local projects.
Job Description
The need for a Government Grants Advisor position came out of a year-long study, conducted by Adirondack Research, to find out what was lacking in our Adirondack Government entities capacity, and what type of support would be most helpful.
[To review that study, please email Dan@cloudsplitter.org]
To be clear, this is a position that does not currently exist. So, while the below list might Cloudsplitter’s initial ideas of what is needed, there is lots of flexibility and we encourage applicants to apply even if they do not possess every facet of the job requirements described here.
A good candidate will possess a “big picture” mindset. They will work to help Government officials, Government staff, and Government residents to plan with a large focus. A good candidate will also have the acumen to help local Government entities implement this focus in their day-to-day thinking. The “big picture” mindset, along with implementation, should allow Government entities to focus on grants worth hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Too often our small government entities are putting out daily fires. By creating the Government Grants Advisor Position, Cloudsplitter Foundation listened and is responding to their need to plan for and attract short-term and longer-term large grants. The Government Grants Advisor can assist with that “big picture” planning such as updating critical, outdated infrastructure projects, creating economic development initiatives and connecting Government entities to other regional Government entities in helpful ways.
This person will offer grants advice well beyond grant writing. This position requires a teaching mentality and a person able to help Government entities build capacity within towns and villages as opposed to doing the work for them. This position is designed to build the long-term overall capacity and knowledge of multiple Adirondack Government entities. The goal is to “teach Government entities to fish”.
Towns/villages will become more effective at:
- Identifying large scale potential project opportunities
- Collecting pertinent information in advance of planning projects
- Planning projects
- Identifying appropriate grant opportunities
- Writing strong grants
- Securing match and up-front funding
- Administering grants if they are received
- Identifying regional partnerships to further build capacity
The Government Grants Advisor will also need to establish an understanding of which Adirondack towns are already being assisted with similar services and which Government entities are not currently being supported and will make good clients. While we have an idea of the client pool, the person hired for this position will need to determine the sweet spot of the “right” clients, and how best to build capacity with each client Government entity.
Skills
- Strong knowledge of project planning
- Strong knowledge and history of grant writing
- Ability to make “cold” connections with Government leaders unaware of the position’s existence
- Ability to teach others the knowledge that they possess in an effective manner
- Ability to maintain objectivity, free from the pressures of day-to-day crisis management
- Provide a broad, strategic outlook on regional issues
- Help Government entities visualize and pursue long-term opportunities from this full perspective
- Ability to set firm and achievable goals and to evaluate success
- Strong technical abilities and the ability to teach others who might not have technological literacy how to navigate a technological world
- Ability to identify and “release” clients that are no longer a good fit for the services
- Ability to be a constant learner and expert as the Government grants landscape changes
- Strong self-starter able to manage their own projects and time
- A true love of the Adirondack Park and a strong personal desire to help others succeed
Local Knowledge
Because the Adirondack Park is such a unique place, the ideal candidate has worked or lived in the Adirondacks or currently works or lives in the Adirondack Park. If a candidate does not or has not lived in the Adirondack Park, a strong candidate must have worked previously with small, isolated rural towns and counties that share some of the characteristics of Adirondack towns. An understanding of resort towns is a strong plus. A candidate should be willing and able to travel to their clients with some regularity.
Pay and Benefits
Highly competitive, based on experience, fit and hours. $80,000 – $100,000 annually. Some IRA matching. Hybrid work model with ample vacation/holiday offering.
Expectations
This position can be a hybrid position. While some of the work can be done remotely, there will be a need to physically visit and work collaboratively with these Government entities.
This position is intended to be a full-time position as the need for this service is essential in the Adirondack park. That said, we can also be a flexible employer, and if the right candidate has specific needs around this we are willing to talk about it.
The Government Grants Advisor will work closely with the Nonprofit Grants Advisor (existing position) to collaborate and exchange information and advice. S/he will work closely with the Executive Director to ensure that the Cloudsplitter Foundation’s overall organizational goals are met. Finally, this position will work with our staff, trustees, and Advisory Committee to help understand the needs of communities from an on-the-ground perspective.
The Government Grants Advisor Position should be able to attend, in-person, the annual year-end organizational strategy retreat.
Onboarding will take place by working closely with the existing staff, especially that of the Nonprofit Grants Advisor. The Foundation may also provide training in the form of a consultant with whom the Government Grants Advisor will work closely for several months, as needed, to help develop the skills to be successful in this position.
The measure of success for this position will be the net new funding that the Government Grants Advisor is directly responsible for, even though the work itself will be done by the prospective grantee. A point system will be applied so credit can be apportioned based on the level of influence the Grants Advisor has in each grant application. The sum of new funding that would otherwise not have come into the grantee communities will be compared to the cost of this new offering and that result will be the basis for continuing the program (or not) after a two-year run in.