Director of Grants Administration

Director of Grants Administration 

Location: San Francisco, CA  Department: Operations-Grants Administration Type: Regular, Full-Time, Exempt Min. Experience: Experienced 

The Semi-monthly (per pay period) compensation for this position in FY25 is: 

$7,013.50 per pay period
 

Organizational Result: 

All people living in the San Francisco Bay Area are economically secure, rooted in vibrant communities and engaged in civic life.  

We Value: 

Anti-racism, Boldness, Equity, Racial Justice, and being Rooted in Community 

The following sections are designed based on the Results Based Leadership for Racial Equity Framework that the Foundation uses to accomplish our work. As a learning organization, we expect staff to incorporate learning into their core work and the tasks related to the functional position. All staff should expect to devote time to learning activities related to our values and skillset development. People managers should expect to spend a significant amount of time coaching, developing, and managing people with the balance of the time for all staff spent on relationship building internally and externally and achievement of outcome goals of role and foundation.  

Position Summary: 

The Director of Grants Administration (DGA) position collaborates, develops, and implements strategic plans and direction for the grants lifecycle and complex bodies of work with their direct reports, cross departmental teams, and the San Francisco Foundation’s Senior Leadership Team. The DGA creates operational plans and guides their execution. The DGA manages departmental budgets, executes grant allocation and operational plan and priorities. This role supervises a staff of four and reports to the Chief Operating Officer. 

The DGA leads the Grants Administration team to create and implement effective grantmaking strategies and develops policies to help guide the work of the team and support the organization's mission. The DGA establishes and maintains strong and trusted relationships with Foundation staff, the board, and external partners to support grantmaking strategies that effectively advance the Foundation’s Equity Agenda. In partnership with a cross functional team, the DGA helps position the Foundation to be a knowledge center and leader on areas that directly impact the community the Foundation serves. The DGA is a key member of the Operations team and provides guidance to the Foundation’s senior leadership team and board and collaborates with external counsel on a variety of issues pertaining to grantmaking and the fiduciary responsibilities linked to the Foundation’s 501(c)(3) status and grantmaking 

Boundaries  

The Director plays a pivotal role in co-creating activities, policies, and procedures that impact the institution. The Director meets regularly with their peer group to support the organization’s adaptive and technical needs. The Director works collaboratively across teams and partners most closely with Community Impact (Programs), Philanthropic and Gift Planning (PGP), Finance, and Information Technology (IT). The Director works closely with the broader sector to share expertise with community leaders, grantees, donors, and donor-advisors. 

Authority   

The role sits within the Grants Administration team, part of the foundation’s Operations department. The DGA will collaborate with multiple teams to maintain or create efficient, centralized workflow for the Foundation’s grantmaking processes.  

Role   

The DGA collaborates with and supervises a four person grants management team. The DGA fulfills supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws and is responsible for interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; and all aspects of performance management. The Director is also responsible for addressing employee matters in partnership with the COO and Human Resources. 

Tasks  

Manage the Arc of Grantmaking  

• Ensures smooth coordination and communication between Community Impact, Finance, Operations, and PGP department staff for grant-related issues and Board material preparation.  
• In partnership with the Grants Administration team, the DGA provides and oversees customer service to grantees throughout the grantmaking process including online technical support, general inquiries and process requests and changes.  
• The DGA is responsible for conferring with Community Impact, Finance, and Philanthropy and Gift Planning (PGP) staff to implement changes to grant processes.  
• Designs, documents, communicates, and implements grants administration and compliance policies and procedures.  
• Monitors and coordinates timeliness of grantmaking and payment preparation to smooth the flow of grants.  
• Manages, leads, and implements continuous improvement initiatives ensuring solutions align with strategic goals.  
• Monitors grant budgets from various fund types and works with Finance staff to ensure proper fund and grantmaking budget administration.  
• Recommends policies for and overseeing maintenance of grant files. 

Analyze and Report on Data  

• Develops and implements mechanisms for conducting institutional research, documentation, analysis, and reporting on key data related to the Foundation's grantmaking and overall impact and effectiveness.  
• Oversees production of reports for internal and external use, regularly and as needed by management, staff, and trustees, including grants activity reports, payout reports, regular monthly reports to staff, and publication mailings. Works with staff to create useful standards and ad hoc reports.  
• Coordinates with other internal stakeholders, such as the Strategic Learning and Evaluation team, to ensure consistency with reporting needs from our grants management system.  
• Provides support to Finance in preparation of the annual tax return, including accurate reporting of grants, grants to individuals and lobbying expenditures.  
• Provides data and analysis to board liaisons as needed.  

Oversee Compliance  

• Ensures Foundation compliance with all laws applicable to the grantmaking process. In partnership with legal counsel, maintains up-to-date knowledge of IRS rules and regulations affecting the grantmaking process, both for community foundations and for applicants/grantees.  
• Understands and supports proper fund administration and interpretation of various gift instruments, including fund agreements, external grant agreements, trusts/bequests, and endowment agreements. 
• Support all Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) grantmaking, ensuring proper fund administration and compliance with relevant laws and regulations, and implements best practices for all necessary due diligence. 
• Oversees and implements various fund restrictions across different fund types, including during the fund opening process. 
• Monitors staff time spent on lobbying activities and all lobbying grants to ensure compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and internal policies. 
• Oversees all Expenditure Responsibility grantmaking activities, including application review and reporting of grants to 501(c)(4) organizations and ballot measure committees. 
• Provides support for the external auditor's annual audit. 
• Oversees and monitors data accuracy, coding compliance, etc. and communicates and resolves grant-related data issues.  

Collaborate as the Grants Management System Application Lead  

• Oversees the processes of the grants management system (which tracks all inquiries, proposals, grants, grant reports, and contracts). Also, this position will partner with IT and other departments to work with our vendors to support modifications including implementation, security, protocols, utilization, data integrity, maintenance, coding, reporting, analysis, and training for our system.  
• Acts as a Fluxx expert who can assist staff and grantees who need help using the system; support Fluxx enhancements and upgrades; and facilitate data reporting from the system.  
• Contributes to the creation of policies and procedures to support and maintain records in Fluxx to ensure an elevated level of data integrity and accuracy  
• Works collaboratively with other Foundation staff and departments to ensure that maximum utility of the database is achieved for various uses and users of the product. Works with IT staff and external consultants to ensure ongoing quality of data and use.  
• Establishes training goals and curriculum for training individuals to meet SFF objectives via internal or external training sources.  

Competencies & Qualifications  

The ideal candidate has a combination of: 

• 5+ years of relevant experience and 2+ years leading teams. 
• Background contributing to creating and implementing innovative and creative strategies that lead to Equity based grantmaking and creating operational effectiveness, a plus 
• Understanding of current IRS regulations related to public charities and knowledge and application of best practices in grantmaking. 
• Proven experience in overseeing Donor-Advised Funds grantmaking 
• Expertise in Expenditure Responsibility grantmaking, including application review and reporting of grants to 501(c)(4) organizations and ballot measure committees. 
• Community Foundation experience, a plus 
• Familiarity with implementing new systems is a plus. 
• Strong systems orientation, with a track record of improving and enhancing existing approaches and developing innovative solutions; familiarity with Fluxx, a plus. 
• Proven ability to work collaboratively and execute across a cross departmental set of objectives that require adaptive and technical solutions. 
• Support and act in service of the organization's strategic plan and equity agenda 
• Able to thrive in an evolving organization and culture, seeking to adopt new routines and systems for the Foundation’s grants management function in alignment with an emergent program strategy approach. 
• A deep understanding of grants management processes and related financial and compliance regulations. 
• Possess effective communication skills that can influence decision-making, build consensus, and engage the community and Foundation Staff at various levels. 
• Ability to communicate technical, budgetary, and program details to staff, grantees, and applicants. 
• Ability to design and implement effective workflow processes and procedures. 
• Intermediate to advanced computer/software skills, including Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, & Teams) and zoom.      
• Ability to learn, navigate and manage online platforms, including Fluxx, Qlik sense, grant making and CRM systems, Smartsheet, WordPress or other content management systems and Salesforce.   

We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align exactly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.  

Compensation: The San Francisco Foundation offers a competitive total compensation package including base compensation in alignment with our organizational budget size and rich medical and fringe benefits offerings. This position pays $7,013.50 per pay period. You may read more about our compensation philosophy and benefits on the career page.  

Remote Work Policy: The Foundation has adopted a long-term hybrid in-person and remote work policy. Dedicated to its employee health and safety, The Foundation will continue to make decisions in accordance with San Francisco County and California mandates. Employees must reside or plan to relocate within the San Francisco Bay Area.  

Requesting Accommodations: The Foundation is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, The Foundation will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [email protected]. 

The San Francisco Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and encourages people of diverse backgrounds to apply.