Grants Acquisition Specialist

Who We Are 

International Justice Mission (IJM) is the global leader in protecting vulnerable people from violence around the world. Our team of over 1,200 professionals are at work worldwide in over 30 offices. Together we are on a mission to rescue millions, protect half a billion, and make justice unstoppable. 

We are a global community that cares for one another. We believe that the way we work is as important as the results we achieve. We provide professional excellence with joy and celebration to all those we serve.   

The Need 

For over 25 years, IJM has pioneered the work to protect vulnerable people from violence. 9 out of 9 times in the last decade, IJM’s Justice System Strengthening Projects have reduced slavery and violence between 50 and 85% for very large populations of people in poverty. As we grow to expand our impact to protect 500 million people from violence, we are seeking Grants Acquisition Specialist to collaborate with regional counterparts to identify, vet, and develop proposals for funding opportunities that align with IJM's mission; support regional acquisition teams in donor and content pre-positioning and proposal development; provide consultative support to regionally-led proposal opportunities; and contribute to building the capacity of regional and country acquisition teams through coaching, training, and creation of global resources, tools, and templates. 

This position is based in the Washington, DC area and is available to be hybrid (onsite Tuesdays & Thursdays). It reports to Director, Grants Portfolio and is only available for candidates with the right to work in the US.  

Responsibilities: 

Pre-Positioning 

• Support advancement and country office teams in mapping, analysis and prioritization of their context-specific donor and activation landscapes; 

• Monitor institutional funding portals and websites for grantor agencies in the Global Partnerships portfolio; 

• Coordinate with IJM subject matter experts from Global Programs, regional and country offices to develop pre-proposal content that captures IJM's theory of change and protection model with donor-ready, case type-specific language for inclusion as standard messaging and technical proposal content; 

• Collaborate with regional teams to evaluate new opportunities; coach on analysis of strategic benefits of opportunities and requisite information for go/no-go decision; 

• Build strong internal networks with relevant IJM staff, including institutional account relationship managers and regional grant leads, to allow timely, strategic responses to potential grant opportunities; and 

• As approved by IJM relationship managers, develop and maintain external relationships with potential grantors and partners by networking and representing IJM at select forums and events to advance potential funding opportunities. 

Proposal Development 

• Support regional acquisition staff in organizing the proposal development process for institutional funding opportunities; coordinate with all stakeholders to meet funder requirements and IJM standards of excellence; 

• Develop collaborative proposal plan, guide proposal strategy, contribute to writing and internal review process, copy edit, compile and submit proposals to donors per donor requirements; 

• Coordinate response to issues letters and follow-up requests from donors as needed; 

• Advise regional teams on subgrantee relationships as they pertain to proposal development, including the execution of teaming agreements and the integration of narrative and financial contributions to proposals; 

• Conduct After Action Reviews on proposals and ensure lessons learned inform best practices and changes to grant acquisition efforts; 

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of a database of external consultants to assist in proposal development; 

• Make business case to Global Director for hiring of external consultants for grant acquisition. Develop terms of reference and manage consultants as needed; 

• In conjunction with regional teams, facilitate proposal design workshops, including possible in-country travel; and 

• Support regional teams to exceed annual targets of bid volume, capture rate and new awards.  

Capacity Building 

• Support the development, maintenance, and rollout of global acquisition processes, standards, tools and resources; 

• Identify capacity and skill gaps in regional acquisition teams, and work with them to create and execute capacity development plans to address those gaps; 

• Collaborate with other members of the Global Grants Team to develop training materials and conduct formal and informal training of IJM staff working on grant acquisition; 

• Orient and support onboarding of new regional acquisition staff to IJM grants infrastructure and proposal process; 

• Accompany/consult for regional acquisition teams on specific opportunities with the goal of building their capacities to meet internal and external grant requirements and standards; and 

• Support the training of relevant staff on applicable grants acquisition processes in the Justice Data Solution.  

Portfolio Management 

• Update Salesforce and Global Grants' acquisition tracker on the status of grant opportunities throughout the pre-award process, including new grant opportunities, submitted proposals, awards and denials; 

• Support Director, Grants Portfolio in developing global KPIs, setting annual acquisition targets, revising the revenue forecast with incoming opportunities, and updating grant dashboards for leadership; 

• Consolidate, maintain, and manage documentation related to grant opportunities in Salesforce, JDS, SharePoint, etc.; 

• Serve as a point of contact for internal questions related to opportunities and awards; and 

• Supervise department volunteers, interns, and fellows as needed 

General 

• Participation in IJM's community of spiritual formation. 

Qualifications:  

• Minimum five 5 years of experience in acquiring and/or managing grant funding from governments, corporations, foundations and multilateral agencies;  

• Bachelor's degree required; master's degree preferred;  

• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted as a satisfactory substitute for the specific education and experience listed above;  

• Experience in program design, project management, and monitoring and evaluation preferred;  

• Experience partnering/subgranting with other INGOs, contractors, or institutional donors preferred;  

• Experience living and working in a cross-cultural setting preferred;  

• Strong project management skills;  

• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills;  

• Ability to effectively collaborate with multidisciplinary proposal teams within a diverse, matrixed global organization;  

• Knowledge of donor funding landscape, priorities and requirements; and  

• Knowledge of donor regulations and requirements (2 CFR 200, etc.) 

Critical Qualities: 

• Mature orthodox Christian faith as defined by the Apostles' Creed;  

• Self-starter and problem solver with strong initiative;  

• Disciplined with priorities and working boundaries;  

• Excellent interpersonal and customer-service skills, with high self-awareness;  

• Exceptional verbal and written communication;  

• Flexible and adaptive to changing requirements;  

• Effective team player who fosters collaborative environment and is eager to support others;  

• Communicates and interacts respectfully and effectively with people from other cultures, religions, and geographies; and  

• Willing to travel internationally. 

Application Process:  

Upload Resume, Cover Letter & Statement of Faith* in one PDF document. 

*What is a statement of faith? 
A statement of faith should describe your Christian faith and how you see it as relevant to your involvement with IJM. The statement can either be incorporated into the cover letter or submitted as a separate document and should include, at a minimum, a description of your spiritual disciplines (prayer, study, etc.) and your current fellowship or place of worship. 

What does IJM have to offer? 

• Comprehensive Medical/Dental/Vision benefits 

• Monthly commuter and parking benefits in the DC metro area 

• Retirement benefit options  

• Paid leave starting at 23 days 

• 12 holidays (plus early release the day prior) 

• Daily, quarterly, and annual community spiritual formation 

• Robust staff care resources 

IJM holds strict safeguarding principles and a zero tolerance to violations of the Safeguarding Policy, Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment Policy, and Code of Ethics. Candidate selection is based on technical competence, recruitment, selection and hiring criteria subject to assessing the candidate’s value congruence and thorough background, police clearance, and reference check processes. 

At IJM, we’re committed to building a diverse workforce through fair and equitable employment practices. IJM encourages people of any race, color, age, sex, marital status or political ideology to apply for employment. While we welcome everyone into this work, we truly believe that the work we are doing is God’s work, not our own, and practice spiritual disciplines together daily. That’s why we legally require under SEC. 2000e-1 [Section702] of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that all employees practice a mature orthodox Christian faith, as defined by the Apostles’ Creed. 

IJM requires a background check, police clearance and thorough review of references with an employment offer and/or employment contract.