For more than 50 years, Children’s Council has been the heart of childcare and early education in San Francisco, advancing the belief that high-quality childcare can transform lives and communities. Our more than 150 team members help families navigate their childcare and preschool options and secure financial assistance to pay for it. We provide home-based childcare businesses with the training and resources to succeed. Through a wide range of free programs and workshops, we support parents and caregivers as they build child development skills. As the city’s second-largest nonprofit contractor, with an annual budget of over $250 million, we are a major stakeholder in the childcare system. We educate the public and advocate for increased investment in early education at the local and state level. If you are a childcare champion, we want you on our team.

Job title:  Grants & Contracts Manager

Department:  Advancement

Reports to:   Chief Philanthropy Officer

FLSA Status:  This is a full-time (40 hours/week), Exempt Level Position

Salary Range: $80-85k

Summary of the Position:

The Grants and Contracts Manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of Children’s Council’s institutional funding portfolio, including government contracts, private and family foundation grants, and restricted gifts from private funders with formal proposal or reporting requirements. This role manages the full grant and contract lifecycle—from prospect research and pre-award through close-out—and serves as a primary liaison with institutional funders on matters of administration and compliance.

In addition to compliance and administration, this role partners closely with the Advancement team to grow Children’s Council’s institutional portfolio by identifying new funding opportunities, qualifying prospects, and supporting cultivation strategies. The Manager uses AI tools and technology to streamline research, drafting, reporting, and compliance workflows, to support strategy, cross-functional collaboration and growth of the organization’s institutional funding.

Key Qualities:

• You are highly organized and detail-oriented, juggling multiple proposals, reports, and contracts with overlapping deadlines.
• You collaborate effectively across teams to keep submissions and reports on track.
• You work independently, solve complex problems, and exercise sound judgment on compliance.
• You are curious about new tools and approaches — and willing to adopt them.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Grant and Contract Lifecycle Management

• Manage the full lifecycle of all institutional awards—government, foundation, and restricted private gifts—including monitoring proposal and report deadlines, submitting proposals and reports, supporting contract negotiation, coordinating financial and contractual matters to ensure all deliverables are met, and managing close-out.
• Serve as primary liaison with institutional funders on matters of grant and contract administration and compliance, including adjustments to terms, in close coordination with leadership.
• Partner with the Finance team to ensure funds arrive on schedule, are coded correctly, and that invoicing and billing of funders happen in a timely fashion.
• Coordinate with Programs, Finance, Advancement, and other departments to develop budget documents for proposals and reports, and to manage post-award budget modifications.
• Track all grant and contract deliverables, milestones, and reporting deadlines in Salesforce and/or Asana.
• Interpret state, local, federal, and private funding regulations and take appropriate action to ensure organizational compliance.
• Coordinate grant and contract documentation including MOUs, letters of reference, and partner agreements.
• Support compliance reviews and external programmatic of financial audits, including coordinating documentation and supporting materials.
• Conduct final review of proposals to ensure alignment with funder requirements and Children’s Council’s standards.

Prospecting and Portfolio Growth:

• Conduct prospect research to identify new institutional funding opportunities aligned with Children’s Council’s programs and priorities—government RFPs, foundation grants, and restricted private funding sources.
• Maintain a pipeline of qualified institutional prospects in Salesforce and partner with Advancement leadership to prioritize opportunities.
• Clarify funder requirements in RFPs, RFQs, and grant solicitations; coordinate cross-departmental input on go/no-go decisions and submission planning.
• Support cultivation of new institutional funders in partnership with the Chief Philanthropy Officer and Advancement team.

Drafting, Reporting, and Cross-Team Support:

• Draft and refine proposal narratives, reports, and budget justifications, using AI tools to accelerate first drafts and maintain consistency across submissions while ensuring accuracy, voice, and funder fit.
• Maintain a library of approved proposal language, boilerplate, and program descriptions to streamline future submissions.
• Respond to funder inquiries in a timely and professional manner.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• At least 3–5 years of experience managing government and nonprofit grants and contracts.
• Strong demonstrated knowledge of state and local government contract regulations (such as the Minimum Compensation Ordinance, Health Care Accountability Ordinance, and First Source Hiring Program).
• Demonstrated experience with foundation and private funder proposal guidelines and reporting requirements.
• Experience working independently and collaboratively to manage complex RFPs and competing deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret regulations and implement compliant practices.
• Meticulous attention to detail.
• Proficiency with AI tools (such as Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, or similar) for research, drafting, summarization, and analysis—or strong demonstrated willingness and aptitude to adopt them.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft 365 Office Suite, Salesforce experience preferred, and proficient with PDF editing tools.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with prospect research tools (Candid/Foundation Directory, Instrumentl, GrantStation, or similar).
• Experience working with both government and private foundation funders.
• Skill in building strong working relationships across technical, programmatic, and operational teams.

Physical Requirements:

• Mental acuity to perform the essential functions of this position timely and accurately.
• Dexterity to use office equipment; the ability to sit and work at a desk for extended periods of time. 
• Ability to speak, hear, and understand speech at normal room levels. 

BACKGROUND CHECK
All offers of employment are contingent upon successfully completing this process.

Hybrid Work  

We have adopted a hybrid working model and currently require employees to be present in the office at least 3 days per week, with the option to work 2 days per week remotely. Applicants should be comfortable with both the remote and in office scenarios.   

Benefits, and Employee Perks

• We offer a family-friendly workplace, plus competitive pay, and industry leading benefits package that includes:
• Generous Medical coverage for staff, including paid medical plan deductibles, copays and out-of-pocket maximums.
• Dental, Vision, Chiropractic & Acupuncture, Life, LTD and AD&D coverage.
• Voluntary benefits that include Supplement Life, Accident, Critical Illness, and Pet Insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan with a generous employer match.
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Account and Commuter Benefit programs.
• Generous paid time off  package, including 14 paid holidays + a floating holiday for your Birthday.
• Ongoing training and professional development for all staff.
• Tuition Reimbursement.

Children's Council of SF is committed to building a staff that is rich with cultural, social and experiential diversity. Candidates who want to join us on this journey and who can uniquely contribute to that goal are encouraged to apply.

Equal Opportunity & Equity Statement 

Children’s Council is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity as central to our work serving the San Francisco community. We comply with all applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. Our practices are in alignment with our commitment to workplace equity, diversity, and inclusion. We foster a work environment where our current and future staff feel welcomed without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity, national origin, sex, age, disability or sexual orientation.