Grant Program Officer

Heather Adams

NEW POSITION

Job Title: Restoration Program Officer

Hybrid / Onsite

Position Description

The Chesapeake Bay Trust (the Trust) seeks a qualified candidate to serve as a Program Officer on our Restoration Team. The Program Officer will support the Restoration team’s programmatic work, including administration of grant programs focused on water quality and habitat, supporting administration of new related award programs as they are developed, and supporting implementation of the Trust’s restoration initiatives. The Program Officer will support existing program work and new related grant programs as they are developed. These programs will focus on stormwater management and restoration best management practices (BMPS), mitigation and adaption actions in the face of climate change, environmental justice, waste reduction, and environmental stewardship. This position will support the Trust’s core values of learning, science and innovation, engagement of our awardee community, diversity and inclusion, fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability. Duties will include assisting potential applicants with ideas and proposal generation; identifying new potential grant applicants and applications; soliciting, reviewing, and administering awards to nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, governments, schools, and other applicants that are committed to restore and protect local natural resources including the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers; and managing funding partnerships that advance the Trust’s program portfolio. The Program Officer will be expected to work two days per week at the Trust office in Annapolis, Maryland, with the remainder of the time worked from a remote location. The Program Officer will report to the Vice President of Restoration. The selected candidate will be a key member of a 34+ person staff and will support restoration aspects of the Trust’s award program portfolio.

About the Trust

The Chesapeake Bay Trust seeks to engage and empower a diversity of groups to take actions that enrich the natural resources and local communities of the Chesapeake Bay region. The Trust is a nonprofit grant-making organization established by the state government in 1985. The Trust currently makes 400+ grants and other awards per year ranging from $100 to ~$500,000 for projects that empower people to restore local natural resources. In the past 15 years, the Trust has increased its grant-making fourfold through various revenues streams under the purview of four Trust departments, with annual awards of approximately $12-25 million.

Specific Duties:

• Support administration of the Restoration team’s award programs focused on stormwater management and restoration best management practices (BMPS), mitigation and adaption actions in the face of climate change, environmental justice, waste reduction, and environmental stewardship.
• Advertise widely across the state and Chesapeake Bay watershed (depending on the funding source) to identify potential applicants to the award programs, identify what help these applicants might need to apply and successfully complete a project, encourage them to apply, and provide help as they develop project ideas and grant proposals.
• Reactively, respond to potential applicants who have expressed interest in the grant programs, and aid with the application process including the incorporation of sustainable practices considering future climate change impacts, and management of contractors to provide technical assistance.
• Lead the analysis and review of grant applications received by the Trust.
• Lead the refinement and/or development of Requests for Proposals and other program materials for programs managed.
• Prepare grant summary reports and analysis for Technical Review Committees, funding partners, and the Board of Trustees.
• Administer awards in a wide size range ($2,500 to potentially as large as $350,000), including preparing grant agreements and contracts, assisting awardees with project issues, reviewing status and final reports, approving payments, reviewing revision requests, and more.
• Work with awardees throughout their project to report successes, discuss and overcome any obstacles to the outcomes, where relevant, management of contractors to provide technical assistance for current or future awardees/partners, and report products to funding partners, the general public (e.g., in newsletters, on the website), and/or the Trust staff.
• Develop a suite of professional development activities, which could include participating in (and presenting at) conferences, at seminars, at symposia, and/or in publications.
• Advance recommendations received from the Trust’s external diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice advisory committee and the Trust’s internal action team.

Skills and Qualifications

Candidates must have the following skills, abilities, and/or qualifications:

• Experience and a track record of success in restoration efforts, e.g., watershed planning, oversight of design/implementation of restoration projects, implementing restoration projects, and/or active participation/membership in the Chesapeake Bay watershed/stormwater community.
• Experience using the latest science, research, and/or best practices to guide restoration efforts.
• Strategic thinking skills: ability to set priorities, balance short-term and long-term objectives.
• Proficiency in managing both budgets and contracts.
• Experience in engaging underserved and/or historically excluded communities.
• A high level of proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite of programs, especially excel, word, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to lead groups of people (e.g., meetings, panels) and use collaborative approaches to realize project, program, and organizational goals.
• Exceptional project management and time-management skills, with the ability to manage and meet tight deadlines in order to meet milestones and deliver successful outcomes.
• Ability to conduct site visits to project locations submitted by grant applicants (personal vehicle or access to a vehicle/transportation) and valid driver’s license or access to transportation options required to facilitate site visit travel and travel to the office.
• Ability to work independently as well as in group settings.
• Experience using Blackbaud Grantmaking a bonus but not required.

Position Salary and Benefits

$50,000-$60,000 with an excellent benefits package, 401k, and opportunities for related professional development through workshops, training programs, and conferences. Candidates with a M.S. degree in natural sciences and three years of relevant experience or B.S. degree in natural sciences and over five years of relevant experience will qualify for the upper half of the salary range.

Application Instructions and Deadline

The position will remain open until filled. Please submit a resume and cover letter. The cover letter must address how your skills and experience are specifically relevant to the job description and duties of this specific opportunity, rather than serving simply as description of your previous positions or experience. Please explain why you are interested in this position specifically and what makes you a good fit.

Link to Apply: https://cbaytrust.bamboohr.com/careers/37?source=aWQ9MzU=

The Chesapeake Bay Trust provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or disability in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. We encourage applications from people of color. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. The Trust does not participate in programs that require sponsorship for work visas.