Grant Writer

Rockingham County is an equal opportunity employer and will comply with federal and state statutes regarding discrimination in employment.

Under general supervision of the Assistant County Manager the position performs complex professional work in the areas of grant writing/development, coordination, expenditure tracking, and submission of grant reporting to include preparing executive summaries, budgets, budget narratives and project schedules. Maintains a County-wide inventory of active grants, grant budgeting and tracking, grant analysis and reporting, grant compliance monitoring and periodic auditing of grant programs. Grants include funds awarded through the federal and state governments, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Community Development Block Grant, among others. Performs other directly related work as required. Administer all aspects of grants either directly or indirectly.

• Paid Medical, Dental, Vision & Life Insurance
• Onsite wellness/medical clinic
• Onsite fitness center
• Retirement
• Flexible Spending
• Paid Vacation, Sick & Holidays
• Bereavement
• Community Service Leave
• Weekends Off (varies by position)
• Flexible Work Schedules & Telework Options (varies by position)
• Tuition Reimbursement
• 401-K & 457 Plans with county match up to 1% of base salary

Responsible for the preparation of proposals, grant applications, and requisite reports; performance of responsible, professional, and administrative work in researching, identifying, developing, and responding to public and private grant opportunities. Conduct research on foundations and governmental agencies to identify and evaluate prospects for grant funding. Manage program budgets and expenditures and communicate with program managers to ensure effectiveness of grants. Collaborate with departments to gather information necessary for writing compelling and accurate grant proposals. Take a proactive approach in providing leadership and assistance throughout grant application processes.

Develop and maintain a tracking mechanism/grants inventory system to account for, record, maintain, and report on existing grants and new grant awards within the County.

Manage timelines and deliverables. Provide clear communication of proper rules and regulations for approving grants, all specifications, requirements, and objectives across all departments of the organization and management.

Serve as the contact person to County staff for all state and federal grants including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds, Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery and Hazard Mitigation funds, and other grants awarded to include transactions, reporting, and audits

Accept and complete financial and accounting related projects that may involve independent research and analysis, balancing and preparing reports, training personnel, providing excellent customer service by assisting with inquiries, and/or assisting other departmental personnel with grant reporting assignments. This may involve making recommendations for process improvements to increase efficiencies.

Attend meetings and training as needed and send out necessary communications. Maintain the grants documents and advise management on timing of document execution. Validate accuracy and proactively identify and resolve issues. Track the status of payments based on approved and obligated project amounts. Monitor funding usage to ensure compliance with allocated intent, compliance with federal guidelines, and maximization of funding potential.

Monitoring and ensuring the County’s compliance with grant funding and reporting requirements. Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with other staff, departments, outside agencies, and community organizations. Assuring all grant requirements are met and maintained, completing all reporting requirements.

Other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISION:
Received: Works under the Supervision of the Assistant County Manager.

Position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Interpersonal Contact

• Communicating effectively with others.
• Knowing how to listen actively.
• Working in a team environment and ability to work alone.

Recruitment Standards (Core Competencies):

• Financial background with thorough knowledge of budget preparation.
• Prepares reports and other types of correspondence; maintains files and records.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Knowledge of

• County policies and procedures.
• Principles and practices of grant administration. Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) standards, recommended practices and policies, rules, and regulatory reporting requirements.
• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) for Public Sector fiscal management.
• Regulations and requirements governing the administration of grant funding.
• Federal, State, and local grant funding sources.
• Grant application processes and documentation.
• Governmental accounting principles.
• Budget processes and procedures. Financial records, reports, and documentation.
• Business and personal computers, spreadsheet software applications and automated financial systems and software. Skills in:
• Reading, interpreting, understanding, and applying accounting standards and procedures, applicable Federal and state rules and regulations, and County policies and procedures.
• Reviewing interrelated financial and technical records and identifying and reconciling errors.
• Analyzing financial issues, evaluating alternatives, and developing recommendations and strategies.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook) and other related software products. Coordinating and performing a variety of highly technical grant administration functions.
• Researching, applying for, securing, and administering Federal, State, and local grants.
• Preparing and maintaining grant applications, reports, and related documentation.
• Monitoring and interpreting financial and grant compliance documents and ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements governing public sector financial activities.
• Communicating effectively verbally and in writing.
• Knowledge of the functions and operations of County departments; thorough knowledge of standard organizational development systems methods and procedures.
• Ability to analyze and develop budget estimates.
• Ability to evaluate complex operations and effectively formulate and implement new organizational and operation methods and procedures.
• Ability to conduct detailed research and prepare complex technical reports and findings.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with department heads, associates, and the General Public.
• Ability to manage several projects simultaneously; experience creating high quality documents and reports; ability to think critically and to make corrections that others miss and use this skill to assist leadership and staff with identifying and solving problems.

Physical Activities of This Position
Balancing - Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling when walking, standing, or crouching on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. This factor is important if the amount and kind of balancing exceed that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium
Stooping - Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires full use of the lower extremities and back muscles
Reaching - Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction
Standing - Remaining upright on the feet, particularly for sustained periods of time
Walking - Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another
Pushing - Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force to thrust forward, downward, or outward
Pulling - Using upper extremities to exert force to draw, drag, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion
Lifting - Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. This factor is important if it occurs to a considerable degree and requires the substantial use of the upper extremities and back muscles
Fingering - Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling
Grasping - Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm
Feeling - Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature, or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips
Talking - Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word; those activities where detailed or important spoken instructions must be conveyed to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly
Hearing - Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction, and having the ability to receive detailed information through oral communications, and making fine discriminations in sound
Repetitive Motions- Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands and/or fingers

Physical Requirements of This Position
Sedentary Work- Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally, and all other sedentary criteria are met

Visual acuity requirements including color, depth perception and field of vision
Employee is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; visual inspection involving small defects, small parts and/or operation of machines (including inspection); using measurement devices and/or assembly or fabrication of parts at distances close to the eyes

The conditions the worker will be subject to in this position
Employee is subject to inside environmental conditions: Protection from weather conditions but not necessarily from temperature changes
Employee is exposed to infectious diseases
None: Employee is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions (typical office or administrative work

For Full Time employees in a regular position, insurance is available and effective the first day of the following month after having worked for an entire month. The County currently pays 100% of the cost for regular employees working at least 30 hours per week. Dependent coverage is also available.

This benefit is available to regular employees working at least 20 hours per week. Time off includes:

Paid Holidays.

Local Government Retirement System

All employees in regular full or part time position are required to contribute to the retirement system. Contributions are taken on a pre-tax basis. The current contribution amount is 6%.

NC 401(k)- Employees have the option of making contributions on a pre or post tax basis to a 401(k) and on a pre tax basis to a a 457(b) plan. Contributions will be matched by the county, up to 1% or their annual base salary.

Insurance such as life, short term disability, and cancer care are available to regular employees and can be paid through payroll deduction.

All employees are required to have direct deposit.

Annual longevity payment beginning with the 6th full year of full or part time regular employment