Spencer Museum of Art

University of Kansas

1301 Mississippi

Lawrence, KS 66045

Grant Writer and Project Coordinator

employment.ku.edu/staff/26427BR

Job Responsibilities:

The Grant Writer and Project Coordinator will work closely with the Museum Director and Deputy Director for Operations and Innovation in implementing the funding roadmap to support Spencer Museum exhibitions, programs, research, and other special projects. The Coordinator’s primary responsibility is to assist in strengthening the Museum’s financial position through writing grant and foundation proposals to local, state, federal, and international agencies and foundations. In addition, the Coordinator will assist the Advancement Team in formulating strategy and producing written documents and correspondence. The Coordinator will also be responsible for managing and overseeing the execution of funded projects within the defined parameters of the awards. Post-award work will include financial reporting, assistance with purchasing and contracts, and writing, coordinating, and submitting reports to agencies and foundations. As a surveyor of the broader landscape of the Museum’s activities, the Coordinator will also assist in completing institutional surveys and project evaluation methods.

Duties:

Planning, Research, and Grant Development: 40%

• Advance the Museum’s and the University’s research profiles by working with Museum PIs and project leads in securing competitive grant funding.
• Collaborate with Director, Deputy Directors, and Advancement Team to identify funding needs, conceptualize new projects, and prioritize grant and foundation funding opportunities.
• Manage all grant and foundation proposal activities, including identification of grant opportunities, project and proposal development and writing, assignment of tasks to other staff, and associated proposal activities and documents.
• Serve as staff liaison to KU Endowment’s corporate and foundation development staff, KU Center for Research pre-award and post-award teams, and other campus-based and external-fundraising and grant-writing entities.
• Work collaboratively with the Deputy Director for Operations and Innovation, PI’s, and project leads to develop preliminary project budgets for all proposals.

Grant Administration and Reporting: 40%

• Serve as administrative project coordinator of funded-projects in collaboration with the project lead to ensure agency compliance and timeline adherence.
• Maintain, monitor, and execute all reporting requirements, including writing interim and final narrative reports in consultation with the project lead.
• In collaboration with the Deputy Director for Operations and Innovation oversee projecting, budgeting, and spending award funds, including tracking and certifying matching gifts and staff cost-share with KU Center for Research and KU Endowment staff.

• Maintain organized financial records, generate and reconcile financial reports for the Director, agencies, and interested parties.

• Coordinate with the Deputy Director for Operations and Innovation and campus legal offices in crafting and executing contracts related to grant projects.
• Serve as a project coordinator, as needed, for specific initiatives, such as institutional planning, museum accreditation, or Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Inclusion, and Belonging initiatives.

Evaluation, Planning, and Archiving (10%)

• Develop and direct staff in strategic evaluation procedures to ensure project success and inform future paths of project development.
• Assist in creating metric dashboards in collaboration with IT developers to generate reports for evaluation of progress toward attaining outlines objectives and goals.
• Use museum-adopted management softwares (e.g. Teams and Asana) to maintain grant documents for efficient retrieval and reporting purposes.
• Maintain record management and complete data entry in Museum’s database MuseumPlus, including but not limited to grants and audience feedback.
• Assist with completing annual institutional and accreditation surveys.

Other Duties as Assigned (10%)

• Support the advancement team in producing Museum and University administrative documents.
• Assist in editing Museum publications, newsletters, and other institutional writing as needed.
• Participate in museum- and campus-wide initiatives and trainings related to diversity, equity, accessibility, inclusion, and belonging (DEAIB).
• Assist with special events and serving at the Welcome Desk as needed.
• Attend all staff meetings.
• Assist and participate in other initiatives as they arise and in concert with supervisor.

Required Qualifications

1. Bachelor’s Degree in a related field.
2. One year of grant writing experience, including proposals for federal/state agencies and foundations.
3. Excellent written communication skills as evidenced by application materials and work history.
4. Project management experience, including managing different projects simultaneously.
5. Strong financial literacy, including experience generating and analyzing financial budgets and reports.
6. Strong digital literacy skills, including Microsoft Office Suite and database management.

Preferred Qualifications

1. Master's degree.
2. Three or more years of grant writing experience.
3. Knowledge of local, regional, state, and national granting and foundation agencies.
4. Experience participating in strategic and long-range planning.
5. Familiarity with writing grants and proposals in the field of higher education, the arts, or philanthropic communities.

Salary Range: $48,000 - $58,000, commensurate with experience

Additional Candidate Instruction:

Contact Information to Applicants: Jennifer Talbott, Deputy Director for Operations and Innovation, (785) 846-0135, jtalbott@ku.edu

A complete online application includes:

1. Cover letter addressing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications.
2. Resume.
3. Grant proposal sample for which you authored or co-authored.
4. Contact information for three professional references (including at least one previous or current supervisor).
5. Completion of the University of Kansas online application: employment.ku.edu/staff/26427BR. 

Application review begins Monday, October 30, 2023, and closes Sunday, November 5. Anticipated start date November 27, and not later than January 2024.