City of Newark Grants Development & Innovation Officer

Overview

The City of Newark is currently seeking a Grants Development & Innovation Officer to strengthen citywide grant coordination. Reporting to the Business Administrator of the City of Newark, this role will implement strategic planning, increase external funding, improve grants oversight and compliance, and implement grant policies and procedures. This is a collaborative position that interacts with various city departments to ensure successful grant funding and federal compliance. The Grants Development & Innovation Officer must be committed to the City of Newark’s mission to create an empowered, safer, educated, equitable, and collaborative city. This individual must have the knowledge, skills and ability to create and manage relationships, specifically with department leadership and staff, and to facilitate and manage change.



Key skills include strategic planning and program design, cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder engagement, project management and organizational skills, and analytical and research proficiency.

Job Summary: 

The Grants Development & Innovation Officer plays a critical role in securing and managing external funding to support the City of Newark’s strategic priorities, initiatives, and programmatic expansion. This individual is responsible for identifying funding opportunities, cultivating strategic partnerships, coordinating the development of competitive grant proposals, and advancing innovation-driven initiatives that align with the city’s goals. The Grants Development & Innovation Officer ensures compliance with grant requirements and contributes to the continuous improvement of grants development processes and systems.

Grants Development

Grants Development & Innovation Officer Key Responsibilities:

• Proactive grant research to identify funding opportunities aligned with city priorities.
• Lead the development and submission of high-quality grant proposals, including narrative writing, budgeting, and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintain a comprehensive grants calendar within the city’s grants management system to track application deadlines, reporting requirements, and renewal cycles.
• Coordinate with program staff, finance, legal, and other departments to ensure proposals are accurate, feasible, and aligned with compliance requirements.
• Coordinate pre- and post-award activities, including budget development, performance metrics, and reporting protocols.
  
  

Grants Administration

• Maintain a thorough understanding of applicable federal, state, and private funder regulations, including 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards), agency specific requirements (e.g. HUD, DOE, DOT, DOJ), and grants terms and conditions. This includes the ability to interpret and apply regulatory frameworks to ensure proper grant execution and audit readiness.
• Develop, monitor, and manage grant budgets in collaboration with the Finance Department and Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This includes tracking expenditures, ensuring allocability and allowability of costs, managing cost-sharing/match requirements, and preparing financial reports and documentation in compliance with the funder guidelines.
• Assist with setting up awards in the grants management system, monitor performance milestones, progress reporting, amendments, and closeout procedures.
• Ensures the Grants’ office applies available share of grants indirect cost allocations to support self-sustainability of overall operations, including administrative salaries, general office supplies, technology, etc.
• Oversee the grants management system and other reporting tools and extract and analyze data to support decision making and ensure timely and accurate reporting.
• Organize and maintain detailed records of grant activity, including grant agreements, communications, deliverables, and financial transactions.
• Ensures that documentation is audit-ready and aligned with funder and internal retention policies to support transparency and accountability.
  
  

Innovation Management

• Foster a culture of innovation by identifying and supporting new ideas, programs, and projects that advance the city’s mission.
• Work collaboratively with programmatic and strategic leadership to identify opportunities for piloting and scaling innovative initiatives.
• Evaluate innovation-driven projects for impact, sustainability, and replicability, incorporating lessons learned into future initiatives.
• Identify emerging trends and technologies to inform strategy and funding pursuits.
• Continually review and improve the grants identification, management, and administrative process, seeing where procedures can be standardized, and operational tools can be implemented.
  
  

Strategic Partnerships & Capacity Building

• Build and maintain relationships with government agencies, academic institutions, corporations, and philanthropic partners.
• Represent the organization at grant-related meetings, workshops, and networking events.
• Provide training and technical assistance to staff on the grant management system, grant writing, project design, reporting, compliance requirements, and latest developments in grant administration.
• Develop and maintain a repository of proposal templates, data points, case studies, and boilerplate language to streamline future submissions.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications And Experience

• Education: Bachelor’s degree with 7 or more years of relevant experience (or Master’s or Doctorate degree and 5 or more years of relevant experience).
• Experience: Grant writing, administration, and program development or innovation strategy, with a proven record of securing and managing federal grants. Strong ability in policy review, data collection, statistical evaluation of data, and strategies for conveying results; Deep understanding of federal, state, and private funding agency regulations; Experience addressing strategic issues in grant administration operations including issues with complex political and programmatic elements; Demonstrated experience in change management.
• Knowledge: Deep understanding of federal and state funded grant programs and initiatives, as well as knowledge and experience with 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards), procurement, and compliance standards.
• Additional Skills: Strong leadership and team management skills; Excellent written and oral communication skills; Proficiency in grant management software, other grant system portals, and Microsoft Office; Strategic thinker with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Abilities: Ability to work independently and collaboratively, create and manage relationships with city department leadership and staff, manage multiple projects simultaneously under tight deadlines, meet deadlines, set clear priorities, and work in a fast-paced and pressure-filled environment.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• 7+ years working in grant administrative related activities and roles with proven experience in both pre- and post-award federal grant functions.
• Experience working in a public sector environment.
• Certified Grants Management Specialist (CGMS) certification or related certifications (i.e., GPCI, CGFM, etc.).
  
  

Salary & Benefits

The City of Newark is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. This position is full-time and salaried. This job specification is for local government use only. Salary is commensurate with experience. Local salaries are established by individual local jurisdictions.

The funding for this position is contingent on grants and support from the City of Newark’s philanthropic partners. Currently, the position has a two-year funding commitment.



Please submit resumes to Melvin Waldrop [email protected]