Description

About Equal Hope

Equal Hope (formerly Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force) is a Chicago-based nonprofit healthcare organization dedicated to eliminating health disparities in Metropolitan Chicago, with a particular focus on cancer prevention, screening, and health equity. We work collaboratively to provide compassionate, culturally competent health services and navigation programs to underserved communities.

Position Overview

Equal Hope seeks an experienced, high-performing Grants Manager to lead strategy, development, and management of a $3.5M and growing grant portfolio focused on healthcare, health equity, and community-based programming. This role is responsible for writing compelling, conceptually strong proposals; maintaining an active grants calendar; and managing the full pre- and post-award lifecycle in partnership with program, finance, and operations leaders.

The ideal candidate is an exceptional writer with at least 8 years of grants or closely related experience, deep familiarity with healthcare systems and policy, and a strong track record of securing and managing foundation, government, and health system grants. This is a contract-to-hire position with the expectation of sustaining and growing the portfolio over the next year.

Key Responsibilities

Grant Strategy, Calendar, and Portfolio Management (30%)

• Lead development and execution of Equal Hope’s annual grants strategy to sustain and grow a $3.5M portfolio in alignment with organizational priorities.
• Create, maintain, and own Equal Hope’s master grants calendar, including prospects, LOIs, proposals, reports, renewals, and key funder touchpoints.
• Monitor portfolio performance against revenue targets and pipeline goals; provide regular updates and recommendations to the Executive Director and leadership team.
• Proactively identify risks (e.g., underperformance, ending grants) and opportunities (renewals, expansions, new funders) and recommend mitigation and growth strategies.

Grant Writing and Proposal Development (40%)

• Serve as lead writer and project manager for all major grant submissions, from concept through submission, including LOIs, full proposals, renewals, and multi-partner collaborations.
• Translate complex health equity, health systems, and community program concepts into clear, persuasive narratives tailored to diverse funders (government, health systems, foundations, corporate, and managed care entities).
• Develop proposal components including needs statements, program design, workplans, logic models, outcomes/indicators, evaluation plans, and sustainability narratives.
• Coordinate budget development with the Business Operations & Finance Manager and finance team to ensure accuracy, alignment with funder requirements, and sustainability.
• Lead internal timelines, content reviews, and approvals to ensure all submissions are of the highest quality and on time.

Pre- and Post-Award Grants Management (20%)

• In partnership with the Business Operations & Finance Manager, ensure all grant awards are set up correctly, including budgets, deliverables, reporting schedules, and compliance requirements.
• Maintain meticulous records of grant agreements, budgets, amendments, and correspondence; ensure all requirements are documented and tracked.
  Monitor programmatic and financial performance against grant requirements; flag risks early and collaborate with program and finance staff to develop corrective action plans.
• Draft and coordinate submission of high-quality progress and final reports that clearly demonstrate impact, learning, and alignment with funder priorities.
  Support funder audits, site visits, and monitoring reviews in collaboration with finance and operations.

 Funder Relations and External Positioning (5–10%)

• Cultivate, steward, and deepen relationships with current and prospective funders through regular communication, meetings, and updates on Equal Hope’s work and impact.
• Partner with the Executive Director, Development, and program leads to prepare talking points, briefings, and materials for funder meetings and convenings.
  Ensure timely and appropriate acknowledgment and visibility of funders via Equal Hope’s website, communications, and reports.

Grant Research, Intelligence, and Internal Capacity Building (5–10%)

• Continuously scan the landscape for new funding opportunities in healthcare, women’s health, health equity, health systems innovation, Medicaid/insurance, and community health initiatives.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of local, state, and federal funding priorities, health policy developments, and key funders relevant to Equal Hope’s mission.
  Build and maintain a robust prospect list and tracking system, including opportunity fit, deadlines, and strategic considerations.
• Provide internal training and coaching to program staff on grant-friendly project design, outcome measurement, and documentation practices that strengthen proposals and reporting.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, health policy, social sciences, English, journalism, or a closely related field; master’s degree in a relevant field strongly preferred.
•  Minimum 8 years of professional experience in grant writing and grants management, development, or closely related roles, with a significant portion in healthcare, health equity, or public health environments.
• Demonstrated track record of securing and managing six- and seven-figure grants from government agencies, health systems, foundations, and/or large institutional funders.
•  Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills; ability to synthesize complex data, research, and program models into clear, compelling narratives for diverse audiences.
•  Strong understanding of healthcare policy and systems (e.g., Medicaid, health insurance, safety net providers, value-based care), community health programming, and social determinants of health.
•  Proven experience managing the full grants lifecycle, including pre-award, compliance, reporting, and closeout.
•  High level of comfort with budgets, financial reports, and collaborating closely with finance/operations teams.
•  Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and experience with grants management or CRM systems (e.g., Virtuous, foundationConnect, Fluxx, or similar).
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple complex projects and deadlines simultaneously and work both independently and collaboratively.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience working in or closely with health systems, academic medical centers, community health centers, or large community-based organizations.
Familiarity with Chicago- and Illinois-based funders, public agencies, and health equity funding landscape.
Experience contributing to or leading multi-organization collaborative proposals and complex government applications.

Core Competencies

Mission and equity alignment: Deep commitment to health equity, racial justice, and community-led solutions.
Strategic thinking: Ability to align grants strategy with organizational priorities and anticipate future opportunities and risks.
Relationship building: Skilled at building trust-based, long-term funder and partner relationships.
Analytical rigor: Strong ability to interpret research, evaluate program models, and use data to tell a compelling story.
Ownership and accountability: Takes responsibility for outcomes, follows through on commitments, and responds calmly and effectively under pressure.