Grants Program Specialist

The Farm and Food Growth Fund (FFGF) is dedicated to creating employment and safe affordable housing and capital access opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals, families and communities with a focus on farm and food-related industries located in the Northeast Foodshed. This encompasses parts of the greater Hudson Valley, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts, southern Vermont and eastern Pennsylvania. FFGF administers grants for a variety of government entities (including federal, state and county), and other non-profits, as well as provides Business Technical Assistance (BTA) services.

The Grants Program Specialist is a full-time position focused on providing administrative and program support primarily to FFGF grant programs, but may also include support to Business Technical Assistance (BTA) programs, and affiliate organization Hudson Valley AgriBusiness (HVADC) loan services. Specific responsibilities include:

• Grants coordination and process management - Serve as coordinator for individual grant programs, facilitating activities and communications between grant applicants, grant awardees, staff, and consultants. Managing the entire grant life cycle from project design to closeout. Support application process, evaluation committees, award negotiation and execution, implementation and closeout. Closing tasks to be supported include coordination with clients, underwriters, FFGF counsel and HVADC loan committee to assure necessary documentation is submitted, and timelines met.
• Project start up – Set up grant management processes within the assigned FFGF team and build out the application portal (SurveyMonkey Apply - SMA) when new programs are established.
• Applicant support - Assist grant applicants in completing their applications through the dedicated online portal, answering inquiries and hosting informational sessions such as office hours. Conducting in-take and assessment of awardee needs. Working with the internal and external FFGF teams to coordinate BTA services or loans when appropriate to an applicant or awardee needs.
• Technical and administrative review – Support the set up of technical and administrative reviews in SMA and support the onboarding of peer reviewers for grant selection. Serve as an administrative reviewer to determine eligibility and application completeness following technical evaluation committee reviews.
• Selection and awards – Support the grant award process through building the grant agreements in SMA, support onboarding of new grantees, and ensure completeness of files submitted as part of the fully executed grant award package.
• Quarterly reporting – Oversee the quarterly reporting process including troubleshooting issues with grantees in accessing or completing their reports in SMA, reviewing reports for completeness, reviewing and correcting payment requests (submitted via the quarterly report) for completeness, processing payment requests in coordination with CFO and accounting staff.
• Communications - Providing marketing support by generating impact stories, case studies and best practices from grantees intended for varying audiences (client, public, internal use, etc.).
• Organizational reporting - Working with other FFGF staff and staff from affiliate programs such as the HVADC, preparing reports for FFGF Board, status reports for grants and other reports as needed.
• New business development - Assisting with FFGF development efforts and other FFGF staff activities, including monitoring and responding to grant opportunities and new program design and implementation as needed. Marketing FFGF BTA programs and HVADC loan products to potential client farms and food producers within the FFGF portfolio.

Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, planning, or other related fields preferred, or equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Previous experience with grants and program management with strong background in coordinating multiple projects and ensuring timely and high quality completion of tasks. Strong attention to detail, time management and organizational skills.
• Energetic, creative self-starter capable of managing various assignments for multiple parties.
• Excellent interpersonal, team building and relationship-building skills. A demonstrated ability to solve problems in a collaborative work environment.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with professional colleagues, municipal clients, public officials, developers, and representatives from private and public financial organizations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Understanding of and adherence to confidentiality and privacy practices.
• Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office with an emphasis on Word and Excel, Zoom and file storage and manage programs such as Dropbox.
• Knowledge, experience and/or interest in agribusiness and economic development is preferred.
• Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred but not required.
• Commitment to racial and social equality.
• Comfortable working in environments with animals, i.e. cows, chickens, pigs, lambs, dogs.
• Valid driver’s license, and ability to independently travel within FFGF’s coverage area to visit with clients and partner organizations. Travel to clients is often in rural communities where public transportation is not available, so it is recommended that only candidates with access to a vehicle apply. Please note that mileage reimbursement based on the General Services Administration’s (GSA) rate are provided when travel is required in a privately owned vehicle (POV).

Additional Information:

• This is an in-person position in Hudson, NY.
• Occasional travel mainly throughout the Hudson Valley, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts, southern Vermont and eastern Pennsylvania.
• Adhere to all organizational health, safety, and communicable disease protocols, including any COVID-19 prevention and response measures that may be in effect. Follow established procedures regarding illness reporting, workplace sanitation, and employee/public health guidance.

Pay: $50,000.00 - $60,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 403(b)
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Work Location: In person