Nonprofit Grant Management Jobs: Roles, Titles and Paths

Nonprofit grant management jobs are the staff roles that find grant money, win it and account for it once it arrives. The work goes by at least six titles, from Grant Coordinator to Director of Grants, and a search that uses only one of them misses the jobs posted under the others.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not treat grant work as its own occupation: its Occupational Outlook Handbook has no grant-writer or grant-manager profile (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook A-Z Index, 2025-35 edition, read September 2026). Pay and outlook have to be pieced together from an association survey, related occupations and the federal job series for grants management.

Quick Answer: What Are Nonprofit Grant Management Jobs?

Nonprofit grant management jobs are staff roles that find, win and administer grants, from Grant Coordinator ($67,000 median salary) to Director of Grants ($94,131) in the Grant Professionals Association's 2025 survey (GPA 2025 Compensation & Benefits Survey Report). Nonprofits, universities and governments hire for the work, and federal openings appear on USAJOBS under the Grants Management series.

The Grant Management Role Family and Its Titles

The grant management role family is a set of related titles that share one body of work: finding funders, writing proposals and administering awards through their final reports. The Grant Professionals Association (GPA) reports median salaries for six of those titles in its 2025 Compensation & Benefits Survey, which an outside research firm sent to current and former GPA members and prospects (GPA 2025 Compensation & Benefits Survey Report).

Source: GPA 2025 Compensation & Benefits Survey Report (read September 2026).

Treat the titles as loose labels. The Labor Department's occupational database files grant titles under fundraising: it lists "Contract Grant Writer" and "Grant Coordinator" among the reported titles for Fundraisers, SOC 13-1131.00 (O*NET OnLine, Fundraisers profile, updated 2026).

The same database's keyword search for "grant writer" returns existing occupations instead of a grant-writer occupation, led by Technical Writers (27-3042.00), Fundraisers (13-1131.00), Business Operations Specialists, All Other (13-1199.00) and Writers and Authors (27-3043.00) (O*NET OnLine keyword search, read September 2026).

Read the duties before you judge a job's level. Each posting should say which stages of the grant lifecycle the role owns, and those stages decide whether it is a writing job, a compliance job or both.

Where to Find Nonprofit Grant Management Jobs

Grant management jobs are posted by the organizations that receive or give grants, and each kind of employer posts in its own place under its own titles. Search by employer type as well as by title.

Nonprofits

Nonprofits post on their own careers pages and on nonprofit job boards, under every title in the family. Run a separate search for each title, and add development and fundraising titles. A development associate posting can be half grant work, and a grant manager posting can be mostly writing. If you want grant tracking work, meaning the deadlines, files and reports behind other people's proposals, search the coordinator and specialist titles first.

Universities and Research Institutions

Universities call the work research administration or sponsored programs, and a job catalog may place administrator and manager titles in one career string, as Penn State's does (Penn State job catalog PSU0174, read September 2026). Search pre-award and post-award as separate terms.

Federal, State and Local Government

Federal agencies post grants management vacancies on USAJOBS, which files them under "Occupations and job series: 1109 Grants Management" (USAJOBS announcement 878750700, read September 2026). State and local agencies post on their own job portals, so search the duties text for the word grant as well as the job title.

Grant Management Software and Grants Management System Jobs

Software-related grant jobs come in two kinds. Some run a grants management system inside a nonprofit, university or agency: configuring it, building reports and training the staff who use it. Others sit at the companies that build these systems, in implementation, support and sales roles. For either kind, list the systems you have used and the grant tasks you ran in them. Our guide to grant management software for nonprofits covers the features these systems share and how organizations choose one.

Federal Grants Management Jobs in the GS-1109 Series

Federal grants management jobs sit in OPM's Grants Management Series, 1109, whose basic official title is "Grants Management Specialist" (OPM classification flysheet for series 1109, November 2010). They are funder-side jobs: OPM's typical duties include "awarding and administering grants, cooperative agreements, or other related instruments," "negotiating terms and conditions of grants/assistance awards" and "processing close-outs" (OPM classification flysheet for series 1109, November 2010).

The qualification rules are the general ones for administrative work. OPM states that "There are no Individual Occupational Requirements for this series" and points agencies to its Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Administrative and Management Positions (OPM qualification standard for series 1109, read September 2026). Positions in the series are "two-grade interval positions" (OPM classification flysheet for series 1109, November 2010).

Source: OPM Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Administrative and Management Positions (read September 2026).

Each announcement defines its own specialized experience. A CMS announcement defined GS-09 experience as "(1) Identifying deficiencies within grant documentation (e.g. applications and proposals); AND (2) Researching appropriate regulations and policies related to administering grants; AND (3) Monitoring grants and cooperative agreements" (USAJOBS announcement 878750700, read September 2026). At GS-12, education stops counting: an IMLS announcement states "Education is not a substitute for specialized experience at this grade level" (USAJOBS announcement 885509200, read September 2026). The same IMLS posting credits "paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work."

Source: USAJOBS announcements 878750700, 885509200 and 884345200 (read September 2026). Announcements close over time, so treat these as dated examples and check USAJOBS for current openings.

Career Paths Into and Up Grant Management

Grant management careers are built on documented experience, and the first rung can be a coordinator, writer or program job that already touches grants. BLS says employers of fundraisers "may prefer to hire candidates who have related experience, such as from working with a nonprofit organization in an internship or as a volunteer" (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Fundraisers, September 2026).

Build proof for each phase of the cycle as you go. A funded proposal you wrote, an award you set up and a report you filed on time are evidence a hiring manager can check. If you have never written a proposal, this first-time grant writing guide walks through the first one.

Moving up means taking on more of the cycle, then other people's work.

Professional associations are another way to meet people in the field. The National Grants Management Association (NGMA) describes itself as "an association of over 8,000 professionals" and charges $174 for one year of individual membership (NGMA, Join NGMA, September 2026), while GPA's professional dues are $235 a year (GPA membership page, September 2026).

Federal roles call for a working knowledge of federal grant rules. Grants.gov points to a CFO Council "Grants Management Online Training Course" for "government employees and grant professionals hoping to work in federal financial assistance management," with five modules covering laws, regulations and guidance, financial assistance mechanisms, Uniform Guidance administrative requirements, cost principles, and risk management and single audit (Grants.gov, Grant Careers, read September 2026). A plain-language field guide to 2 CFR 200 covers the same rules from the grantee's side.

Credentials come later in a career. The issuer of the Grant Professional Certified (GPC) credential states that it "is not considered appropriate for entry level grant professionals" (GPCI Candidate Guide, last updated September 2026), so treat it as a mid-career step.

Pay for Grant Management Jobs

Pay for grant management jobs varies with the employer's sector as well as with the title. For fundraisers (SOC 13-1131), the nearest occupation BLS tracks, May 2025 medians were $66,380 in healthcare and social assistance and $80,840 in professional, scientific, and technical services (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Fundraisers, September 2026).

Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Fundraisers (SOC 13-1131), page last modified August 27, 2026 (read September 2026).

GPA's survey gives a figure closer to the field. Full-time staff and consultants reported a mean current annual salary of $85,054 and a median of $80,000, with part-time staff excluded (GPA 2025 Compensation & Benefits Survey Report). The BLS figures say nothing about freelance earnings, because they do "not include pay for self-employed workers" (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Fundraisers, September 2026).

Grant work also sits inside other occupations. BLS notes that "Some technical writers help write grant proposals for research scientists and institutions," and technical writers (SOC 27-3042) had a median annual wage of $90,390 in May 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Technical Writers, September 2026). BLS also lists "Write proposals for social services funding" among the typical duties of social and community service managers (SOC 11-9151), whose median was $80,390 in May 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Social and Community Service Managers, September 2026). Program management jobs can be grant jobs in all but title.

Foundation Jobs and Other Funder-Side Roles

Funder-side grant jobs are the positions at foundations and government agencies that review proposals, make awards and monitor grantees. OPM classifies federal science program work apart from grants management: positions "Primarily analyzing, evaluating, planning, organizing, coordinating, and approving scientific research programs and projects" go to its Research Grants Grade Evaluation Guide, not to series 1109 (OPM classification flysheet for series 1109, November 2010).

Grantee experience transfers to the funder side because the tasks mirror each other. A CMS announcement for a GS-1109-9/11 Grants Management Specialist defines GS-11 specialized experience as "(1) Providing guidance or interpreting grants policy and procedures to program staff, principal investigators or awardees; AND (2) Analyzing budgets with program staff and the grant community; AND (3) Researching grants policies and procedures to address issues with awardees" (USAJOBS announcement 878750700, read September 2026). A grant manager who has asked those questions from the grantee's side already knows the subject matter.

A foundation job search starts with a list of foundations, then a close look at each one's grants. Before you apply or interview, read the foundation's recent giving; this guide to reading a 990-PF grant list shows how to find the grants schedule on a foundation's Form 990-PF and see which organizations it pays.

GrantCue's public foundation directory is one place to build a list of foundations. It has profile pages for more than 10,000 private foundations, built from IRS 990-PF public filings and keyed by foundation name and EIN (grantcue.com, September 2026). Shortlist foundations in the foundation directory, then check each foundation's own website for staff openings.

FAQ

What Do University Grant Management Jobs Pay?

Some universities publish pay structures for research administration roles. Emory's post-award manager (SA12), a role that asks for five years of grants and contracts experience, has a pay range minimum of $74,700 and a midpoint of $100,800, and Penn State's Grants and Contracts Manager, Principal Manager (PSU0174) runs from $115,860 to $173,844 (Emory job description SA12; Penn State job catalog PSU0174; read September 2026). For fundraisers (SOC 13-1131) in educational services, the BLS median was $76,690 in May 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Fundraisers, September 2026).

What Is an Entry-Level Grant Management Job?

A coordinator job or an apprenticeship is a practical starting point. Grant Coordinator had a median salary of $67,000 in GPA's 2025 survey (GPA 2025 Compensation & Benefits Survey Report), and the Labor Department lists "Grant Specialist, General" as an example Registered Apprenticeship title for fundraisers (O*NET OnLine, Fundraisers profile, updated 2026). GPA also offers Entry Level membership, with annual dues of $172, for people with two years or less in the field, limited to one year (GPA membership page, September 2026).

Can You Work in Grant Management as a Consultant?

Yes, and a sizable minority do. In GPA's 2025 survey, 19 percent of participants were consultants or contractors, and 88 percent of consultants had a full-time job before consulting (GPA 2025 Compensation & Benefits Survey Report). Consultants reported an hourly rate with a mean of $99.24 and a median of $90, which GPA says "is generally a billing rate rather than including all non-billable hours" (GPA 2025 Compensation & Benefits Survey Report).

How Do You Find Grant Management Jobs in a Small Town?

Search by employer first. In a smaller market, such as the area around Lock Haven, Mill Hall or Williamsport in Pennsylvania, few postings may use the word grant in the title. List the local organizations that receive or give grants, such as the county, school districts, hospitals, colleges, community foundations and human service agencies, and check each one's careers page. Development, program and finance jobs there may carry the grant duties.

Is Grant Management a Good Career?

BLS projects growth for the nearest occupation it tracks: employment of fundraisers (SOC 13-1131) is projected to grow 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, "faster than the average for all occupations," with about 10,000 openings a year on average (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Fundraisers, September 2026). The funding climate is tighter. In a February 2026 survey, 57 percent of nonprofit CEOs said it had been harder to secure foundation grants since January 2025 (Center for Effective Philanthropy, State of Nonprofits 2026, May 2026).

Start Your Search With Three Lists

Make three lists before you apply. The first is every title in the role family, including the federal Grants Management Specialist. The second is the employers near you that receive or give grants: nonprofits, foundations, colleges and public agencies. The third is your proof for each grant phase, meaning the proposals you wrote and how they fared, the awards you set up and the reports you filed.

Match the third list to each posting's duties, phase by phase, and lead your application with the phase the employer needs most.