Grant Writer

Statement of Duties:

Under direction of the Deputy Director of Grants Development, the Grant Writer researches and explores potential funding sources to support the work of all City departments and municipal programs and activities;  assists with the development and writing of proposals, in tandem with department staff; and manages the Department’s online accounts with grantors and other entity registrations and updates the Grants page on the City site. This staffer supports the work of departments and disciplines across the City of Somerville, from the Somerville Public Library and the Council on Aging, to the Office of Sustainability and Environment and the Capital Projects Department, enhancing their capacity to secure resources for new and innovative or existing and enhanced projects and programs. 

In addition and in collaboration with departmental staff and other city staff, the Grant Writer will be responsible for writing a variety of proposal materials, including narrative content; support letters from the Mayor's office and other department heads, City Council members, and community partners; budgets; and additional proposal materials, and ensuring these materials are prepared and submitted according to the funder’s requirements. 

Essential Functions: 

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position. 

• Identify and distill requests for proposals (RFPs) and funding notices for City departments; and conduct outreach to those departments to assess funding fit, departmental capacity, and City’s viability to secure funds via the identified competitions. Follow up with City departments and facilitate assessment conversations. Provide timeline advice and information on these opportunities, requirements, and procedures; 
• Draft narrative content for grant proposals, with the ultimate goal of translating complex or high-level ideas into concise and accurate descriptions that are persuasive and competitive; assist in the development and creation of attachments and letters of support to accompany grant proposals; 
• Manage the City’s online grants presence, updating the departmental page, and web-based profiles. The Grants Development Specialist will seek out and assess opportunities that align with the Mayor’s strategic, departmental, and other citywide goals, and liaise with a variety of departments to review and determine whether to pursue those opportunities; 
• Assist with grant submissions, navigating and completing online grantor forms and gathering supporting documentation as needed; 
• Maintain the department’s grant tracking spreadsheet by monitoring and documenting upcoming grant opportunities, grants under consideration, proposals under development, and applications submitted;  
• Work with other departmental staff to develop and lead training sessions for City departments on pre-award processes; 
• Monitor and maintain the City’s registrations on federal and state websites, including Grants.gov and COMMBUYS, and ensure Somerville’s profiles for online grant submissions remain active and current; 
• Participate in proposal planning meetings about new projects and initiatives and assist with logistics planning;  
• Conduct extensive research related to programs and ideas proposed in grant applications and specific to city department needs; gather statistics concerning the community and comparative state and national data; 
• Assist with or manage independently other departmental projects or initiatives as assigned. 

Recommended Minimum Qualifications 

Education and Experience: 
Bachelor’s Degree and three to five (3-5) years’ experience in grant writing or proposal development work; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job. Experience with Microsoft Excel is required. Experience with municipal procedures and organization and with the federal and national nonprofit funding landscape is preferred. 

Knowledge, Abilities and Skill: 

Knowledge: 
Knowledge of municipal government; standard goals and objectives of major municipal departments and standard office practices, procedures, equipment and techniques; knowledge of adult learning techniques. 

Ability: 
Ability to work with multiple parties diplomatically; ability to work independently and handle tasks without constant supervision; ability to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing; ability to operate a computer; ability to maintain confidential information; ability to maintain, manage, and organize records; ability to think strategically and problem solve; ability to listen well, follow directions and synthesize multiple ideas into a cohesive proposal; ability to collaborate and deal appropriately with City employees, City officials, and funding agencies. 

Skill: 
Excellent organizational, writing and editing skills; data and word processing proficiency in the use of personal computers and office software, databases, internet and spreadsheet applications; data analysis, interpretation, and presentation skills. 

Physical and Mental Requirements: 
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions. 

Physical Skills: Little or no physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as ledgers or photocopy and computer paper (up to 30lbs.). 

Motor Skills:  Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone system, computer and/or most other office equipment, typing and/or word processing, filing, and sorting of materials. 

Visual Demands: Routinely reads documents for general understanding and analytical purposes. 

Hours: Full-time
Salary: $75,000.00 annualized, plus benefits
Union: Non-Union
FLSA: Non-Exempt
Date Posted: May 6, 2025

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The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request. Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.

Pre-Employment Requirements for All Employees:

• MA Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) clearance
• Completion of Conflict-of-Interest Law Education training for municipal employees

Overview of Total Rewards:

• 4 weeks annual vacation for non-union positions. Union positions vary by contract. Please note, police officers are members of the SPEA union.
• Medical insurance through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) - 80% of premium costs paid by City
• Dental coverage low and high plans through Cigna
• Vision care through Vision Service Plan (VSP)
• Long term disability through Sun Life
• Group and voluntary life insurance through Boston Mutual
• Health Care and Dependent Care flexible spending through Benefit Strategies
• Deferred compensation plans through a choice of three vendors
• Free, confidential services through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by E4Health
• Annual cancer screening & wellness release
• Somerville Retirement Pension System
• Tuition reimbursement
• MBTA pass program
• FREE Blue Bikes membership
• Eligible employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)

Benefits listed are for benefits-eligible positions and the above information is meant to be a general overview of the benefit programs offered by the City of Somerville and not a binding contract.