Many of you work in environments where you are the sole grants manager—complete with all the responsibilities and accountability of an entire department. Working as the grants manager allows you the opportunity to put your stamp on things and build a structure that best suits the goals of your organization and grantees.
However, all the responsibility and accountability can be overwhelming. You need to be well-versed in grants management and keep up with the latest issues in the profession. You must to maintain strong bonds with the other departments in the organization. And developing a diverse network of external grants management professionals is critical to success.
The PEAK Grantmaking Grants Management Professional Competency Model highlights all the requirements to be successful at your job. But how can you do it all with a head-count of one? How do you structure your work to get it all done?
We talk a lot about the value of streamlining the grants process. But how can we also streamline our other job responsibilities to work as effectively as possible?
Rethinking What “Structure” Means
“Structure” includes all the processes and activities involved in grants management
- When you think about structure, ask yourself these questions:
- What’s my role?
- What’s the best way to execute my responsibilities?
- What activities do I perform, and what do I outsource?
- Will I involve other employees or departments in task forces or projects?
While the Grants Management Professional Competency Model is not intended to apply to everything you need to do in your role at your organization, it does show all the functions a foundation staff needs to perform to ensure successful grants management. This could mean a team of people in one department, a department of one, or shared responsibilities across departments. Use the model to determine what works best in your organization—now and in the future.
Then, share the solutions you design via the conversation on CONNECT.
