Senior Grant Writer
Impact Justice, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Senior Grant Writer
Application Deadline:
15 May 2026
Department:
Development
Location:
LA Office
Compensation:
$82,002 / year
Description The Senior Grant Writer leads proposal writing and grant reporting efforts for Impact Justice’s small‑but‑mighty Development team. You will work with and across program teams leading innovative projects in criminal justice reform—like a reentry housing innovation, an AmeriCorps program designed for formerly incarcerated leaders, and creative approaches to improving food in prison. You’ll craft and refine proposals for well‑aligned funders and funding opportunities and manage a grants calendar of proposal and reporting deadlines.
Who You Are You are a confident, fast writer who knows their way around a grants calendar. The opportunity to write about a wide range of innovative criminal justice reform programs is exciting to you, and you know how to ask the right questions in order to craft compelling, clear proposal language. You’re not too precious about your drafts; you appreciate edits, and your top priority is landing on the most engaging, compelling, effective narrative you can. You can juggle multiple balls without dropping and maximize efficiency without sacrificing quality. You can anticipate problems or decision‑points and elevate those rather than waiting to be told or asked, and you aren’t comfortable letting even small errors slide. You’re comfortable working with multiple different leaders and are at ease being flexible and adaptable.
What You Will Do The anticipated start date for this position is May 2026. You will report to IJ’s Director of Development. Your core responsibilities will be:
Proposal Writing
– Draft, edit, and submit grant proposals, letters of intent, and concept notes. Synthesize past language; write new content aligned with a funder’s goals; meet with program leaders to gather information; and work through a review process to get the final language right. Help lead the development/review of proposal attachments, including budgets, budget narratives, financial documents, and supplemental organization or program‑specific materials.
Grant Reporting
– Draft, edit, and submit grant reports. Build more efficient and effective grant reporting systems to test and refine across program teams at Impact Justice.
Post‑Award Grants Management
– Manage Impact Justice’s portfolio of awarded grants. Review award letters; track reporting deadlines; and collaborate with finance and program departments on post‑award grant compliance.
Prospect Research
– Review Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and identify and research potential funding sources, including public and private grant opportunities, contracting opportunities, and prizes.
Institutional Fundraising Strategy
– Play a role in goal setting and strategic planning for Impact Justice’s overall institutional funding portfolio, in collaboration with the Director of Development and Senior Manager, Development and Donor Experience. Forecast revenue and work to build a grants calendar that closes gaps in funding.
We are also committed to ethical, nuanced approaches to AI use in writing and fundraising and are currently exploring various options to support our development work. The successful candidate will be comfortable with, or have experience with, large language models such as Claude and Chat GPT.
Applying Successful candidates typically have 5+ years of professional experience, of which at least 3 years should have included a focus on nonprofit grant writing. Your previous experience managing the types of tasks and projects that drive fundraising success and are relevant to this role are more important than years of experience alone.
Required Qualifications
Exceptional writing and copyediting skills.
Ability to synthesize program design, needs, and impact into clear, persuasive narrative.
Effective project and people management skills – ability to work independently and across multiple program teams.
Demonstrated time management skills, including the ability to work on multiple projects and prioritize deadlines.
Strong research skills; navigate online directories and databases with ease.
Meticulous attention to detail.
Positive, solutions‑oriented approach to problem‑solving and receiving edits and feedback.
Proficiency with standard office technology/software and web applications.
Experience with or the capacity to learn AI tools.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with program design, program evaluation, and logic models.
Experience with CRMs (particularly Bloomerang).
Experience building and enhancing systems for effective grant reporting and compliance.
Consistent with our compensation philosophy, our starting salaries are established to represent strong compensation in the marketplace and to maintain internal equity. The starting salary for this position is fixed at $82,002, with annual increases defined by the current collective bargaining agreement. This is a bargaining unit position with Impact Justice United represented by OPEIU International. The benefits that come with working at Impact Justice include medical, dental, and FSA plans, significant vacation and wellness leave, and immediate vesting in our 401(K) with a generous match. This is a full‑time, salaried position.
The Senior Grant Writer will work under a hybrid schedule with at least two in‑office days per week. Periodic deviations to the regular hybrid schedule may be required due to program needs. We are not considering remote staff for this position.
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15 May 2026
Department:
Development
Location:
LA Office
Compensation:
$82,002 / year
Description The Senior Grant Writer leads proposal writing and grant reporting efforts for Impact Justice’s small‑but‑mighty Development team. You will work with and across program teams leading innovative projects in criminal justice reform—like a reentry housing innovation, an AmeriCorps program designed for formerly incarcerated leaders, and creative approaches to improving food in prison. You’ll craft and refine proposals for well‑aligned funders and funding opportunities and manage a grants calendar of proposal and reporting deadlines.
Who You Are You are a confident, fast writer who knows their way around a grants calendar. The opportunity to write about a wide range of innovative criminal justice reform programs is exciting to you, and you know how to ask the right questions in order to craft compelling, clear proposal language. You’re not too precious about your drafts; you appreciate edits, and your top priority is landing on the most engaging, compelling, effective narrative you can. You can juggle multiple balls without dropping and maximize efficiency without sacrificing quality. You can anticipate problems or decision‑points and elevate those rather than waiting to be told or asked, and you aren’t comfortable letting even small errors slide. You’re comfortable working with multiple different leaders and are at ease being flexible and adaptable.
What You Will Do The anticipated start date for this position is May 2026. You will report to IJ’s Director of Development. Your core responsibilities will be:
Proposal Writing
– Draft, edit, and submit grant proposals, letters of intent, and concept notes. Synthesize past language; write new content aligned with a funder’s goals; meet with program leaders to gather information; and work through a review process to get the final language right. Help lead the development/review of proposal attachments, including budgets, budget narratives, financial documents, and supplemental organization or program‑specific materials.
Grant Reporting
– Draft, edit, and submit grant reports. Build more efficient and effective grant reporting systems to test and refine across program teams at Impact Justice.
Post‑Award Grants Management
– Manage Impact Justice’s portfolio of awarded grants. Review award letters; track reporting deadlines; and collaborate with finance and program departments on post‑award grant compliance.
Prospect Research
– Review Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and identify and research potential funding sources, including public and private grant opportunities, contracting opportunities, and prizes.
Institutional Fundraising Strategy
– Play a role in goal setting and strategic planning for Impact Justice’s overall institutional funding portfolio, in collaboration with the Director of Development and Senior Manager, Development and Donor Experience. Forecast revenue and work to build a grants calendar that closes gaps in funding.
We are also committed to ethical, nuanced approaches to AI use in writing and fundraising and are currently exploring various options to support our development work. The successful candidate will be comfortable with, or have experience with, large language models such as Claude and Chat GPT.
Applying Successful candidates typically have 5+ years of professional experience, of which at least 3 years should have included a focus on nonprofit grant writing. Your previous experience managing the types of tasks and projects that drive fundraising success and are relevant to this role are more important than years of experience alone.
Required Qualifications
Exceptional writing and copyediting skills.
Ability to synthesize program design, needs, and impact into clear, persuasive narrative.
Effective project and people management skills – ability to work independently and across multiple program teams.
Demonstrated time management skills, including the ability to work on multiple projects and prioritize deadlines.
Strong research skills; navigate online directories and databases with ease.
Meticulous attention to detail.
Positive, solutions‑oriented approach to problem‑solving and receiving edits and feedback.
Proficiency with standard office technology/software and web applications.
Experience with or the capacity to learn AI tools.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with program design, program evaluation, and logic models.
Experience with CRMs (particularly Bloomerang).
Experience building and enhancing systems for effective grant reporting and compliance.
Consistent with our compensation philosophy, our starting salaries are established to represent strong compensation in the marketplace and to maintain internal equity. The starting salary for this position is fixed at $82,002, with annual increases defined by the current collective bargaining agreement. This is a bargaining unit position with Impact Justice United represented by OPEIU International. The benefits that come with working at Impact Justice include medical, dental, and FSA plans, significant vacation and wellness leave, and immediate vesting in our 401(K) with a generous match. This is a full‑time, salaried position.
The Senior Grant Writer will work under a hybrid schedule with at least two in‑office days per week. Periodic deviations to the regular hybrid schedule may be required due to program needs. We are not considering remote staff for this position.
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