Grants Unit Supervisor

Lead Grant Administration to Support Environmental Initiatives!

Are you passionate about making an impact through strategic grant administration? Do you thrive in a collaborative environment where your expertise can shape best practices and drive meaningful change? This is your opportunity to build and lead a newly created Grant Administration Unit within the Finance and Administration Section, supporting critical environmental programs.

About the Role

This Grants Unit Supervisor leadership position is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys establishing best practices and driving continuous improvement in grant administration. You’ll build and oversee a new Grant Administration Unit, guiding teams across the Division on federal, state, and local grant processes. You’ll also play a key role in ensuring compliance, streamlining workflows, and shaping long-term grant strategies.

What You’ll Do:

• Supervise and support a team of grant professionals, providing expertise in grant administration, compliance, and billing.
• Develop and implement policies and procedures for full-cycle grant management.
• Serve as a key representative on grant-related County workgroups and build strong relationships with funding agencies.
• Lead the vetting process for grant funding opportunities that align with the Division’s goals.
• Train and mentor staff on identifying, pursuing, and managing grants in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations.

About the Team
You’ll be leading a newly established Grant Administration Unit within the Finance and Administration (F&A) Section, designed to provide specialized grant management support across the Division. Your team will start with grant coordinators and work in close collaboration with Budget and Finance Officers (BFOs), Project and Program Managers, and Policy/Government Relations staff. As the team grows, it may expand to include grant billing specialists and additional program-specific grant administrators.

We are a team that values collaboration, innovation, and equity-driven solutions. If you’re someone who enjoys working in a dynamic environment with a strong mission-driven focus, you’ll find a great home here!

Ready to take the next step? If you’re excited about leveraging your grant expertise to drive positive change, we’d love to hear from you!

Commitment to Equity, Racial and Social Justice:

King County, named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a diverse and vibrant community that represents cultures from around the world. Our True North is to create a welcoming community where everyone can thrive.  We prioritize equity, racial and social justice, making it a foundational and daily expectation for all employees. As a Grants Unit Supervisor, you will actively apply these principles in all aspects of your work. Learn more about our commitment at http://www.kingcounty.gov/equity.


What You’ll Be Doing:
 

• Supervise a professional staff within the WRLD grant unit and provide guidance and expertise in the areas of grant administration, compliance and billings, including working with granting agencies to resolve any issues/concerns.
   
• Represent the Division on grant-related County workgroups and build and maintain strong relationships with current and future funding agencies.
  
  
• Consistent with the WLRD grant strategy, develop and lead a coordinated process for vetting grant funding opportunities that the Division will seek.
  
  
• Collaborate with WLRD staff, such as Program/Project and Policy/Government Relations managers, and Budget/Finance staff, to ensure alignment with Division’s Grant Strategy and compliance with grant agreements. 
  
  
• Oversee review and analysis of grant applications.
  
  
• Establish standards, policies and procedures for full life-cycle grant management.
  
  
• Provide mentoring/coaching for WLRD staff on how to identify and pursue grant opportunities, and on implementation of federal, state, and local rules and regulations.
   
• Other duties as assigned.

 Qualifications You Bring:

• A bachelor’s degree in public administration, business administration, accounting, finance, OR any equivalent combination of education and experience.    
  
  
• A minimum of five years of experience in grant administration, including pre and post award activities such as the preparation of grant applications, progress reporting and grant billings, compliance, audit and reporting requirements.
  
  
• A minimum of three years of supervisory experience, including providing direction to staff as regards to work assignments, adherence to policies and procedures, and personnel matters such as hiring, staff development, performance appraisals and management.    
  
  
• Proven ability to prioritize tasks, work independently, and manage multiple responsibilities efficiently. Capable of planning, organizing, and prioritizing daily work, often handling conflicting priorities to meet tight deadlines while maintaining high standards of work.
  
  
• Proficiency in the use of various computer software programs and databases, including Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, Power point). Demonstrated ability to use County’s financial or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
  
  
• Ability to analyze need for a central grant administration application, and lead the implementation of such application, as applicable.
  
  
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate with wide array of internal and external clients. 
  
  

Competencies You Bring:

• Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.
• Plans and Aligns: Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals.
• Communicates Effectively: Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences. 
• Manages Complexity: Making sense of complex, high quality, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Value Differences: Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization.   
• Customer Focus: Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.    

It Would Be Nice if You Also Bring:

• Advanced education/training in public administration, business administration, accounting, finance, or related field.
• Experience with compliance rules and billing procedures for state and federal government grants.
• Expertise with development and implementation of strategic long-range plans.

Working Conditions:

• Remote and Onsite Work Details: Employees in this role work remotely from a home location, with onsite reporting requirements typically 2-3 days per month. The frequency of onsite work is determined by business needs and may be adjusted accordingly. Onsite reporting locations may be at various King County worksites including the collaboration space at King Street Center (201 S. Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104). This work arrangement promotes work-life-balance and reduces carbon footprint under the department’s vision of Green Where We Work.  

• Remote Work Location Requirement: Employees must reside in Washington State and be within a reasonable distance to King County worksites to meet onsite reporting requirements.
  
  
• Work Schedule: This full-time position works a 40-hour work week.  This position is exempt from the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) and is not overtime eligible.  

• Union Representation: This position is not represented by a union.

Application and Selection Process:
This position is open only to King County employees at this time. External applications will not be considered for this position.  We value diversity, diverse perspectives and life experience and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. This posting may be used to create an eligibility list for future vacancies in similar positions over the next six months.

Application materials will be screened for clarity, completeness including online application, cover letter and resume, and responsiveness to the list of qualifications, skills, and abilities. The most competitive candidates may be invited to participate in one or more panel interviews. Applications without the following required materials may not be considered for this position.

• King County application (The responses on your job application should be thorough and complete, and will be used in the screening process)
• Resume (Your resume should be thorough and complete, and will be used in the screening process)
• Cover Letter (Your cover letter should detail your background and what you can bring to this position, and will be used in the screening process)
• Answers to Supplemental Questions (The answers to the supplemental questions will be used in the screening process)

Note:  Additional documents won't be considered during minimum qualification screening.

Who to Contact: For more information regarding this recruitment, please contact Jamie Jensen-Young at 206-263-8779 or jjensenyoung@kingcounty.gov.

Discover More About the Division: Visit our website.

Discover More About DNRP: Visit our website, explore an interactive map of our recent accomplishments and check us out at Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Keeping King County Green News.

Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles - we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ , people living with disabilities, and veterans.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

To Apply

If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.

Salary : $119,465 - $151,429