Grant Writer

The Opportunity

Essie Justice Group (Essie) is building grassroots power to dismantle the US incarceration system, the most egregious creator of racial and gender injustice of our time. We are a loving and powerful community of women with incarcerated loved ones. Our community includes cisgender women, transgender women, formerly incarcerated women, gender nonconforming (GNC) people, elders, and young people.

After eight years of building an active membership across California and beyond, Essie is deepening its base-building and leadership development strategies with the 1 in 4 women with incarcerated loved ones to propel bold decarceration agendas across the nation. We seek to transform the criminal legal system and create a Black feminist future rooted in care, equity, community safety, and liberation. In the midst of significant organizational growth, we are seeking a proactive, impact-driven, and creative Grant Writer to  join our team.

At Essie, our funder and partnership program educates, informs, inspires, and engages donors through compelling communication and storytelling that lifts up the voices, work, and impact of Essie members. The Grant Writer is a passionate advocate for Essie’s mission and an exceptional writer who approaches the work with intention, thoughtfulness, and consistency.

Start date: July 24, 2023

Core Responsibilities

Institutional Grants Management - Keep our current funders in the know about what we’re doing at Essie and where we’re going; attract new funders to Essie through well-written, tailored, and persuasive grant materials.

• Articulate our organizational accomplishments and aspirations in grant applications and reports.
• Manage all deadlines and workflows for LOIs, grant applications, and reports including internal deadlines for collection of information from other staff ensuring on-time submission and high rate of successful funding requests.
• Maintain relationship management systems that increase our capacity to attract, develop, and maintain meaningful relationships with grant partners and philanthropists.
• Maintain all files related to grants in digital and hardcopy files, including utilizing Essie’s Salesforce instance.
• Research new funding opportunities and make recommendations. 

Who We’re Looking For

Ideal Qualifications

• 2+ years experience in grant writing with proven success.
• Track record as a collaborative team member who excels in coordinating multiple projects, and is comfortable working in a fast-paced and non-traditional work environment.
• Impeccable attention to detail and exceptional writing, editing, and verbal communication skills.
• Preference will be given for experience and familiarity writing about gender justice, race justice and mass incarceration.
• Experience with Mac operating systems, Google Suite, and MS Office Suite (especially Excel and Word).
• Commitment to the beliefs and values of Essie with a demonstrated passion for progressive politics, specifically in gender justice, race justice and ending mass incarceration.

Qualities

• A uniquely skilled, empathetic communicator. You are someone who uses your highly developed sense of empathy to tap into what motivates others to act. Because of your belief that everyone benefits from the type of future for which our membership fights, you find ways to make meaningful connections to our work for individuals who may not have had any direct experience with poverty, incarceration, or race, gender, or heteronormative bias. You hold central the humanity of funders, donors, media and other potential Essie partners, while carrying a healthy dose of awareness of the complexities of approaching philanthropy to fund and media to amplify movement work.   
• Immaculately organized in approach. You understand that coordinating multiple projects with complex data necessitates an efficient process. You feel comfortable creating and utilizing project management systems that ensure deadlines and details aren’t missed. 
• Discernment and honesty we can trust. You are a thoughtful team member who acts in alignment with your integrity and are unfailingly trustworthy.
• Committed to evolution. You are committed to continuously deepening and evolving your own understanding of systems of oppression through study, openness, and humility. And you easily recognize your own relationship to privilege and power, examining and shifting your behaviors as appropriate.
• Uplifting and additive. You see mistakes as opportunities for growth; problems as catalysts for solutions, and inspire others along the journey. You carry a positive approach, can-do attitude, a sense of humor, and authentic kindness wherever you go.

The Position

The Grant Writer is a full time salaried, exempt position. This position is supervised by the Manager of Partnerships & Narrative Strategy. The salary for this position is between $70,000-$80,000 depending on experience with full medical, dental, and vision benefits, optional 401(k), a substantial vacation package, and a monthly personal wellness stipend. The position is based in one of Essie’s offices in Oakland or Los Angeles, California. All Essie staff are required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, with limited exceptions for medical or religious reasons.

To Apply

Please address a personal, specific, and thoughtful cover letter to the “Essie Hiring Committee” and submit along with a resume through our hiring portal (https://essiejusticegroup.bamboohr.com/careers/65). Your resume tells us what you can do; your cover letter should tell us who you are and why you want to work with Essie.

Essie Justice Group provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all staff members. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and skills. Essie does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, immigration status, socioeconomic status, ancestry, age, size, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, familial status, veteran status, disability, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition, prior conviction, arrest history, traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Essie values and specifically seeks applicants who are people with incarcerated loved ones; formerly incarcerated people; people of color; women; queer, transgender, gender non-conforming (GNC) and gender fluid people.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, performance assessment, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

About Essie Justice Group

Essie Justice Group is a non profit organization of women with incarcerated loved ones taking on the rampant injustices created by mass incarceration. Our award-winning Healing to Advocacy Model brings women together to heal, build collective power, and drive social change. Essie is Great Place to Work-Certified™ and a recognized leader in Black feminist institution building.

Learn more at www.essiejusticegroup.org.