Grant Writer and Grant Manager

About the role

Zenius Corporation is seeking an experienced grant professional to serve as the dedicated grant writer and grant manager for a rural county government in eastern Virginia. The county is launching its first grant program and wants one person who can find the right funding, write winning applications, and manage the awards that follow.

You will be the single point of contact for the full grant lifecycle, working with the County Administrator, department heads, and the Board of Supervisors. Today, department staff search for grants and write applications on top of their regular jobs; your work will take that load off them and help the county pursue funding it does not currently know about.

Work location and travel

• Most of the work is done remotely.
• You must be on-site at the client’s offices in eastern Virginia at least once a month, typically for the monthly Board of Supervisors meeting (held on a weekday and may run into the evening), plus department meetings and presentations as needed.
• Candidates should live within a reasonable driving distance of eastern Virginia. Those based in or near Richmond, Fredericksburg, Williamsburg, or the surrounding region are preferred.
• You must be based in the United States and able to do business in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Responsibilities

• Opportunity identification: Proactively identify and monitor federal, state, and private funding opportunities that fit county priorities such as capital projects, public safety, and community development.
• Grant writing: Write grant applications and narratives from start to finish, coordinating input from county departments.
• Budgets: Build grant budgets and budget justifications.
• Post-award administration: Administer newly awarded grants assigned by the county, including compliance, reporting, documentation, budget monitoring, and closeout.
• Audit preparation: Keep records audit-ready and support audits.
• Planning and strategy: Develop a multi-year grant plan and calendar aligned with county priorities.
• Federal systems: Help the county register and work in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, FEMA GO, and similar systems.
• Reporting: Provide written status updates and present to the County Administrator and Board of Supervisors as requested.

Required qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on grant writing, with grants you personally wrote that were awarded. You will be asked to list each award’s type, amount, funding agency, and your specific role.
• Experience with local governments (counties, cities, towns, or school divisions), ideally rural or small jurisdictions.
• Experience with federal grant programs such as USDA, FEMA, DOJ, DOT, EPA, or HUD/CDBG.
• Working knowledge of 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance) and post-award compliance and reporting.
• Comfort presenting to elected officials and working with department heads.
• Three professional references for comparable work completed within the past five years.
• Willingness to be named in our proposal and to commit exclusively to Zenius for this engagement.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with Virginia local governments or Virginia state agencies (for example DHCD, VDEM, DCJS, or VDOT).
• Grant certification such as CGMS (NGMA) or GPC (Grant Professionals Certification).
• Experience with capital projects, broadband, housing rehabilitation, public safety, waterways, or emergency management funding.

How to apply

Send your resume along with a list of three to five grants you wrote that were awarded (funding agency, amount, year, and your role), your rate expectations, and your preference for 1099 or W2.