What does a grant officer do?
Grant officer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real grant officer resumes:
- Organize and manage PowerPoint presentations used for business development and site visits.
- Ensure compliance with AECOM policies and procedures and USAID regulations.
- Track and ensure the implementation of DAI payment and procurement in compliance with USAID regulations.
- Provide oversight and management of pre-award and post-award grant and contract administration for non-profit community outreach organization.
- Work with BIA, I.H.S., EPA, HUD, and NAHSDA awards.
- Propose adjusting entries to correct variances so that all PeopleSoft expense accounts would be correctly state.
- Maintain FTA incidental approval request and approval letters.
Grant officer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Grant Officers are proficient in Federal Regulations, Financial Reports, and Grants Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Speaking skills, Problem-solving skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Grant Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Federal Regulations, 11%
Guaranteed compliance with federal regulations and university guidelines for academic research grants and contracts by aiding with application procedures.
- Financial Reports, 10%
Monitored spending progress and prepared financial reports to ensure funded programs are in compliance with related grant agreements and contracts.
- Grants Management, 8%
Researched and implemented new grants management system.
- Cooperative Agreements, 8%
Assist in developing program announcements for various grant and cooperative agreement programs.
- Intellectual Property, 7%
Negotiated provisions such as intellectual property, confidentiality, publication, scope of work, governing law, and payment terms.
- NSF, 6%
Advised and assisted NSF staff on the fiscal and managerial responsibility of institutions seeking NSF funding.
Common skills that a grant officer uses to do their job include "federal regulations," "financial reports," and "grants management." You can find details on the most important grant officer responsibilities below.
Speaking skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a grant officer to have is speaking skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "public relations and fundraising managers regularly speak on behalf of their organization." Grant officers often use speaking skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "prepared monthly financial reports for four types of head start programming, presented to policy council. "
Problem-solving skills. Many grant officer duties rely on problem-solving skills. "managers sometimes must explain how the company or client is handling sensitive issues," so a grant officer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways grant officer responsibilities rely on problem-solving skills: "resolved disputes and make final disposition of audit findings, which can result in refunds of program dollars for reallocation. "
Writing skills. grant officers are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to grant officer responsibilities, because "managers must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases and speeches." A grant officer resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "supervised proposal writing teams and authored proposal content for the usg projects in iraq"
Organizational skills. grant officer responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "public relations and fundraising managers are often in charge of running several events at the same time, requiring superior organizational skills." This resume example shows what grant officers do with organizational skills on a typical day: "assist with planning and oversight activities extended across 8-12 different organizational units in the department. "
Leadership skills. Another crucial skill for a grant officer to carry out their responsibilities is "leadership skills." A big part of what grant officers relies on this skill, since "public relations and fundraising managers often lead large teams of specialists or fundraisers and must be able to guide their activities." How this skill relates to grant officer duties can be seen in an example from a grant officer resume snippet: "provide data analysis, such as variances and trends, to support senior leadership in strategic planning. "
Communication skills. While "communication skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to grant officer responsibilities. Much of what a grant officer does relies on this skill, seeing as "managers deal with the public regularly; therefore, they must be friendly enough to build a rapport with, and receive cooperation from, their media contacts and donors." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of grant officers: "act as liaison between students, staff, and artistic faculty to coordinate registration, communication, and program development. "
The three companies that hire the most grant officers are:
- FHI 3603 grant officers jobs
- University of Southern California3 grant officers jobs
- Children's Hospital Colorado2 grant officers jobs
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Compare different grant officers
Grant officer vs. Community relations director
A community relations director is an individual who is responsible for managing positive relationships with community members, nonprofit organizations, and fellow employees surrounding an organization. Community relations directors must plan, organize, and manage activities to help the organization achieve its public relations goal. They need to interface with vital community groups so that they can ensure the organization is producing effective results. Community relations managers must also assist in preparing a variety of publicity materials such as speeches and media content.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, grant officer responsibilities require skills like "federal regulations," "financial reports," "grants management," and "cooperative agreements." Meanwhile a typical community relations director has skills in areas such as "community relations," "community events," "memory care," and "business development." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Community relations directors really shine in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $87,495. Comparatively, grant officers tend to make the most money in the non profits industry with an average salary of $73,693.The education levels that community relations directors earn slightly differ from grant officers. In particular, community relations directors are 11.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a grant officer. Additionally, they're 3.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Grant officer vs. Social media director
Social Media Directors are responsible for the promotion of an organization's brand, services, and products through social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. They are responsible for implementing a social media strategy, tracking social media presence, keeping abreast of social media trends, and adopting new social media channels. Other duties include measuring Twitter activity, analyzing traffic patterns, assessing Facebook comments, and inspecting reception levels of social media messages. They contribute to creating progress reports, providing feedback to management, and contributing to strategy improvements.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real grant officer resumes. While grant officer responsibilities can utilize skills like "federal regulations," "financial reports," "grants management," and "cooperative agreements," social media directors use skills like "facebook insights," "instagram," "twitter," and "social media marketing."
Social media directors earn a higher average salary than grant officers. But social media directors earn the highest pay in the internet industry, with an average salary of $86,810. Additionally, grant officers earn the highest salaries in the non profits with average pay of $73,693 annually.In general, social media directors achieve lower levels of education than grant officers. They're 16.7% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 3.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Grant officer vs. Public relations director
A public relations director is an individual who is employed to design and implement marketing strategies that can cultivate the relationship between a company and the media. Public relations directors collaborate with the internal team to boost brand awareness and maximize brand consistency in all advertising efforts. They must arrange interviews and press releases so that they can promote their company and its products or services. They also maintain relationships with the media and should manage sensitive issues to maintain the company's good reputation.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a grant officer is likely to be skilled in "federal regulations," "financial reports," "grants management," and "cooperative agreements," while a typical public relations director is skilled in "web content," "pr campaigns," "facebook," and "crisis communications."
Public relations directors earn the highest salary when working in the internet industry, where they receive an average salary of $114,632. Comparatively, grant officers have the highest earning potential in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $73,693.Most public relations directors achieve a lower degree level compared to grant officers. For example, they're 14.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Grant officer vs. Public relations manager
A public relations manager is responsible for monitoring the public relations department to boost its brand image and attract potential clients through press releases and media coverage. They work closely with the marketing team, developing marketing campaigns and promotional strategies for creating brand awareness. Public relations managers maintain the company's presence on various social media platforms, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns regarding the company's goods and services. A public relations manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially in identifying business opportunities to increase revenues and profitability.
Types of grant officer
Updated January 8, 2025
