The Senior Grant Writer is responsible for developing compelling, mission-aligned proposals and reports for foundations, government agencies, donors, and partners. This is an opportunity to use your writing talent, research skills, and project management expertise to advance policies and programs that strengthen childcare for millions of families across the country. The Senior Grant Writer collaborates across departments to ensure that each funding proposal is data-informed, visionary, and aligned with CCAoA’s goals.

Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA) is the only national organization that supports every part of the child care system. In partnership with an on-the-ground network of Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) organizations, we work in states and communities to advance high-quality, affordable child care—transforming a patchwork of resources into a system that works for everyone. Together, we make America child care strong—and that makes everyone stronger. CCAoA is committed to recruiting and retaining a dynamic workforce to help build a child care system that serves all children and families. Join us in ensuring that every family has access to high-quality, affordable child care.

What We Offer: 

• Competitive starting salary commensurate with experience **The salary range reflected in this job posting is the hiring range for this position within the Washington DC Metropolitan area. Please note that a geographic differential will be applied to the salary for candidates hired from regions with a lower cost of living. This adjustment ensures competitive and equitable compensation based on location**
• Health & wellness benefit options
• A transparent professional environment where ideas are shared openly with honest discourse in a progressive atmosphere of growth & excellence
• Opportunity for growth and advancement

Job Responsibilities:

• Conduct prospect research to evaluate potential government, foundation, donor, and sponsorship opportunities using tools such as SAM, FLUXX, GrantSolutions, and Candid.
• Lead the development of grant proposals, serving as the primary writer and coordinator to ensure high-quality concepts, compelling narratives, timely submissions, and effective coordination of technical, cost, staffing, and operational inputs across the organization.
• Recommend funding opportunities and implement strategies to secure new and renewed support while contributing to annual revenue targets.
• Maintain accurate records of grant timelines, partnership details, and reporting requirements using systems such as HubSpot, Asana, and SharePoint.
• Coordinate timely, high-quality submission of reports and ensure compliance with funder requirements.
• Ensure all proposals and reports align with CCAoA’s monitoring and evaluation frameworks and include clear, measurable outcomes.
• Collaborate with program directors, subject matter experts, and executive leadership to align fundraising strategies with programmatic and organizational goals.
• Review financial, organizational, and programmatic content to ensure completeness, accuracy, and compliance.
• Share grant writing best practices and provide guidance to colleagues to build internal fundraising capacity.
• Support post-submission processes, including lessons-learned reviews and strategy refinement.
• Assist with presentations, programmatic research, note-taking, and other tasks to support Development team goals.
• Provide flexible support on grant, partnership, and fundraising activities as needed to advance CCAoA’s mission and strategic priorities.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Excellent technical writing and verbal communication skills, including a high degree of professionalism and personal presence.
• Sound judgment and initiative to ensure the integrity of operations.
• Highly organized with strong time management and the ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.
• Self-directed, detail-oriented, and resourceful, with strong project management skills; experience with agile project management tools is a plus.
• Discreet and professional with the ability to handle confidential information.
• Proficient with Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word, Teams, and project management/CRM systems such as HubSpot, SharePoint, and Asana.

Job Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 3–5 years of professional experience in communications, journalism, project management, or a related field.
• Considerable knowledge of federal and foundation grantmaking and a demonstrated record of implementing effective fundraising practices.
• Proven success in identifying prospects, managing proposals, and securing funding.
• Experience in a nonprofit or mission-driven environment is highly desirable.