Director of Grants and Federal Affairs - Education

About McAllister & Quinn

McAllister & Quinn is a federal and foundation grants consulting and government relations firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. We offer our 200+ clients a unique blend of comprehensive grant consulting, strategic advising, and government relations services. In the higher education practice, McAllister & Quinn offers federal grant and faculty development consulting to small and mid‑sized institutions of higher education. Our goal is to work collaboratively with clients to create and implement an annual grant‑seeking strategy focused on increasing and diversifying external funding.

McAllister & Quinn has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in competitive grant funding for scholarships and student support, academic programs, research, and equipment.

The Director will report directly to a Vice President within the Higher Education practice and will work with other team members across the firm’s other five core practice areas. Specific responsibilities include:

• Work directly with Higher Education Senior Leadership to research, develop, plan and execute grant seeking clients.
• Collaborate and communicate effectively with Directors and Directors at the firm to share information and learn from others.
• Deliver quality results with strong attention to detail in a fast‑paced environment with fixed deadlines.
• Manage and implement the federal and foundation grants strategy (grant matrix) for a portfolio of assigned higher education clients.
• Identify grant opportunities that align with clients’ needs, and capacity on an ongoing basis.
  • Research and monitor competitive federal and foundation grant opportunities
  • Research prior grant awardees and organization funding history
  • Liaise with Program Officers at federal agencies and foundations
  • Obtain and retain extensive working knowledge of the most client‑relevant federal grant programs across agencies such as NEH, NSF, DOED, DOJ, HRSA, IMLS, NIH, etc.
• Develop a solid professional relationship with the client point of contact at the assigned college or university. Specifically, emphasize and focus on customer service, a proactive solutions‑focused mentality, positivity, confident presentation of opportunities, and overall thoroughness with all client contacts throughout the contract relationship.
• Once the overall strategy is confirmed by leadership, coordinate with clients and the McAllister & Quinn team to project‑manage grant seeking activities, including:
  • Overseeing grant proposal development from initial concept to submission
  • Assembling proposal writing teams and manage the proposal preparation process ensuring the client and the M&Q writing team adhere to timelines and expectations
  • Providing guidance and feedback on proposals
  • Work with the McAllister & Quinn Research Analysts to identify and carefully vet local and regional foundation and federal grant opportunities for clients.
  • Develop professional relationships with federal agencies, including program officers.
  • Assist in the planning and implementation of McAllister & Quinn workshops, training webinars and on‑campus faculty development sessions.
• Occasional client‑related travel outside of Washington, D.C. or remote work location will be required, including client campus visits to carry out organizational analyses and other regular campus visits.
• Work requires multiple hours daily of phone or video communication with clients and project teams.

• Must have a four‑year baccalaureate degree
• Five years of prior work experience, special consideration will be given to professionals that have worked in an Office of Sponsored Research or as the Corporate and Foundation Relations Manager at a college/university, or as a program officer for a federal agency or private foundation
• Strong writing, organizational, and inter‑personal communication skills
• Detail‑oriented with strong project management and planning skills
• Strategic, creative, service‑oriented, and adaptive professional mindset
• Ability to simultaneously manage multiple projects while developing quarterly outlooks for future projects
• Demonstrated experience in problem‑solving and team…