Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

ASCENSION is seeking an experienced Grants Management Subject Matter Expert — Level III to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Grant Programs Directorate in administering complex federal grant programs throughout the complete award lifecycle.

The ideal candidate understands how federal grant programs move from initial program design and funding opportunity development through application review, award processing, recipient monitoring, amendments, audit response, and closeout. This individual brings the judgment to interpret grant requirements, identify program and compliance risks, develop practical solutions, and produce accurate work products for Government review and approval.

Position Summary

The Grants Management SME — Level III provides senior functional expertise across FEMA’s grant portfolio and supporting program offices. The individual supports new grant-program planning, pre-award and post-award administration, application and technical review, recipient assistance, monitoring, award amendments, audit response, closeout, process improvement, and policy implementation.

The SME works with FEMA program officials, financial personnel, grants management staff, analysts, and other stakeholders to resolve complex grant-administration matters and maintain accurate, timely, and compliant program operations. Work products may include program-planning materials, milestone trackers, award documentation, technical analyses, monitoring reports, risk registers, recipient correspondence, audit responses, policies, standard operating procedures, briefing materials, and closeout trackers.

The position also provides specialized support for FEMA’s Fire Prevention and Safety Research and Development award lifecycle and may assist with establishing application criteria, performing technical analysis, and supporting applicants or recipients.

The BPA’s primary place of performance is FEMA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Work not requiring an onsite presence may be performed through approved telework or at an authorized contractor facility. The work schedule generally aligns with Government operating hours, and travel may occasionally be identified at the individual order level.

Key Responsibilities

• Advise FEMA program offices on the planning, development, coordination, implementation, and administration of new and existing federal grant programs.
• Develop plans of action, milestone schedules, risk registers, implementation tools, and status trackers that provide leadership with timely visibility into program progress and potential delays.
• Draft and revise pre-award and post-award grant documentation for Government review, approval, and issuance.
• Prepare briefing materials, executive summaries, decision memoranda, presentations, talking points, and program rollout materials for internal and external audiences.
• Design program-evaluation documentation, including logic models, performance measures, data-collection instruments, risk frameworks, and evaluation plans.
• Establish application criteria, review standards, scoring tools, technical-review instructions, and supporting documentation for competitive or discretionary grant programs.
• Analyze grant applications for completeness, eligibility, technical merit, program alignment, risk, and compliance with established evaluation criteria.
• Support application-review activities by coordinating review logistics, tracking applications, maintaining evaluation records, preparing review packages, and monitoring review progress.
• Provide technical and programmatic assistance to applicants, recipients, and FEMA stakeholders concerning grant requirements, application expectations, award conditions, and corrective actions.
• Review award materials for accuracy, consistency, completeness, and alignment with approved program requirements before final Government review.
• Evaluate recipient and program performance using established metrics, award terms, financial information, monitoring results, and other available evidence.
• Conduct programmatic and financial monitoring activities, including review of recipient submissions, identification of compliance concerns, documentation of findings, and development of recommended corrective actions.
• Draft monitoring correspondence, technical-assistance materials, approval or denial letters, action memoranda, reports, and recipient notifications for Government approval.
• Assess requests for award amendments, extensions, budget revisions, changes in scope, and other post-award actions.
• Manage grant closeout activities by reviewing files, identifying missing documentation, tracking outstanding actions, preparing correspondence, and supporting timely administrative and financial closure.
• Research and interpret applicable statutes, regulations, Uniform Guidance requirements, FEMA policies, program guidance, Notices of Funding Opportunity, and award terms and conditions.
• Prepare draft responses and supporting documentation for Government Accountability Office, Office of Inspector General, internal-control, and other audit or oversight requests.
• Identify recurring compliance issues, process bottlenecks, control weaknesses, and opportunities to improve grant-program administration.
• Develop and update policies, standard operating procedures, desk guides, templates, checklists, process maps, and quality-control tools.
• Facilitate meetings, technical discussions, working sessions, and decision reviews involving Government personnel and program stakeholders.
• Coordinate with program, financial, legal, policy, data, audit, and administrative personnel to resolve cross-functional grant-management issues.
• Maintain complete, organized, accurate, and audit-ready grant records in approved Government systems and repositories.
• Perform quality reviews of grant documentation to verify accuracy, consistency, traceability, accessibility, and compliance before submission.
• Track assignments, decisions, risks, findings, corrective actions, deadlines, and deliverables through completion.
• Communicate emerging risks, delayed actions, unresolved recipient issues, and potential compliance concerns to project leadership promptly.