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Ascension is seeking experienced Senior Federal Grants & Capacity Building Advisors to serve as subject matter experts supporting a Federal portfolio of discretionary and demonstration grant programs.

This is not a traditional grants-writing position. We are seeking senior professionals who understand how Federal discretionary grants are designed, competed, awarded, monitored, supported, evaluated, and improved and who can translate that experience into practical technical assistance for Federal program officials, grant recipients, and prospective applicants.

Ideal candidates will have significant experience supporting Federal grant-making organizations, grant recipients, or technical-assistance programs and will possess deep expertise in one or more areas such as:

• Federal discretionary and demonstration grants;
• Notice of Funding Opportunity development and grant competition support;
• Pre-award and post-award grants management;
• Recipient monitoring, compliance, risk assessment, and corrective action;
• Training and technical assistance;
• Organizational and community capacity building;
• Performance monitoring and program evaluation;
• Paperwork Reduction Act and OMB clearance activities;
• Federal Register and Federal grants-policy documentation;
• Grant application, eligibility, and panel-review processes; or
• Outreach and technical assistance involving rural, Tribal, Indigenous, economically distressed, or other underserved communities.

Because this position is structured as a Senior Technical Advisor pool, Ascension does not expect every consultant to be an expert in every area. We are seeking complementary advisors whose collective experience provides comprehensive coverage of the Federal grants and capacity-building requirements of the engagement.

The successful advisor will combine deep subject-matter knowledge with sound judgment, exceptional written and oral communication skills, and the ability to engage effectively with Federal executives, program staff, grant recipients, community organizations, and other stakeholders.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Senior Federal Grants & Capacity Building Advisor will provide specialized expertise to help DCDDP strengthen the performance, compliance, accountability, and long-term sustainability of discretionary and demonstration grant programs.

The advisor will support targeted technical assistance for grant recipients experiencing implementation challenges, compliance concerns, performance risks, or specialized capacity-building needs. Depending on the advisor’s area of expertise, assignments may also include support for grant portfolio reviews, recipient risk assessments, monitoring approaches, NOFO development, grant competitions, applicant assistance, policy and program guidance, PRA/OMB activities, or outreach to underserved communities.

The ideal candidate is a self-directed senior practitioner who can quickly assess an unfamiliar situation, identify the underlying problem or risk, develop practical recommendations, and communicate those recommendations in a manner appropriate for both Federal program officials and grant recipients.

The advisor must be comfortable operating in an environment in which requirements may evolve as new discretionary or demonstration programs are authorized or emerging recipient needs are identified. The individual should be skilled at managing competing priorities, working independently with limited direction, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, anticipating potential implementation or compliance problems, and developing solutions before those problems affect program performance.

This position is particularly important because the Senior Technical Advisor pool provides the specialized grants-management and community-capacity expertise needed to complement the broader program management, analytics, communications, and training capabilities of the project team.

Primary Areas of Support

Assignments may support one or more of the following areas:

Targeted Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

Provide specialized assistance to grant recipients experiencing programmatic, operational, implementation, compliance, or performance challenges.

Assist in determining appropriate interventions for recipients identified as high-risk or requiring focused support.

Recommend practical capacity-building strategies that strengthen recipient organizations and improve program sustainability.

Federal Grants Monitoring and Risk Management

Support grant portfolio reviews and risk-based monitoring activities.

Analyze programmatic, performance, financial, and compliance information to identify emerging risks.

Recommend monitoring priorities, technical-assistance interventions, corrective actions, and follow-up activities.

Annual Grant Competition Support

Provide subject-matter expertise during the planning, development, revision, launch, and closeout of Federal grant competitions.

Support NOFO development, application-assistance activities, eligibility reviews, reviewer or panel-manager activities, and technical analysis of applications.

Policy and Federal Grants Administration

Provide expert analysis and recommendations regarding Federal grants policies, program guidance, and administrative requirements.

Support development or review of grant-related guidance, memoranda, Federal Register materials, OMB clearance documentation, and other program documents.

Outreach and Capacity Building for Underserved Communities

Advise on strategies for improving access to Federal funding opportunities among rural, Tribal, Indigenous, economically distressed, and historically underserved communities.

Identify barriers to participation and recommend practical approaches for improving outreach, applicant readiness, and organizational capacity.

Anticipated Day-to-Day / Assignment Activities

The Senior Federal Grants & Capacity Building Advisor will:

• ADVISE Federal program leadership and project staff on discretionary and demonstration grant policies, practices, risks, and program-management issues.
• ASSESS recipient organizational capacity, program performance, implementation challenges, compliance concerns, and technical-assistance needs.
• ANALYZE program, recipient, application, monitoring, and performance information to identify trends, risks, root causes, and opportunities for improvement.
• DEVELOP tailored technical-assistance strategies and recommendations responsive to individual recipient needs.
• DELIVER one-on-one technical assistance, coaching, consultation, workshops, webinars, roundtables, peer-learning sessions, or other capacity-building engagements.
• DESIGN tools, templates, guidance documents, checklists, technical-assistance materials, job aids, and other resources that help recipients successfully administer Federal awards.
• SUPPORT standardized approaches for identifying recipients requiring assistance, matching specialized advisors to recipient needs, documenting interventions, and tracking results.
• REVIEW grant portfolios and contribute subject-matter expertise to risk-based monitoring and oversight decisions.
• EVALUATE recipient progress and recommend follow-up activities, corrective actions, additional technical assistance, or monitoring.
• SUPPORT development and review of Notices of Funding Opportunity, forecasts, synopses, briefing materials, memoranda, and related grant-competition documentation.
• REVIEW grant applications, eligibility information, technical-assistance needs, reviewer materials, or panel documentation when assigned.
• ADVISE on Federal grant competition processes, panel-review practices, applicant assistance, and grant-recipient communications.
• SUPPORT development or review of PRA packages, OMB clearance documentation, Federal Register notices, questionnaires, and other data-collection instruments when within the advisor’s specialty.
• CONTRIBUTE to policy documents, Dear Colleague Letters, Information Memoranda, Action Transmittals, program guidance, recipient notifications, and related grants-administration materials.
• DEVELOP strategies for expanding participation in Federal grant programs among rural, Tribal, Indigenous, low-income, economically distressed, and other underserved communities.
• IDENTIFY systemic barriers affecting prospective applicants or grant recipients and recommend practical program or process improvements.
• FACILITATE meetings, interviews, focus groups, workshops, technical discussions, and stakeholder-engagement sessions.
• SYNTHESIZE complex Federal grants requirements, program information, performance findings, and stakeholder input into actionable recommendations.
• PREPARE concise written assessments, briefing materials, recommendations, technical memoranda, meeting products, and other assigned deliverables.
• COLLABORATE with Program Specialists, analysts, communications personnel, project management staff, and other Senior Technical Advisors.
• COORDINATE with Federal program officials and, when applicable, Government-approved grants-management system providers to address recipient or programmatic issues.
• MAINTAIN accurate documentation of technical-assistance activities, recommendations, follow-up actions, and outcomes.
• PROTECT sensitive Government, recipient, applicant, program, and personally identifiable information in accordance with applicable HHS/ACF requirements.
• TRAVEL to grant-recipient locations within the United States or U.S. territories when approved and required for monitoring, technical assistance, outreach, or program support.