EE Grant and Program Manager

The Grant and Program Manager is a key member of the North American Association for Environmental Education team, focusing on managing our federal and foundation grants and supporting our key programs. Reporting to the Senior Director of Capacity Building, the EE Grant and Program Manager also supports NAAEE’s partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and other key partners.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who is passionate about environmental education, strengthening partnerships, and building programs to advance excellence in the field to create a more just and sustainable future.

Reports To:    Senior Director of Capacity Building

Location:    Washington, DC Office or remote

Date:    September 2023

FLSA:    Exempt

I.   Major Functions:

Reporting to the Senior Director of Capacity Building, the Grant and Program Manager manages outreach, reporting, and communications related to ee360+—a cooperative agreement with EPA and more than 25 partner organizations focused on strengthening the field of EE; advancing professional development opportunities; and supporting justice, equity, and inclusion initiatives. This position also supports our work with the U.S. Forest Service and other key partners. Key activities include coordinating calls with partners, tracking deliverables, overseeing grant reporting, finalizing budgets, assisting with professional development activities, including “Guidelines for Excellence” training and support, and working with our communications team on outreach and communication activities with our ee360+ partners and the NAAEE network. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who is passionate about environmental education, strengthening partnerships, and building programs to advance excellence in the field to create a more just and sustainable future. This individual will also support the entire NAAEE team, bringing their own talents, passions, and expertise to our work. We prefer this position to be located in the Washington, DC area.

II. Major Responsibilities:

Key responsibilities include:

ee360+

1. Manage all aspects of the ee360+ partnership, working closely with the Senior Director of Capacity Building. This includes managing partner annual work plans, communicating with the training and dissemination partners, working with the communications team on internal and external communications, setting up and helping to facilitate calls and meetings with the partners, and providing support to partners who need help achieving their goals and grant deliverables.  
2. Manage ee360+ Reporting: Bi-annually work with the Senior Director of Capacity Building and the Executive Director to complete reports to EPA to highlight progress on all activities in ee360+.
3. Fulfill the Justice40 goals: Ensure that ee360+ partners are meeting the Justice40 goals of their programs and collecting zip codes to assess impact.
4. Budgeting: Work with our Operations Director and other team members on periodic reviews of the budget and helping create proposal budgets and bi-annual reports.
5. NAAEE Annual Conference: Assist with all ee360+ activities related to the NAAEE conference, including organizing partner sessions and more.  
6. Leadership: Support ee360+ leadership development activities, in collaboration with the Executive Director, the Senior Director of Capacity Building, and the Senior International Program Manager.
7. Outreach: Collaborate externally with partners to build support for the work of ee360+ and our partnership. Participate in external meetings as an NAAEE representative, including conferences hosted by our partner organizations. Represent NAAEE at major conferences, events, and meetings, and take part in all creative planning and staff retreats to strengthen the organization, build teamwork, and promote a culture of equity and inclusion.

Supporting Other Federal Partnerships

NAAEE has long-standing and important relationships with the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, NOAA, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. All are critical partnerships and have helped support our JEDI, conservation, research, leadership, and other activities.

1. Provide support to the Executive Director with all aspects of our partnerships with the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, and the Bureau of Land Management.
2. Assist with bi-annual reporting to all federal agencies, as needed.
3. Assist with budgeting and new proposals, as needed.

Special Projects

1. Assist with special projects, as needed, including supporting other team members and partners.
2. Assist with fundraising, as needed.

III. Supervisory Responsibility:

Possible oversight of interns.

IV.  Working Relationships:

1. Internal: Maintains regular contact with NAAEE staff to compile and disseminate information as requested. Participates in all staff calls, retreats, and internal working groups as needed.
2. External: Maintains daily contact with external partners and colleagues related to all aspects of the position.

V. Minimum Skills and Experience Required:

1. Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience (A degree in environmental education, communications, organizational management, or conservation is a plus.)
2. Experience: At least 4–6 years of environmental education experience and managing federal budgets or equivalent experience, including 2–3 years of managerial experience.
3. Skills and Abilities: Excellent organization and communication skills, including managing budgets, writing, editing, and proofreading. Must have the ability to work efficiently with flexibility, creativity, initiative, positive energy, discretion, and good humor. Ability to work independently as required and work effectively as a team member. Ability to juggle multiple projects, meet deadlines, and exercise tact and diplomacy. Position requires an individual who is culturally competent and can work with individuals representing a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives.
4. Ability and willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends as needed to support the NAAEE Annual Conference and other special events.

About NAAEE

For more than five decades, the North American Association for Environmental Education has worked to strengthen and expand the field of environmental education, with a growing network of support including:

• More than 20,000 members and supporters, including members of our Affiliate Network  
• 54 state and provincial Affiliate organizations
• More than 30 countries around the world

NAAEE’s mission is to advance environmental literacy and civic engagement using the power of education to create a more equitable and sustainable future. We support a collaborative, team-oriented, dynamic, and enjoyable work environment.  We believe that happy and fulfilled employees who are trusted to do their best will create a stronger, highly productive, and effective team contributing to the greater success of the organization and our mission.