Senior Grant Writer / Grant Development Specialist
Apex Applied Technology, LLC (AATech)
Location: Arizona / Remote or Hybrid
Position Type: Full-Time or Contract, depending on qualifications
Apex Applied Technology, LLC (AATech) is an Arizona-based engineering, technical assistance, and professional consulting firm serving Tribal Nations, rural communities, nonprofit organizations, agricultural producers, local governments, and other underserved communities.
Since 2010, AATech has supported federally funded projects involving water and wastewater infrastructure, agriculture and food systems, economic and community development, climate resilience, renewable energy, workforce development, and technical assistance.
AATech is seeking an experienced Senior Grant Writer / Grant Development Specialist who can independently lead the development of complex, competitive grant applications with minimal supervision.
This position requires more than strong writing skills. The successful candidate must be able to review and interpret funding opportunities, develop grant strategies, identify information gaps, conduct research, coordinate with clients and technical staff, develop project work plans and measurable outcomes, and produce comprehensive, submission-ready applications.
We are looking for someone who is independent but highly collaborative, confident but open-minded, and experienced but willing to listen, learn, and adapt.
Key Responsibilities
- Review NOFOs, RFAs, and other funding announcements.
- Determine eligibility, application requirements, scoring criteria, deadlines, and documentation needs.
- Develop grant strategies, application checklists, schedules, and information requests.
- Independently prepare complete grant applications, including:
- Project narratives
- Statements of need
- Goals and objectives
- Work plans and scopes of work
- Tasks, milestones, and deliverables
- Performance measures and outcomes
- Community engagement strategies
- Organizational capacity sections
- Sustainability and evaluation plans
- Budget narratives and justifications
- Conduct research using credible federal, state, Tribal, academic, and other authoritative sources.
- Help transform broad client ideas into clearly defined and fundable projects.
- Identify weaknesses or missing information and recommend solutions.
- Coordinate with project managers, engineers, clients, partners, and subject matter experts.
- Ensure consistency among narratives, budgets, schedules, and supporting documents.
- Track forms, attachments, letters of support, certifications, and other application requirements.
- Conduct quality-control and compliance reviews before submission.
- Deliver polished, substantially submission-ready applications for final management review.
Expected Level of Independence
This is a senior-level position.
After receiving a funding opportunity, project concept, and relevant background information, the successful candidate should be able to independently:
- Interpret the funding opportunity and application requirements;
- Develop the application strategy and structure;
- Identify missing information and documentation;
- Conduct necessary research;
- Develop goals, objectives, activities, outcomes, and performance measures;
- Draft comprehensive application narratives;
- Coordinate input from clients, partners, and technical staff;
- Identify application weaknesses and recommend improvements; and
- Produce a substantially complete, submission-ready application.
The candidate should know what questions to ask, what information is missing, and what needs to happen next without waiting for detailed instructions.
Collaboration and Teamwork
AATech places a high value on teamwork.
The successful candidate must be:
- Open-minded and willing to consider different perspectives and approaches.
- A strong team player who enjoys working collaboratively.
- Respectful of clients, community members, technical professionals, and colleagues.
- Comfortable receiving constructive feedback and revising work when needed.
- Able to balance independent judgment with collaborative decision-making.
- Flexible when project direction or funding requirements change.
- Proactive in communicating questions, concerns, risks, and ideas.
- Willing to support other team members when deadlines require additional help.
- Focused on producing the best overall project and team result.
We are looking for someone who can take ownership of an application without taking ownership away from the team.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in environmental science, civil engineering, plant science, agricultural engineering, ag econ, public policy, or a related field required. Advanced degree is preferred.
- Minimum 5–7 years of professional grant writing or grant development experience.
- Demonstrated experience independently developing complex federal or state grant applications.
- Strong knowledge of NOFO/RFA requirements, evaluation criteria, work plans, budgets, performance measures, and supporting documentation.
- Excellent writing, editing, research, analytical, and organizational skills.
- Ability to manage multiple applications and competing deadlines.
- Strong attention to detail.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
- Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with a multidisciplinary team.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with one or more of the following is highly desirable:
- USDA
- EPA
- Bureau of Reclamation
- Department of the Interior
- Economic Development Administration
- Department of Energy
- Tribal and Native American programs
- Rural community development
- Water and wastewater infrastructure
- Agriculture and food systems
- Climate resilience and environmental justice
- Renewable energy
- Economic development
- Workforce development
- Technical assistance and capacity building
Experience developing complex federal applications and working with Tribal Nations, rural communities, nonprofit organizations, and historically underserved populations is strongly preferred.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate:
- Can take a funding opportunity and project concept and determine how to build the application.
- Does not require detailed instructions for every section.
- Understands the difference between good writing and competitive grant development.
- Knows how to ask clients and technical staff the right questions.
- Can identify weaknesses in a project and recommend solutions.
- Can translate technical information into clear, persuasive narratives.
- Takes ownership of deadlines and deliverables.
- Communicates proactively and works well under pressure.
- Is flexible, open-minded, collaborative, and solution-oriented.
- Produces high-quality work that requires limited editing by senior management.
Pay: $55,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
