Job Description

Abstract/Summary

The State and Federal Grants Manager plays a critical role in aligning grant funding with district and school priorities by working in close collaboration with educational, finance, and HR teams. This position supports the full lifecycle of grants—from staying abreast of opportunities and writing applications to managing budgets, ensuring compliance, and maintaining audit-ready documentation. The role emphasizes a partnership-based approach, supporting school teams in continuous improvement efforts (e.g., MICIP) and stakeholder engagement requirements. With strong systems thinking, attention to detail, and a collaborative spirit, the Grants Manager helps ensure that grant-funded programs are impactful, compliant, and responsive to student and school needs.

WHO WE ARE

Cornerstone Education Group is a non-profit organization that manages the Cornerstone Charter School network in Detroit, serving the community for nearly 30 years. Our Mission is to prepare our students to live a Complete Life through an excellent education, a foundation of strong character, meaningful relationships, and real-world experiences for career and/or college. We need further to encourage our broad and beloved Cornerstone community to live the Complete Life as well. We seek to hire top talent to help us fulfill this great mission.

THE CORNERSTONE FAMILY

Our faculty, staff, parents and students are all part of the Cornerstone family. We work hard together to help each other succeed. If you want to work alongside a group of people who are passionate about what they do, the city in which they do it, and the families they serve, then Cornerstone is the right place for you.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL DO  (R esponsibilities)

• Support and maintain the management of State and Federal grant program and budget requirements (e.g., Title, 31a)
• Support and maintain the management of MICIP continuous improvement process and documentation requirements
• Support and maintain the completion of grant-related required documents: Parent Compact, Family Engagement Plan, Family Involvement Policy, Title Plan, Stakeholder Engagement
• Support and maintain the Epicenter requirements
• Across all areas, close collaboration with Finance, HR, and Educational Programming teams to ensure alignment

1. Grant Identification and Application

• Stay abreast of and tracking grant opportunities and notifications shared by Michigan Department of Education.
• Coordinate and/or write grant applications in collaboration with school and district staff.
• Align grant personnel requirements with HR and Finance - e.g., paras included in the grant budgets meet the state requirements for “highly-qualified para”
• Support the alignment of grant funding sources and school/district priorities, including the improvement plans.
• Input and submit grants in appropriate state systems (e.g., NexSys, GEMS/MARS) within grant submission deadlines.

2. Compliance and Reporting

• Assist in interpreting federal and state regulations to ensure proper use of grant funds.
• Prepare and submit required grant-related reports and updates (e.g., interim/end-of-term reports) in alignment with timelines and with guidance from educational and finance leadership.
• Support compliance with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and other relevant laws.
• Support compliance with federal, state, and local requirements for education grants, including Title and 31a.
• Support compliance for Michigan Integrated Continuous Improvement Process (MICIP) process and reporting requirements.
• Prepare and maintain accurate documentation for audits and monitoring visits.

3.  Budget Monitoring / Management

• Support the process to develop grant programs and budgets, in conjunction with school and district leadership teams.
• Reconcile grants at least monthly, in conjunction with the finance and HR teams.
• Monitor expenditures to ensure funds are used appropriately and within timelines.

4. School and District Improvement Planning

• Collaboratively work with school and district leaders to capture and input the development, implementation, and monitoring of the MICIP continuous improvement plan.
• Collaborate with staff and administration to integrate grant objectives into the School Improvement Plan.

5. Program Management, Documentation, and Record-Keeping

• Coordinate the identification of students eligible for state and federally funded programs (e.g., Title programs, 31a services)
• Support the implementation of grant-funded programs (e.g., tutoring, family engagement).
• Gather data from established school and district sources to justify continued funding or inform improvements.
• Facilitate and manage the annual completion of Program Evaluation and Comprehensive Needs Assessment for each school and district.
• Assist in ensuring district and school priorities are reflected in School Improvement Plans, and monitored regularly.
• Prepare and ensure completion of detailed documentation of time and effort documentation, such as activity trackers, semi-annual certifications, and personnel activity reports (PARs).
• Prepare, maintain and ensure completion of additional grant-related documentation as required by each grant - including, but not limited to, MICIP, Program Evaluation, Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA), Parent-School Compact, Family Involvement Plan, Title I Schoolwide Plan, Family Involvement Policy, and Stakeholder Feedback (surveys, sign-in sheets, etc.)
• Maintain detailed documentation of grant-related discussions, such as meeting minutes and sign-in sheets.
• Maintain organized shared folders with district and school-level grant-related documents (as shared above), ensuring audit-readiness with organized, accessible records.
• Support and manage the use of Epicenter as a tool to maintain and track documents and communication.
• Work with district leaders to develop terms for supplemental pay contracts; create and monitor the grant-funded supplemental pay contracts.

6 . Training and Technical Assistance

• Assist in providing training or guidance to staff on grants, grant requirements and allowable activities.
• Maintain current knowledge of best practices, trends and new developments in the provision of Title and 31a and any other categorical grants and supplemental instructional services

7. Stakeholder Communication

• Support, manage and implement, in collaboration with district and school leadership, stakeholder engagement (staff, student, parent, community) as required by each grant (e.g., Fall Title Meeting, parent/staff/student surveys)
• Collaborate with school leaders on grant-related applications, budgets, programming, evaluation.
• Share updates on funding opportunities, application status, and program impacts.

HERE’S WHAT EVERYONE AT CORNERSTONE DOES

• the ability to prioritize student-learning needs over the customs, routines, and established relationships that can stand in the way of necessary change;
• the strong desire to achieve outstanding results in a short amount of time;
• the ability to motivate others and influence their behaviors;
• the power to stay visibly focused and self-assured;
• the talent to foster collective responsibility and ownership for greater student achievement;
• the aptitude to sustain an effective system of shared leadership and responsibility throughout Cornerstone;

HERE’S WHY WE’LL LOVE YOU

Required Qualifications / skills

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Quantitative or analytical-oriented work experience
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational and documentation skills.
• Ability to use Google Docs, Google Forms and Google Sheets fluently to input/track data in an efficient way, analyze trends, create basic reports, work between multiple documents.
• Partnership mindset/approach in collaboration with district and school teams

Preferred Qualifications / skills

• Familiarity with K-12 school-based state and federal education grant programs and/or requirements (e.g., ESSA, Title, MICIP)
• Experience with K-12 school programs
• Ability to facilitate collaborative planning and engage diverse stakeholders.

HERE’S WHY YOU’LL LOVE US

For fulltime colleagues, we are proud to offer a competitive compensation and benefits package commensurate with experience and subject to plan eligibility.

• Medical, Dental and Vision Coverage
• Retirement Savings Plan with Employer Match
• Paid Time-Off
• Short- and Long-Term Disability
• Flexible Care Spending Account
• Dependent Care Spending Account
• Group Life Insurance
• Optional Income Protection Plans
• We operate a positive and supportive working environment
• We foster and encourage innovation in student education and career development
• We facilitate professional development and other faculty and staff experiences
• We provide opportunities to engage in the Partner Program, Career Pathways and other sponsored Cornerstone community programs

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by an employee in this position and the qualifications needed. The job description should not be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties that may be performed by a person so classified and should not be taken as a comprehensive list of all qualifications that may be required. Cornerstone Education Group is an equal-opportunity employer.

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