Engagement Description
This is a remote contract role for approximately 15–20 hours/week on average, with surge capacity around reporting deadlines. The initial contract will be 6 months with possibility for extension. The consultant can set their own schedule independently but needs to be available to coordinate with our team, the majority of which works EST hours.
Compensation
Rate: $55 - $100/hr (DOE)
What You’ll Do
DataKind is seeking a Grants Reporting & Budget Consultant to own the reporting and budget management process for our key multi-year grants. This person will serve as the connective tissue between our Finance, Product, and Technology teams, translating operational and financial progress into clear, funder-ready narratives and ensuring our budget remains aligned with organizational priorities as the work evolves.
This is a strictly internal-facing role. The consultant will not manage the funder relationship directly but will be essential to the quality and coherence of everything we communicate to our funder. Strong candidates will be comfortable working with ambiguity, coordinating across senior leaders without direct authority, and holding a high bar for written quality.
The Grants Reporting & Budget Consultant will:
Manage Grant Reporting
- Lead the end-to-end production of quarterly grant reports, coordinating input from the VP of Product, Interim CEO, Director of Finance, and VP of Technology
- Synthesize program updates, financial data, and milestone progress into a cohesive narrative that reflects organizational priorities and funder expectations
- Maintain a reporting calendar and manage internal deadlines to ensure leadership input is collected and integrated on time
- Ensure quarterly reporting meets requirements and utilizes necessary funder templates
Budget Translation & Management
- Bridge accounting outputs and grant budget tracking — providing narrative context when monthly financials show variances and ensuring finance reporting tells a complete story
- Identify budget variances and work with VPs to develop narratives and modification proposals that reflect real shifts in organizational priorities
- Maintain a living budget tracker in partnership with finance team that gives leadership a clear, real-time picture of spend against the grant
Cross-functional Coordination
- Build and maintain internal systems for collecting programmatic updates from relevant team leads on a regular cadence
- Act as a thought partner to leadership on how to frame progress, pivots, and challenges in ways that are honest and funder-appropriate
- Flag risks early — whether a reporting deadline is at risk, spend is off pace, or a program shift may require funder notification
What We're Looking For
- Demonstrated experience managing reporting and budget oversight on large, multi-year grants from private foundations
- Financially literate — comfortable reading and interrogating budget vs. actuals, proposing reallocation strategies, and translating accounting outputs into plain language
- Skilled writer — Experience working in or alongside a nonprofit, social sector organization, or mission-driven environment — you understand that funder relationships are long-term and that tone and transparency matter as much as accuracy
- Strong ability to coordinate with and work across teams without direct authority — this role requires credibility and follow-through to pull information and accountability from senior leaders
- Experience in the education, civic tech, or data-for-good space is a plus, but not required — we care more about your ability to quickly get up to speed on complex programmatic work
Application Requirements:
Interested candidates are required to provide the following:
- A resume describing relevant professional experience
- A writing sample (1–2 pages) that showcases your ability to produce high quality grant reports
- A brief note on your availability: Weekly hour capacity, scheduling constraints, billing structure, etc
DataKind is an Equal Opportunity Employer
DataKind is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. DataKind does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, disability, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected category.