Summary
Description
Director, Grants Program
Daniels Fund
Denver, Colorado
https://talentmarket.org/job-opening/df-director/
Daniels Fund
The Daniels Fund, established by cable television pioneer Bill Daniels, is a private charitable foundation dedicated to making life better for the people of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming through its grants program, scholarship program, and ethics initiative.
The Daniels Fund strives to ensure its work reflects Bill Daniels’ written directives, values, and unmistakable style. Bill was a patriotic American who served our country in two wars. He was a capitalist who loved our free enterprise system and was well known for his generosity to people from all walks of life. Guided by his compassion, Bill transferred his $1 billion estate to form the assets of the Daniels Fund to carry forward his legacy of giving.
Since its founding, the Daniels Fund has become a permanent fixture in the communities it serves and continues to make significant and lasting impact. The Daniels Fund has been named one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Denver Business Journal and Inc. Magazine reflecting its dedication to creating an atmosphere where associates thrive, grow, and contribute in a meaningful way.
To learn more about the Daniels Fund and its impact to date, please visit: www.danielsfund.org
The Opportunity
The Director, Grants Program will serve as a pivotal leader in shaping and elevating the Daniels Fund’s grantmaking. This leader will oversee the full grantmaking lifecycle, from application and evaluation through reporting, compliance, and continuous improvement. The role carries significant responsibility for stewarding financial resources, strengthening grantee partnerships, and ensuring every aspect of the program reflects Bill Daniels’ values and donor intent. The Director will drive measurable impact and return on investment, bringing rigor, innovation, and strategic clarity to the grants function.
As the leader of a talented team of Grants Program Officers, the Director will foster collaboration, develop talent, and cultivate a culture of urgency, agility, and operational excellence. This is an opportunity for a strategic operator and natural leader to build systems that work, refine processes that elevate performance, and guide a team committed to helping people in need of a helping hand.
The Daniels Fund is one of the largest private foundations in the region and makes grants in eight funding areas: Aging, Amateur Sports, Disabilities, Drug & Alcohol Addiction, Early Childhood Education, K-12 Education Reform, Homeless & Disadvantaged, and Youth Development. Grants are made throughout Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
This unique opportunity provides high levels of autonomy, a dynamic work environment, and the chance to make life better for the people in our four-state region while honoring Bill Daniels’ incredible legacy.
This is a full-time, in-person role based in Denver, CO, reporting to the Senior Vice President, Grants Program.
The Role
To execute Bill Daniels’ donor intent, the Director, Grants Program will:
- Oversee all operational components of the grants program, including application intake, evaluation processes, reporting, approval, compliance, and special initiatives.
- Uphold and advance the Fund’s mission by ensuring that all grantmaking approaches reflect Bill Daniels’ values, integrity, principles, and his commitment to individuals in need of a helping hand.
- Develop strategy and set goals for a best-in-class grants management function in collaboration with senior leadership.
- Champion a culture of urgency, agility, and innovation to elevate grants management performance across the institution.
- Support Grants Program Officers in assessing proposals and identifying opportunities that represent the strongest potential for impact.
- Directly manage one or more grant funding areas and/or geographies.
- Prepare and deliver high-quality materials and presentations for the board of directors as needed.
- Strengthen operational rigor and efficiency through the adoption of data-informed practices, with emphasis on outcomes, measurement, and return on investment.
- Partner closely with legal and finance teams to ensure regulatory compliance, adherence to institutional policies, and strong risk management practices across all grantmaking activities.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with nonprofits and community leaders.
- Evaluate the effectiveness and impact of past grants to inform future decision-making and continuous improvement.
- Supervise and support the professional development of Grants Program Officers and the Grants Administrator.
- Represent the Daniels Fund at meetings, events, and fundraisers as a regular ambassador of the organization.
- Travel to assigned regions to gather insights, build relationships, and identify opportunities for impact, with an estimated travel requirement of 30 percent.
The Person
You are mission-oriented and values-aligned. You have a passionate commitment to Bill Daniels’ mission and values and an eagerness to incorporate his thinking into programmatic activities. You understand first-hand the importance of the foundation always adhering to Bill Daniels’ principles, style, and direction. You value and respect the Fund’s uniqueness, reputation, and impact. You are aligned with Bill Daniels’ values and stated priorities to advance his legacy.
To learn more about Bill Daniels, please visit https://www.danielsfund.org/billdaniels/values
You are a natural leader. You inspire confidence, clarity, and trust. You bring people together around shared goals and know how to motivate a team toward excellence. You lead with humility, accountability, and steadiness, and others look to you for direction during moments of complexity or change. You understand how to set expectations, develop talent, and model the values that define the Daniels Fund.
You are a strategic operator who loves building systems that work. You enjoy designing processes, strengthening organizational infrastructure, and creating clarity where complexity exists. You thrive in roles that require both big-picture thinking and practical operational execution.
You are extremely curious, entrepreneurial, and love taking on new challenges. You can pivot quickly and are not afraid to take on new tasks. You always want to understand “why.” Change does not scare you. You understand that risk-taking is part of the entrepreneurial spirit.
You are an effective planner and prioritizer. You enjoy managing and coordinating projects, especially the challenge of managing multiple projects simultaneously and projects with high levels of complexity. You are determined to achieve deadlines and adjust to changing priorities or challenges that arise.
You are results-driven and hungry to maximize impact. You have an unyielding focus on impact and are driven by a desire to achieve outcomes. You are motivated by the pursuit of long-term objectives and a focus on metrics for impact. You want to make your mark on the world.
You bring unique talents to the team. You can apply skills from a variety of experiences to achieve organizational priorities. You might not have any history working at a foundation or nonprofit.
You are fun to work with. You love coming to work and it shows. Being around your colleagues at work energizes you. You understand that doing mission-driven work is an incredible gift.
There is no explicit requirement for years of experience. We are looking for the right person to grow within our foundation and team.
Compensation and Benefits
The total compensation for this position will be in the range of $185,000 – $225,000 and is commensurate with experience and qualifications. Daniels Fund offers a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, paid holidays, health, dental, vision insurance, long-term disability, life insurance, a matched 401k retirement plan and a host of additional benefits.
Equal Employment Opportunity
The Daniels Fund is an equal employment opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, citizenship or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law.
