Grants that create a new program often create a new job too. The position doesn't exist yet, nobody has been hired and the application still has to convince a reviewer that the work will start on time and be done well. A vague line such as "a coordinator will be hired" leaves the reviewer guessing, and leaves you with a start-up plan that falls apart in month two.
This article shows how to write a to-be-hired position so it is credible, how to build hiring time into the work plan, and what to think through before you recruit on a hope.
Describe the position, not a person
A position that is open should be described as a position. Give the reviewer the same detail you would give a strong candidate:
- Title and reporting line. Who does this person answer to?
- Duties tied to the work plan. List the activities from the grant that this role carries out.
- Required qualifications. Name the education, experience, licenses or language skills the work needs, and only those. Qualifications that are too narrow shrink your pool, and ones that are too loose raise doubts.
- Effort. State the share of a full-time workload, for example 100 percent or 50 percent, and make it match the budget.
- Where the person comes from. Say plainly that the role will be filled through a new hire, and say who does the hiring.
For federal awards, 2 CFR 200.308(f)(2) requires prior written approval for a change in key personnel, including employees and contractors, who are identified by name or position in the award. If your new role is listed by position as a key role, filling it with someone other than the person you first expected can also need approval, so read the award terms. The article on key personnel covers how to decide what to name.
Write a position description you can reuse
Write the position description before you apply, not after you win. It forces decisions you will have to make anyway, and it lets you start recruiting the day the award arrives.
A one-page description is enough: purpose of the role, main duties, required and preferred qualifications, supervisor, schedule, location and the salary range your organization would actually pay. Use your own pay scale so the new role is consistent with similar positions. Keep a copy with the application files so the budget, the staffing section and the posting all say the same thing.
Build the hiring time into the work plan
Funders read the timeline. A work plan that has the new coordinator serving participants in the first month of the award assumes the person was hired before the project began.
Base the start-up period on your own history. Look at your last few hires and count the days from posting to a signed offer and from the offer to the first day. Add whatever your organization needs for approvals, background checks or onboarding, then put that period in the work plan as its own phase:
- Award notice received and agreement signed.
- Position posted and applicants screened.
- Offer made and accepted; start date set.
- Onboarding and training.
- Service delivery begins.
A reviewer who sees a realistic start-up reads it as planning, not weakness. If the funder expects services to begin on a set date, say how you will cover the gap, for example by assigning an existing staff member to the early steps.
A worked example
Say a youth organization is applying for a grant to start a peer-mentoring program with a full-time program coordinator. The award period is 12 months. Based on its last hires, the organization estimates ten weeks from posting to the first day, plus two weeks of training.
| Weeks after award | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Agreement signed; posting goes live; existing program manager begins site agreements |
| 3–10 | Applicants screened and interviewed; offer made |
| 11–12 | Coordinator starts; training |
| 13 onward | Mentor recruitment and matching begin |
Twelve weeks is about a quarter of the year, so the organization sets its participant targets for the months after mentoring begins rather than for the full twelve. The budget pays the coordinator from week 11, about ten months, not twelve. The narrative, work plan and budget agree.
Think carefully before recruiting early
Some organizations want to post a job or make an offer before the award, so the person can start on day one. That's a business decision with real risk: if the award is smaller than expected, delayed or never made, your organization carries the salary.
Before you decide, work through these questions with your finance lead and, where employment commitments are involved, with HR or counsel:
- Who pays if the grant doesn't come? Name the source.
- Are pre-award costs allowed? Under 2 CFR 200.458, pre-award costs are allowable only if they are incurred in anticipation of the award, are necessary for timely performance, and have the written approval of the Federal agency. Under 2 CFR 200.308(g)(1), an agency may waive prior approval for costs incurred up to 90 calendar days before the award date, and all such costs are at the recipient's own risk. Check what your funder says in the notice.
- How will the offer be worded? Many organizations make any early offer contingent on funding. Ask counsel how to word it in your state.
- Can you recruit without committing? Posting the position, collecting resumes and screening can often happen before the award, without an offer. Confirm with your funder which recruiting costs it allows.
Recruiting costs have their own rule for federal awards. Under 2 CFR 200.463, costs such as help-wanted advertising are allowable to the extent they follow the recipient's standard recruitment program. Foundations and state agencies set their own terms, so read the guidelines or agreement.
Reflect the hiring plan in the budget narrative
The budget should show the salary for the months the person will actually work, the fringe benefits that go with it and any recruiting costs the funder allows. The budget justification walk-through shows how to explain personnel lines. If the position will be paid at less than 100 percent from this grant, say which other source covers the rest. Time records later have to reflect the work actually done, as 2 CFR 200.430(g) requires for federal awards.
Your next step
Write a one-page position description for the role your next grant would create. Include duties, qualifications, effort and a start-up timeline built from your last three hires. Keep it with your application materials so it is ready the next time a notice calls for a new position.
SoliContraX can help with the drafting side of a staffing section: upload the notice, approve a concept and work from a draft built from your own position descriptions and checked against what the funder asked for. Get started with SoliContraX.