Careers

Government Relations Director & Grant Writer

Pajama Program is committed to building a culturally diverse team and strongly encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

Organization Overview

Pajama Program, a national nonprofit, is dedicated to promoting equitable access to healthy sleep so all children can thrive. Getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis is not a given for all children. Challenges – including low family income, housing insecurity, and family instability – prevent many children from getting the sleep they need. This can have a lasting, negative effect on children’s health, social and emotional well-being, and school performance. At Pajama Program, we believe that sleep is a social justice issue.

We empower children facing adversity to have Good Nights for Good Days. Through our programs and services, we distribute new pajamas and books via thousands of Community Partners; coordinate donations through a network of volunteer Chapter Presidents; host children at our Centers in New York City, Atlanta, and metro-Detroit; and provide sleep health education to foster lasting positive outcomes for the children we aim to support.

About The Role

The Government Relations Director & Grant Writer will report directly to the Chief Advancement Officer. The Director is responsible for cultivating (1) government relationships at the local and state levels in New York to position Pajama Program well for government funding and (2) relationships with private and public foundations. The Director also will serve as the lead development team member on grant strategy and implementation. Responsibilities include all aspects of public and private grant research and development from prospecting and identification to writing and submitting proposals/LOIs. Additionally, the Director will co-manage funded grants with the Development team and lead on their reporting. The Director will be responsible for raising $500,000 in government funding and working directly with other development staff and the Chief Program Officer to raise an additional $400,000 in public and private foundation funds.

About you: you have experience building relationships with funders in the private sector and with local government and have secured public granting sources. You are an enthusiastic storyteller who is passionate about children and amplifying a mission through grant writing and relationship building. You love being creative with proposals while being strategic. You know when to take a risk and reach for the stars for a lifetime grant opportunity, but also know how to manage your time and build a grant portfolio that wins awards with a range of revenue.

This position reports to the Chief Advancement Officer and is a hybrid role (expected to work from our midtown office location once per week and on occasion, as needed)

Essential Functions & Responsibilities:

Revenue Generation

Prospect and build a well-organized portfolio of grant funder opportunities, prioritized by submission date, likelihood and giving amount
Lead on grant funding strategy to build portfolio and manage opportunities to reach our grant funded revenue goals ($900,000)
Draft and submit grant proposals (including supporting documents based on the funding requirements of the organization)
Work with program, finance and development staff to manage funded grants and deliver reporting accurately and on time
Work directly with development staff to maintain positive relationships with funders and other stakeholders (i.e. corporate foundations where we have a corporate relationship as well)
Maintain records in Salesforce and submit reports related to grant opportunities to the DevComm team and Board, when needed.

Partnerships

Identify programs and projects eligible for foundation and/or public funding and keep staff informed of ongoing funding opportunities and timelines.
Manage public funding efforts. Attend meetings as necessary to represent Pajama Program when grant interests are involved (e.g., City Council, NYC/NY State partner event, other local press events)
Advocate for funding approval and increased public funding on all levels: local, regional, and national.

Skills & Qualifications:

Excellent knowledge of proposal submission and fundraising process
Experience building relationships with funders: both public and private
Ability to study and understand programs and funding requirements of the organization
Strong research skills and knowledge of information sources
Ability to handle confidential matters with utmost integrity
Detail-oriented approach to work with strong organizational skills
Ability to work both independently without close oversight, but also function as a team player who will take initiative and manage multiple tasks and projects concurrently
Personal commitment to, understanding of, and enthusiasm for Pajama Program’s mission and vision
You are legally authorized to work in the United States by the first day of employment

Salary and Benefits

Salary range $80,000 – $90,000 based on experience.
Generous time off: floating holidays, vacation, sick, summer Fridays, + other soft closes
Hybrid/flexible work accommodations: expectation to be in NYC office once per week
Medical insurance provided, 403(b) plan offered for employee contribution, and other benefits

Applicants should apply via Lin kedIn.

Or email a cover letter, which describes the candidate’s fit with the job description, and resume to jobs@pajamaprogram.org. No telephone inquiries, please.

Director of Family Resource Programs

Pajama Program is committed to building a culturally diverse team and strongly encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply. 

Organization Overview

Pajama Program, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is dedicated to promoting equitable access to healthy sleep so all children can thrive. Getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis is not a given for all children. Challenges – including low family income, housing insecurity, and family instability – prevent many children from getting the sleep they need. This can have a lasting, negative effect on children’s health, social and emotional well-being, and school performance. At Pajama Program, we believe that sleep is a social justice issue.

About Our Programs

Our research-based programs at Pajama Program promote awareness about and strategies to support healthy sleep for all children. We have two major types of programs:

Education Programs

Professional development for PreK and 3K teachers centered around a two-week healthy sleep curriculum (for partners in Head Start agencies or Title 1 schools)

Direct to student workshops for children in grades K-2

Family Resource Programs

Professional development for staff members who support parents and caregivers (family engagement staff, case managers, social workers, or foster care staff)

Workshops intended to reach parents directly across a variety of community settings (public schools, human service providers, community-based organizations, and foster care agencies)

About The Role

The Director of Family Resource Programs, reporting to the Chief Program Officer, is a strategic leader on the program team who will spearhead the development and scaling of our Family Resource Programs including sleep health workshops, family engagement staff professional development sessions, and our newest program, Fostering Sleep, aimed at supporting foster caregivers and agency staff.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience designing and running programs that support adults and parents, preferably with a background in case-management, social work and/or experience in foster care settings. They’re a dynamic leader who is passionate about program design and scaling programs to reach more families, especially in the New York City area. A strong project manager, they can balance day-to-day management of content and programs while simultaneously focusing on big picture relationship building and stakeholder engagement. Having a strong network with stakeholders in foster care, or other human service providers/social welfare is preferred.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

The Director of Family Resource Programs will divide their time between three key objectives to:

Reach more families, especially in NYC, scaling our family engagement staff professional development series, our newest program Fostering Sleep, and an array of community/student/parent workshops

Deepen Pajama Program’s connection to communities throughout the five boroughs

Oversee programmatic design and quality content development for key family-facing programs

Reach more families, especially in NYC, through the expansion of our family engagement staff professional development series and community/student/parent workshops 

Design a strategic plan to scale key family-facing programs across NYC. Systematically build and nurture new partnerships with early childhood providers, public schools, human service providers, community centers, city/state/federal agencies, and any other community partners doing work that supports child and family welfare

Support national expansion of family resource programs, identifying national partners in Detroit, Atlanta, and other markets as needed

Deepen Pajama Program’s connection to communities throughout the five boroughs

Represent Pajama Program at community engagement events, building deeper relationships across programmatic partners and other key stakeholders, in partnership with the Development team

Build and maintain strong relationships with city agencies including the NYC Department of Education (NYCDOE, Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), Department of Homeless Services (DHS), the NYC Department Of Health and Mental Hygiene, and any other applicable agencies

Oversee programmatic design for key community workshops, family engagement staff professional development series, and Fostering Sleep

Evaluate opportunities for yearly programmatic updates to the content of family resource programs, ensuring that trainings are culturally relevant, trauma informed, and leverage best practices for adult learners

Design and develop follow up trainings, engaging families beyond one off workshops

Facilitate family engagement staff training sessions for family-facing staff members, working with other members of the program team to meet demand if necessary

Recruit, train, and supervise the Fostering Sleep Program Manager and part-time facilitators for the community/student/parent workshops, ensuring high quality facilitation

Develop a rubric to assess program quality across all community programs

Conduct regular observations of programs, providing feedback for growth and development

Design internal evaluation methods support key programmatic goals for community programs

Leverage data to determine program quality, reporting on progress towards goals and program impact quarterly in collaboration with the CPO

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree

8 years related experience in adult education, or equivalent combination of education and experience

8 years of experience in case management, social service programs, and/or working in a foster care setting

Demonstrated leadership experience

Ability to prioritize, problem solve, be flexible, work independently, and pursue and achieve objectives without supervision

Skilled in public speaking and training; comfortable working with children, parents, and program staff from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Strong writing skills

Program evaluation and data analysis skills

Salary and Benefits

This full-time, salaried position offering $90,000 – $95,000.

Applicants should email a cover letter, which describes the candidate’s fit with the job description, and resume to jobs@pajamaprogram.org. No telephone inquiries, please.