Position Description

Grant and Technical Assistance Consultant

Contract Amount: $35,000
Contract Type: Independent Contractor / Consultant
Time Commitment: Part-time (approximately 18-20/hrs per week) project-based
Contract Period: To be determined, aligned with the grant period ending July 2027
Reports to: SCEN Program Director

Position Summary

The Southeast Climate & Energy Network seeks a part-time consultant to support the Southern Implementation Incubator grant and funding assistance project. The consultant will provide direct technical assistance to a small cohort of grassroots, frontline, rural, and community-based organizations working on climate, energy, environmental justice, and resilience priorities in the Gulf South.

This role will help participating organizations move from early-stage ideas or urgent funding needs toward stronger project concepts, funder-ready materials, and grant submissions. The consultant will work closely with SCEN staff to deliver individualized support, facilitate cohort learning, and document lessons that can inform SCEN’s long-term Incubator model.

Scope of Work

The consultant will provide technical assistance in the following areas:

• Cohort Support: Support a cohort of participating organizations through individualized and group-based technical assistance.
• Grant Strategy: Help organizations identify funding opportunities aligned with their goals, capacity, and community priorities.
• Proposal Development: Support drafting, editing, and strengthening grant narratives, concept notes, letters of inquiry, and related materials.
• Project Design: Help participants clarify project goals, activities, outcomes, timelines, staffing needs, and budgets.
• Funder Readiness: Assist organizations in preparing funder-facing materials such as project summaries, one-pagers, talking points, and organizational background language.
• Budget Support: Provide light support on project budgets, budget narratives, and alignment between activities and funding requests.
• Cohort Facilitation: Help plan and facilitate peer-learning sessions, office hours, or strategy calls with participating organizations.
• Documentation: Track TA provided, summarize participant needs, and document lessons learned from the cohort model.

Key Deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for producing or supporting:

• A cohort technical assistance plan developed in coordination with SCEN staff.
• Individualized TA support for approximately 8–10 participating organizations.
• Funding prospect scans or funding strategy notes for participating organizations.
• Drafting or review support for grant proposals, concept notes, LOIs, or project summaries.
• Funder-ready materials for selected cohort projects.
• Participation in regular coordination meetings with SCEN staff.
• A brief final summary of TA activities, outcomes, lessons learned, and recommendations for the future Incubator model.

Desired Qualifications

The ideal consultant will have:

• Experience with grant writing, funder strategy, or nonprofit development.
• Experience supporting grassroots, frontline, rural, BIPOC-led, or community-based organizations.
• Familiarity with climate justice, environmental justice, energy democracy, disaster resilience, or community power-building work.
• Ability to translate early-stage ideas into clear, fundable project concepts.
• Strong writing, editing, facilitation, and project management skills.
• Ability to work with organizations at different levels of capacity without imposing a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Commitment to cultural competency and community-led solutions.
• Familiarity with the Gulf South or Southeast region is strongly preferred.

Estimated Time Commitment

This is a part-time, project-based contract. The consultant is not expected to work full time. Workload may vary depending on cohort needs, grant deadlines, and project timelines. Expected time commitment is approximately 15-20 hours per week. SCEN anticipates the consultant will provide support through a combination of individual TA calls, cohort sessions, writing and editing time, funding research, and coordination with SCEN staff.

Compensation

The total contract amount is $35,000 for the contract period. Payment schedule may be structured in installments based on milestones, monthly invoicing, or another mutually agreed-upon schedule.

Working Relationship

The consultant will work in close partnership with SCEN staff, who will provide project oversight, cohort coordination support, and alignment with SCEN’s broader Incubator strategy. The consultant will not be an employee of SCEN and will be responsible for managing their own schedule, tools, taxes, and work methods consistent with independent contractor status.

How to Apply

If interested, please send your resume and cover letter to jobs@scen-us.org. Please include SCEN Grant and Technical Assistance Consultant.

EEO Statement 

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to employment practices that ensure employees and applicants for employment are provided with equal opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other factor that is not related to the position.