Application Guide

How to Apply for Director of Grant Programs

at Two Ten Footwear Foundation

🏢 About Two Ten Footwear Foundation

Two Ten Footwear Foundation is the footwear industry's only national charitable foundation, providing emergency financial assistance, disaster relief, and educational scholarships to individuals and families in the footwear community. Working here means directly impacting the lives of thousands of people in a close-knit industry, with a mission-driven culture and a remote-first team spanning the Boston-to-DC corridor.

About This Role

As Director of Grant Programs, you will lead the strategy and operations of a high-volume grantmaking portfolio that includes disaster/hardship relief and educational funding, serving a large number of individuals and small organizations. You will manage the grants management system, optimize workflows, ensure data integrity, and lead a team to deliver efficient, accurate, and timely grant administration. This is a hands-on leadership role for a process-oriented operator who thrives on scaling systems and improving user experience.

💡 A Day in the Life

Your day might start with a team stand-up to review application volumes and urgent cases, followed by troubleshooting a bottleneck in the payment workflow. You could spend the afternoon analyzing data to identify trends in hardship requests, then meet with IT to scope improvements to the grants portal. You'll balance strategic planning with hands-on problem-solving to ensure the team meets its service goals.

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🎯 Who Two Ten Footwear Foundation Is Looking For

  • Proven experience managing high-volume grant programs, ideally in disaster relief, hardship assistance, or educational funding, with a strong focus on operational efficiency.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead and develop a grants operations team, including hiring, training, and performance management.
  • Expertise in grants management systems (e.g., Salesforce, Blackbaud, Submittable) and process improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma).
  • Strong data analysis and reporting skills, with the ability to use data to drive decisions and measure program impact.
  • Excellent project management and change management skills, with a track record of implementing new systems and workflows.

📝 Tips for Applying to Two Ten Footwear Foundation

1

Highlight your experience with high-volume grant programs (e.g., processing thousands of applications annually) rather than traditional institutional grantmaking.

2

Quantify your achievements in process improvement, such as reducing application processing time or increasing data accuracy.

3

Emphasize your familiarity with grants management software and your role in selecting, implementing, or optimizing such systems.

4

Show your ability to lead a remote team and collaborate across departments, as the role is remote and involves working with various stakeholders.

5

Connect your personal motivation to Two Ten's mission—mention any connection to footwear, disaster relief, or educational access.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your experience managing the full lifecycle of grants, from application intake to payment, with a focus on accuracy and timeliness.', 'A specific example of how you improved a grantmaking process, including the metrics you used to measure success.', "Your leadership style and how you've developed a grants operations team, especially in a remote environment.", "Why you are drawn to Two Ten's mission and how your background aligns with serving individuals and small organizations in need."]

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Explore Two Ten's website to understand their grant programs, eligibility criteria, and application processes.
  • → Research the footwear industry's structure and key players to understand the community Two Ten serves.
  • → Look into recent disaster relief efforts and educational initiatives by Two Ten to see how they respond to crises.
  • → Review Two Ten's annual reports and impact stories to grasp the scale and outcomes of their grantmaking.
Visit Two Ten Footwear Foundation's Website →

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 How would you approach evaluating and improving our current grants management system and workflows?
2 Describe a time you managed a high-volume grant program during a surge in demand (e.g., a disaster). How did you ensure timely and accurate processing?
3 What metrics do you use to track grant program efficiency and impact? How have you used data to drive improvements?
4 How do you ensure quality assurance and compliance in a high-volume grant environment with many individual recipients?
5 Tell us about your experience leading a remote team and fostering collaboration across time zones.
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing too much on traditional grantmaking (e.g., writing proposals to foundations) rather than high-volume individual assistance programs.
  • Neglecting to mention specific grants management systems or technical skills, which are critical for this role.
  • Overlooking the remote nature of the role and the requirement to live between Boston and DC; not addressing your ability to work remotely and travel as needed.

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Two Ten Footwear Foundation!

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