Grants Research Specialist

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree or higher in Business Administration, Public Administration, or a directly related field, plus two (2) years of grants preparation, community outreach, or project management experience.

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS

This position requires applicants to complete an interview. The interviewed candidate(s) possessing the qualifications best suited to fulfill the responsibilities of the position will be selected. Selected Bidders will be hired in seniority order according to the collective bargaining agreement.

Preference will be given to candidates possessing the following:

• Previous experience with federal and state grant projects
• Previous experience with competitive grant writing
• Previous experience identifying and securing new funding sources for programs
• Previous project management experience
• Previous experience in a position which requires preparing reports, budgets and grant applications

For Information on our employees benefits please visit our benefits website at:

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/fin/benefits-office.html

For Information on our salary and title structure visit our classifications website at:

https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/dhr/supp_info/JobClassification/2025_Classification_and_Pay_Plan.pdf

APPLICATION EVALUATION: Initial evaluation will be based on information provided on the application and the documents submitted. Department of Human Resources staff will review applications after the final posting date. Staff will follow any and all required Employment/Hiring Plan provisions, federal, state and local laws, and Collective Bargaining Agreements when applicable. Staff will apply hiring preferences as required by the municipal code. Placement on an eligibility list is not an offer or guarantee of an interview nor employment with the City of Chicago.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY: To further our commitment to hiring applicants with diverse experience the City of Chicago has adopted the following ordinances 2-74-020 and 2-74-075. The ordinances provide a preference to applicants who meet minimum qualifications and who are veterans of the Armed Forces, and/or residents of Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Areas (SEDA) and/or Chicago Public School (CPS) high school graduates to be referred to departments for consideration. These hiring preferences do not apply to bidders, as Collective Bargaining Agreements define the hiring process for bidders. For positions covered by a collective bargaining agreement, bidders will be considered before external candidates. To learn more about our hiring practices click here.

ALL REFERENCES TO POLITICAL SPONSORSHIP OR RECOMMENDATION MUST BE OMITTED FROM ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR CITY EMPLOYMENT.

The City of Chicago is an Equal Employment Opportunity, Military Friendly, and Fair Chance Employer.

City of Chicago

Brandon Johnson, Mayor

Jul 26, 2026, 11:00:00 PM