Associate Grants Manager

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At Lactalis in the USA, we're committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our people to learn, grow, and thrive-whether you're just starting your journey with us or looking to take the next step in your career. From day one, we offer the tools and support to help you succeed.

As the world leader in dairy, Lactalis is a family-owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Each day, we're proud to produce award-winning dairy products that bring people together.

In the US, we proudly offer an unrivaled house of beloved brands, including Galbani Italian cheeses and ricotta, President specialty cheeses and butters, Kraft natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone's cottage cheese, Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond cheddar, and Parmalat milk. Our yogurt portfolio includes siggi's, Stonyfield Organic, Brown Cow, Oui, Yoplait, Go-Gurt, :ratio, Green Mountain Creamery, and Mountain High, along with a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun, Gopi, and Arz.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values-Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We foster a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone's unique background and ideas are valued.

Even if you don't meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We want to hear about your PASSION, your STORY, and how your EXPERTISE can help us shape the future of dairy.

From your PASSION to ours

The Associate Grants Manager works directly with the Director, Government and Industry Affairs and with the Senior Funding Advisor on initiatives aimed at securing public funding for priority projects across the Lactalis USA footprint. The position is responsible for sourcing and understanding technical information provided by Manufacturing, Human Resources, Engineering, Finance and other business units and then translating that information into language suitable for a grant application. The position requires strong verbal and written communication skills as well as the ability to adapt to various internal and external audience needs. Typical interactions will include grant administrators or state and municipal agencies - for example, when clarifications are needed regarding eligible expenses, program timelines, etc.

In addition to helping identify funding opportunities that match Lactalis USA's long-term funding priorities and managing applications/interactions, this role will manage reporting and compliance processes for successful applications along with internal project tracking reports.

The successful candidate will report to the Director of Government and Industry Affairs and be based in our downtown Chicago office.

From your STORY to ours

• SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES Holds a critical cross-functional role at Lactalis USA - across all brands, offices and manufacturing sites - responsible for both the strategic and financial dimensions of grant acquisition and management.
• Under the leadership of the Director, Government and Industry Affairs, this position conducts grant writing, proposal development and coordination with program teams, while also drafting grant budgets, preparing financial documentation, and ensuring compliance with grantor and internal financial standards.
• Gathers internal financial and technical project data for planned investments for new U.S. capital projects, production lines, expansion of existing activities, innovation, efficiency/optimization of resources, automation, staff training, transition to green energy sources or other ESG-related initiatives and assess if the projects contemplated may qualify for government incentives (i.e. 'right fit' between business drivers behind a project and funding program themes, objectives and requirements).
• Manages relationships with grant administrators, federal, state and local agencies. Identifies new opportunities for relationship-building.
• Compiles, tracks, updates and memorializes current U.S. funding programs and opportunities administered by Lactalis USA divisions.
• Communicates with external program administrators to gather program information (eligible applicants, eligible projects and activities, eligible expenditures, assessment criteria, etc.).
• Supports the development, execution and monitoring of funding application engagement plans (orienting the right projects towards the right programs to maximize opportunities).
• Identifies, pursues and tracks new funding opportunities.
• Enters data and qualitative information in internal tools (e.g. Excel, Qlik or other databases) to track funding applications and compliance/reporting for approved funding. Prepares reports, tables, diagrams, or other types of figures that will improve the effectiveness of internal and external communication products.
• Builds cross-departmental collaboration around funding opportunities and performance reporting.
• Develops and refines standard operating procedures (SOPs), templates, and internal workflows to strengthen grants management capacity. Provide training and technical assistance to staff on grant proposal development and compliance with best practices.
• Supports the Director, Government and Industry Affairs, and the Vice President of Communications and Government Affairs, on other regulatory, government relations or industry relations matters, administrative management, budget management and other divisional and company priorities.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

• University degree or College diploma in Engineering, Food Science, Finance, Business administration, Agricultural economics, or other related discipline.

Experience:

• Minimum two (2) years of grants management or grants administration experience.
• General knowledge of federal, state and local grant and funding incentive environments.
• Prior experience in securing private or public funding for large capex projects or in the consumer-packed goods industry is a plus.

Competencies

• Strong detail and process orientation, with experience creating, organizing and editing technical documentation as well as distilling complex manufacturing and engineering concepts into simple language.
• Self-starter who works with minimal supervision and the ability to manage multiple projects and reporting in a deadline-driven environment.
• Works well in a large multi-site environment with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to clearly articulate a compelling story in conversation and written correspondence.
• Ability to read, write and speak French would prove an asset in the role (but not required).
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint required for day-to-day work.

At Lactalis, we offer a comprehensive Total Rewards Program with a variety of affordable benefits and coverage options. We support insurance costs significantly, contribute generously to retirement plans, and offer Paid Time Off from day one. We are committed to your professional growth, providing training and development opportunities, including Education Reimbursement. Join us and grow your career.

Lactalis is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities. Further, any division of the Company that is an Affirmative Action Employer will comply with all related legal obligations.