State of Maryland

An Agency Grants Specialist Trainee is the entry level of work evaluating grant proposals, distributing grant monies and monitoring and reporting on grant programs. Employees in this classification do not supervise other Agency Grants Specialists.

Employees in this classification receive close supervision from an Agency Grants Specialist Supervisor or higher-level administrator.

Positions in this classification are evaluated using the classification job evaluation methodology. The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Agency Grants Specialist Trainee, Agency Grants Specialist I and Agency Grants Specialist II are differentiated on the basis of degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees. The Agency Grants Specialist Trainee learns to perform duties under close supervision.  The Agency Grants Specialist I performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed.  The Agency Grants Specialist II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Learns to instruct grant applicants on the proper way to complete grant forms;

Learns to review grant applications and budget proposals to determine financial stability and adherence to established policies and procedures;

Learns to participate in the negotiation of grants;

Learns to recommend cost containment measures and changes to grantees' budgets;

Learns to maintain up-to-date records on grant awards and expenditures;

Learns to monitor and approve grant expenditures;

Learns to distribute grant monies;

Learns to prepare reports regarding grant expenditures that are used to make budget projections;

Learns to analyze past and present grantees' budgets to determine if costs are appropriate;

Learns to meet with program staff to discuss appropriateness of services to be provided by grantees;

May learn to communicate with federal, State, local or private foundations to research funding opportunities for grants;

May learn to provide training to departmental and community units regarding developing and implementing grant opportunities;

Performs other related duties.

Class Descriptions are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies.  Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position. 

Class Descriptions provide information about the Nature of Work, Examples of Work, General Requirements and Acknowledgements.  The Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities; Minimum Education and Experience Requirements; Special Requirements; and recruitment and testing procedures are set by the using agency.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is not assigned to a bargaining unit, as indicated by the designation of S (Supervisor), M (Manager), T (Agency Head), U (Board or Commission Member), W (Student), X (Used by Agency or Excluded by Executive Order), or Z (Confidential).  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation.  An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime, as provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance level in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series, an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class, as defined by the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.