BE A PART OF A DYNAMIC AND DIVERSE ORGANIZATION AS A

MANAGER, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR CORPORATE OFFICE IN TORONTO

COSTI is a diverse organization providing social services, settlement, employment, and language training services. For more information about COSTI, please visit our website at www.costi.org

This is a full-time non-union position scheduled to work 35 hours per week

Reporting to the Chief Program Officer, the Manager, Program Development will work within the Program and Proposal Development and Grants Lifecycle Management function.

The Manager, Program Development is responsible for developing fundable program models and preparing compelling grant proposals, funding renewals, and procurement responses. In alignment with established program development and revenue-generation priorities, the Manager oversees the full funding lifecycle, ensuring submissions are compliant, competitive, accurate, and delivered on time.

The position leads the development of fundable program solutions that secure resources, strengthen service delivery, and advance COSTI’s organizational impact across the communities it serves.

The Manager, Program Development, plays a critical role in advancing COSTI's mission by developing winning grant proposals, collaborating with internal and external resources to coordinate their timely inputs, contributing to and supporting the agency's program development and government funding strategy.

This position contributes to the development of the program model, the design of current and renewed programs, oversees the full lifecycle of the agency’s response to Requests for Proposals (RFPs), develops compelling grant narratives, and manages the staff and processes that turn community need and program evidence into fundable,



implementation-ready proposals.

This position writes the proposals for new grant opportunities and renewals on existing funding and it carries formal management accountability: it supervises program development staff and/or contract writers, has advisory input on the program model, contributes to the proposal strategy, prioritization, and program design recommendations brought by the team and Chief Program Officer.

This role contributes to the development of government funding strategy, uses information from needs assessments to inform program design, develops working relationships with municipal, regional, provincial and federal partners, and ensuring grant compliance and reporting integrity across the funding lifecycle.

The Manager, Program Development exercises independent judgment and decision-making authority in evaluating funding opportunities, interpreting procurement requirements, approving proposal strategies, and directing the staff and resources needed to strengthen and diversify the agency's funding portfolio.

This role reports to the Chief Program Officer (CPO). The candidate is based in Toronto and able to travel between COSTI offices as required.

Direct reports: Program Coordinator(s)/Proposal Writer(s), and contract or consultant proposal writers engaged for peak submission periods.

Qualifications





- Bachelor's degree; a graduate degree in a related field is an asset.
- Minimum five (5) years of experience in nonprofit grant proposal writing and program development, including at least two (2) years in a supervisory, team-lead, or people-management capacity
- Exceptional writing skills with the ability to translate program impact into compelling narratives for a variety of audiences.
- Experience with writing proposals for government grantors including IRCC, City of Toronto, and Ontario Health Team.
- Demonstrated experience managing multiple deadlines and complex proposal and reporting schedules across a team.
- Experience with public-sector procurement processes, including preparation of organizational responses to Requests for Proposals (RFPs).
- Demonstrated experience designing or developing nonprofit, settlement, employment, community, or human-service programs from concept through proposal, approval, implementation planning, or renewal.
- Strong understanding of program design methods, including needs assessment, environmental scanning, service-gap analysis, logic models, outcomes frameworks, and evaluation planning.
- Ability to use qualitative and quantitative data, research, community input, and program performance information to shape fundable program models and evidence-informed proposals.
- Financial literacy is sufficient to develop accurate proposal budgets, staffing assumptions, cost models, unit costs, in-kind contributions, and sustainability considerations, and to manage a functional operating budget.
- Commitment to serving the community with cultural humility and culturally responsive practices.
- Strong written and verbal communication

📌 #124-26 Manager, Program Development (Toronto)
🏢 Costi
📍 Toronto