Grant Analyst & Liaison

Role Overview

Your mission is to facilitate the growth of the ecosystem by connecting builders and projects within the Ethereum ecosystem with the support they need.

Passionate and capable new contributors are looking to build on Ethereum every day. They face common obstacles - the technology is complex and the landscape is changing constantly. ESP works to lower barriers to entry, to draw new contributors into the community by helping them find success, and to magnify the impact of their work. That can mean giving advice, making connections, validating ideas, or providing financial support.

This is a unique opportunity to collaborate with and learn from some of the brightest and most talented individuals interested in Ethereum.

Responsibilities

1/ You will collaborate with ecosystem participants at the grassroots level to proactively identify individuals and teams working on projects that align with ESP's mission. Your role will involve assisting those seeking opportunities to contribute to Ethereum's growth and advancement, and guiding them towards meaningful projects where they can make a measurable impact.

2/ You will identify, assess, evaluate, and shape high potential incoming applications to make detailed recommendations on where the ESP should allocate EF resources. You will be working directly with applicants to provide guidance and feedback, as well as providing recommendations to set applicants up for success. Throughout the evaluation process, you will be working together with various community advisors from the Ethereum Foundation and the larger ecosystem to form a comprehensive assessment of each application.

3/ You will deliver exceptional relationship management to applicants and grantees to ensure that applicants engaging with ESP have a positive experience, even if their application is not aligned with ESP’s mission. For grantees, you will maintain engagement during the execution of their work to provide feedback, maintain awareness of progress / milestone completions, and to generally help ensure that the grantees are executing their work in accordance with their grant scope and objectives. 

4/ You will be responsible for delivering outstanding relationship management to applicants and grantees, ensuring a positive experience for everyone involved, regardless of the outcome of the application. Your role will involve maintaining active engagement with grantees throughout the execution of their work, providing constructive feedback, and keeping track of progress and milestone completions in accordance with their grant scope and objectives.

5/ You will lead the evaluation of individual grant applications, including planning, coordination, execution and evaluation recommendation / report writing.

6/ You will need to use your judgment to trade off the benefits and risks of each application, considering:

• the expected ecosystem impact
• project feasibility
• team quality and alignment
• alternatives to achieving ecosystem goals
• applicant interviews, and
• advisor feedback

Requirements

• Have an in-depth technical understanding of the Ethereum technology stack,
• Lead and facilitate meetings with potential grantees and technical advisors,
• Ask the right questions so that ESP can make optimally informed decisions,
• Be creative as to how best to structure the proposed work to efficiently and effectively meet the project’s objectives,
• Manage relationships with advisors, applicants and grantees,
• Communicate effectively and proactively with people from different disciplines and domains,
• Negotiate grant terms (funding levels, roadmaps, milestones, KPIs, etc.), and
• Write detailed reports of each considered application that clearly and concisely lays out information needed for the ESP to make informed decisions

Position Details

• Full-time contract position
• Fully remote
• Flexible hours with a need to accommodate scheduling across international time zones. Preference for those able to collaborate between 09:00 - 13:00 Eastern Time

About You

• You have a strong technical understanding of the Ethereum protocol.
• You stay on top of as many of the latest Ethereum developments as possible.
• You love being able to deep dive into new areas of the Ethereum tech stack to continue learning.
• You understand the needs of the Ethereum ecosystem.
• You identify opportunities for ESP involvement.
• You analyze potential risks and benefits of opportunities.
• You effectively and efficiently make good decisions.
• You are skilled at exploratory ideation, problem solving, and synthesizing information.
• You are comfortable with uncertainty, and ambiguity.
• You have the ability to shift between highly technical, and second-order thinking.
• You are skilled at communicating on a remote, global team.
• As an excellent communicator, both verbally and in writing, you are able to express your thought process and provide encouragement, even when rejecting support requests.
• You are a strong relationship manager comfortable with complex collaborative relationships.
• You are a resourceful connector, a patient listener, and an enthusiastic Ethereum community member!
• You are systematic and organized.
• You have strong habits for tracking multiple parallel accountabilities.
• When you take on a task, you get it done, and proactively troubleshoot problems blocking your path.
• Your values align with the Ethereum ecosystem.
• You have a low ego and high integrity.
• You are passionate about open source collaboration, decentralization, and playing positive-sum games.
• You truly want to see Ethereum succeed, not just for your professional or financial benefit, but because you believe it is good for the world.

About Us

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Ethereum and related technologies. The EF is not a company or even a traditional non-profit. We do not control Ethereum, nor are we the only organization that funds the critical development of Ethereum-related technologies.

We are part of a large ecosystem of organizations, individuals, and companies that support Ethereum. Our mission is to do what is best for Ethereum’s long-term success. Our role is to allocate resources to critical projects, to be a valued voice within the Ethereum ecosystem, and to advocate for Ethereum to the outside world.

About the Ecosystem Support Program

The EF’s Ecosystem Support Program (ESP) is the public facing allocation arm of the EF, providing grants and other forms of support to eligible projects working to improve Ethereum. The ESP supports work that strengthens Ethereum’s foundations and enables future builders, such as developer tools, research, community building, infrastructure and open standards.