Director, Grants Administration and Compliance

Job Number: 2026-02184 • Closing: 9/17/2026 11:59 PM Pacific • Location: 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA • Department: Grants Office

About the role

Cabrillo College is seeking a Director of Grants Administration and Compliance who, under general direction, plans, organizes, and directs post-award grants administration and compliance functions for the District. This position ensures that all publicly funded grant programs are implemented, monitored, and closed out in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local funder regulations and District policies. The role provides fiscal oversight, compliance training, and technical assistance to grant awardees, fiscal support specialists, and Business Services Office staff.

This is a new role focused on strengthening the College's grants infrastructure and supporting the people who make grant-funded work possible. The ideal candidate is highly organized, communicates with care, and is interested in developing practical processes that help teams manage grants with confidence. The position reports to the Dean of Research, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness.

Cabrillo College is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) with a special focus on enhancing the Latinx student experience. The College serves approximately 10,500 students per term, with 71% of students identifying as members of minoritized populations.

Responsibilities

• Develops, implements, and monitors post-award work plans, procedures, and internal controls to support timely and compliant implementation of active federal, state, and local grant awards; contributes to annual department budget development in coordination with the Director, Grants Development and the Dean of Research, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness.
• Serves as the District's primary post-award compliance resource for public grant awards; interprets and applies federal, state, and local regulations governing sponsored programs, including Uniform Grant Guidance, Title V, and applicable provisions of the California Education Code; advises administrators and grant personnel on compliance obligations, risk areas, and corrective actions.
• Directs and manages the performance of assigned staff; oversees the selection of staff; establishes performance requirements and professional development targets for direct reports; monitors performance and provides coaching for improvement; conducts performance evaluations; handles grievances and disciplinary actions, including termination, in accordance with Board Policies and collective bargaining agreements.
• Reviews grant-related expenditures for allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and alignment with award terms; provides compliance guidance to fiscal support specialists and Business Services Office staff; collaborates with fiscal offices to identify, escalate, and resolve spending discrepancies.
• Coordinates post-award grant administration and compliance activities; maintains a master calendar of reporting, renewal, amendment, and closeout deadlines; monitors adherence to award terms and conditions; proactively communicates with grant awardees to ensure timely submission of required reports and compliance-related materials.
• Leads subrecipient monitoring for publicly funded grants involving pass-through funding; establishes and maintains monitoring procedures consistent with Uniform Grant Guidance; reviews subrecipient financial and programmatic reports; coordinates risk assessments, follow-up activities, and site visits as required.
• Leads audit preparation and response for federally and state-funded grant programs; coordinates with District auditors, federal and state program officers, and internal offices on audit inquiries, findings, and corrective action plans; ensures grant documentation is complete, organized, and audit-ready.
• Coordinates and leads grant closeout activities for federal, state, and local awards, including final reporting, expenditure reconciliation, documentation retention, and timely submission of closeout materials to awarding agencies.
• Develops and delivers fiscal and compliance training; prepares training materials, procedures, and guidance tailored to public funding requirements and practitioners with varying levels of grants experience.
• Establishes and maintains systems for grant records retention, compliance documentation, award files, reporting records, and deadline tracking; collaborates with the Director, Grants Development to maintain accurate and current award information in the District's grants management database.
• Provides individualized technical assistance regarding budget modifications, no-cost extension requests, time and effort reporting, procurement requirements, documentation standards, and funder communications; escalates complex or non-standard issues to appropriate District leadership.
• Collaborates with the Director, Grants Development on grant start-up activities to support a smooth transition from pre-award to post-award administration; participates in grant orientation focused on post-award policies and procedures.
• Assists in planning and facilitating meetings of the Restricted Funds/Grants Management User Group; participates in participatory governance committees and processes; represents the Grants Office in cross-functional meetings with Business Services, Human Resources, Purchasing, and other District offices; may represent the District at regional, state, or national conferences and trainings.
• Demonstrates sensitivity to and understanding of diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnic backgrounds of community college students, faculty, and staff.
• Makes presentations to the Board of Trustees, Cabinet, and other District groups.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Understanding of, and sensitivity to, the diverse academic, socioeconomic, ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds, disability, and sexual orientation of community college students, faculty, and staff.
• Graduation from an accredited college or university in a relevant field.
• Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in post-award administration, compliance, or fiscal management of federal, state, or local publicly funded grants; OR an equivalent combination of training and experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree.
• Experience in a community college or public higher education setting.

Skills

• Federal Uniform Grant Guidance, applicable sections of the California Education Code, Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, Single Audit Act requirements, and other federal, state, and local laws and regulations governing publicly funded grants.
• Principles, practices, and methods of post-award grants administration for federal, state, and local awards, including budget monitoring, expenditure reconciliation, subrecipient oversight, and grant closeout.
• Principles and practices of public agency fiscal management, budget development, and financial reporting as applied to grant-funded programs.
• Audit standards and practices applicable to federally and state-funded programs, including preparation, response, and corrective action planning.

Pay

Full-time administrative/management assignment (220-day work year), 12 months per year. Current eight-step salary schedule ranges from $119,615 to $168,310 per year. Salary placement is determined by documented education and experience. A doctoral stipend of $4,983 per year is provided to eligible employees.

Schedule

Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with evenings and/or weekends as needed. Administrators enjoy a 220-day work schedule, which includes an average of 19 self-selected non-work days, 22 set holidays, 3 individual responsibility days off annually, 12 days of sick leave (7 of which can be used as Personal Necessity).

Benefits

• Generous benefit stipend for employees plus dependents, applied toward medical, dental, life, and short-term/long-term disability insurance on a pre-tax basis.
• Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) with an 8% pre-tax employee contribution.
• Option to enroll in vision insurance at a discounted group rate.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• In many cases, full-time employees' net out-of-pocket for benefit premiums may be as low as $0, depending on health plan selections.