Grants Account Manager

About the role

The Grants Account Manager serves as a strategic partner to advance the university's research enterprise. This leadership role partners directly with faculty, central offices, and school administration to reduce administrative burden, manage sponsored funds strategically, and ensure financial integrity.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact for faculty throughout the sponsored project lifecycle and coordinate seamless transitions between proposal development, award management, compliance activities, sponsor reporting, and project closeout.
• Lead and direct complex proposal submission efforts.
• Collaborate with principal investigators to develop and implement plans to submit high-quality proposals.
• Interpret proposal requirements.
• Lead the approval processes required by each grant, including for standalone agreements like data use and non-disclosure agreements.
• Draft and revise budgets and budget narratives and gather required documents from both internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure all proposals are submitted accurately, completed, and on time via SpartaGrants and sponsor systems.
• Troubleshoot technical issues and resolve submission errors.
• Oversight compliance review processes.
• Lead award set-up in SpartaGrants and ensure seamless transition from pre- to post-award duties.
• Monitor accounts monthly to reconcile expenditures and ensure compliance.
• Create reports for faculty.
• Train faculty on post-award requirements.
• Schedule kick-off meetings to clarify award terms, budget structures, sub-award management, reporting requirements, and compliance obligations when a grant is awarded.
• Ensure accurate effort allocations.
• Serve as compliance lead for all post-award activity.
• Prepare interim and final financial/administrative reports for submission to sponsoring agencies.
• Coordinate and complete effort certification.
• Review and approve expenditures for allowability.
• Lead subrecipient monitoring: manage modifications, approve expenses.
• Direct project financial closeouts.
• Identify and manage post-award status changes including no-cost extensions, revised budgets, and processing continuation funding modifications.
• Provide faculty with support, including forecasting tools and budgeting strategies.

Qualifications

• Experience: 3 to 5 years of demonstrated experience in highly regulated administrative functions such as managing complex projects, budgets, financial operations, compliance activities, research administration, and/or grants management preferred. Experience in higher education, healthcare, nonprofit, governmental, or similarly complex environments preferred.
• Education: Bachelor's degree required in a related field such as, business, accounting, finance, public administration, healthcare administration, science, social science, or humanities. Professional designation (e.g. CPA or CRA) is preferred. MBA preferred.

Skills

• Strong written, verbal, and face-to-face interpersonal skills to build relationships, deliver excellent customer service, and explain complex information to faculty, staff, and external partners.
• Exceptional time management to handle multiple priorities and strict deadlines in a fast-paced environment, with a flexible, proactive approach to shifting priorities.
• Penned and managed complex budgets while maintaining financial integrity.
• Demonstrated aptitude for learning and utilizing technology, automation tools, reporting systems, and artificial intelligence applications to improve efficiency, solve problems, and support continuous process improvement.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality, meet consistent in-person attendance, and interact face-to-face with colleagues and supervisors.
• Ability to work independently, research solutions, learn new systems, and adapt to changing technologies and business needs.

Benefits

Employees receive more than just a paycheck. University employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare, retirement plans, tuition assistance, paid time off, and a winter recess.