Grants & Contracts Manager (Post Award)

About the role

We are seeking a Grants & Contracts Manager – Post Award who will oversee all sponsored-project activities within a department, center, and/or division. This role manages pre-award, post-award, and closeout activities across a variety of grants and contracts of varying complexity and leads a team of two or more professional and para-professional staff.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary contact and resource guide for department faculty and analysts on budget planning, submission, and compliance for federal agencies, private agencies, foundations, and commercial contract proposals.
• Provide broad and in-depth guidance on protocols, regulations, and guidelines to principal investigators, scientific/research professionals, and external research/administrative partners.
• Offer ongoing guidance, learning support, and training to Grants & Contracts Analysts, Specialists, and Coordinators; disseminate updates on new regulations and compliance rules.
• Prepare and deliver quarterly and annual sponsored funding reports to department, center, and/or division leadership.
• Act as the final point of contact for the department, center, and/or division with faculty, grants, and sponsored-research staff.
• Manage complex sponsored awards, including NIH, NSF, DOD, NASA, investigator-initiated, consortium, subawards, Department of Defense grants, high-complexity foundation grants, and pharmaceutical clinical trials.
• Provide direction on subawards from other institutions on federal pass-through grants and limited assistance with non-sponsored funds (general funds and gifts).
• Partner with the Departmental Sponsored Projects Office, Office of Research Administration, and University Shared Services as the department/division liaison.
• Conduct departmental pre-review of complex proposals; manage final grant-package presentation and approval with the Office of Research Administration.
• Prepare, revise, and advise on proposal budgets and approved budget changes for awarded grants/contracts; oversee sponsored portfolios for faculty.
• Develop and maintain budget-monitoring systems; review SAP reports, analyze variances, and take corrective action.
• Manage internal sponsored audits and develop account-reconciliation systems for sponsored accounts.
• Create forecasting and trending reports for award expenditures; manage delivery of technical and financial reports to sponsors.
• Ensure compliance with sponsor guidelines, internal protocols, conflict-of-interest requirements, and accurate protocol information within grant documents.
• Maintain ongoing updates and communications on current grants and contracts; audit and report financial status to principal investigators and departmental leadership.
• Coordinate post-award processes: award setup, review, account setup verification, staff setup, budget distribution, account reconciliation, e-form setup, effort reporting, cost transfers, invoice payment, and subcontract paperwork finalization.
• Oversee complex award-management activities, monitor accounts, audits, evaluations, and reporting; ensure proper closeout of grants and contracts.
• Ensure all closeouts handled by team members are completed appropriately and in compliance with regulations, safety, environmental health, internal protocols, and conflict-of-interest requirements.
• Manage performance and efficiency of the departmental grants and contracts team.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Five years of related experience in sponsored research and/or financial positions.
• Two of those years must include lead or supervisory responsibilities or high-level involvement in Johns Hopkins University grants and contracts leadership development training projects, serving as a recognized subject-matter expert.
• Additional education may substitute for required experience; additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond high-school graduation, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of Johns Hopkins University online systems for budgets, purchasing, and accounting.
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of the Johns Hopkins University accounting system and related fiscal offices.