Grants Management Specialist

About the role

The Grants Management Specialist (GMS) is responsible for overseeing the administrative and financial lifecycle of institutional, federal, state, and private grant awards. This position plays a critical role in maintaining compliance, developing project budgets, managing reporting timelines, and facilitating seamless collaboration between clients, finance teams, and external funding sources. The ideal candidate possesses strong financial acumen, exceptional project management skills, and a deep understanding of post-award administration and regulatory compliance (including OMB Uniform Guidance for federal awards). The role is fully remote; KJA only employs individuals in the USA, excluding CA, HI, NY, NJ, WA, ND, WY, PR, and USVI.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the administrative and financial lifecycle of grant awards.
• Maintain compliance and develop project budgets.
• Manage reporting timelines and facilitate collaboration between clients, finance teams, and external funding sources.
• Support clients with post‑award grants management services, compliance, contract preparation, billing, reimbursement requests, and reporting.
• Manage assigned grants by applying established policies and procedures, preparing reports and documentation, providing guidance to program staff, assisting with audits and monitoring, and focusing on day‑to‑day grant administration.
• Serve as primary day‑to‑day contact for assigned clients regarding routine grants management matters.
• Respond to client questions related to grant administration and documentation; escalate complex compliance or financial issues to the Senior Grants Management Specialist (SGMSS).
• Support implementation of grants management best practices.
• Assist with award setup, implementation, monitoring, and grant closeout for federal, state, local, and private foundation grants.
• Review grant agreements and summarize award requirements; maintain organized grant files and documentation.
• Monitor grant deadlines and reporting schedules; track grant modifications, amendments, and renewals.
• Assist with monitoring adherence to 2 CFR Part 200 and agency‑specific requirements; maintain compliance tracking logs and monitoring documentation.
• Assist in developing and maintaining grant budgets; review expenditures for allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and consistency with approved budgets.
• Prepare reimbursement requests and financial reports for review by the SGMS; monitor budget‑to‑actual expenditures and identify potential variances.
• Reconcile grant expenditures with accounting records; assist with budget revisions and funding reallocations.
• Compile grant expenditures and supporting documentation for reporting; verify supporting documentation for grant expenditures.
• Assist with subrecipient risk assessments; review financial and programmatic reports submitted by subrecipients; monitor receipt of required documentation.
• Prepare monitoring checklists and supporting documentation; assist with follow‑up on corrective action plans under the direction of the SGMS.
• Prepare draft financial, compliance, and performance reports; compile supporting documentation for client deliverables.
• Maintain grant management databases, dashboards, and tracking systems; generate routine reports for clients and internal management.
• Ensure documentation is complete and audit‑ready.
• Assist with audit preparation and document requests; organize files for Single Audits and monitoring visits.
• Support grant closeout activities, including financial reconciliations and final reporting; maintain records in accordance with applicable record retention requirements.
• Assist in developing templates, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and training materials; participate in client training sessions.
• Provide technical assistance on grants management processes and documentation requirements; support organizational capacity‑building initiatives.
• Work closely with the SGMS on client engagements and consulting projects; coordinate with finance staff, program managers, grant writers, and client leadership.
• Participate in internal project meetings and status updates; support cross‑functional teams to ensure timely completion of client deliverables.
• Ensure all work produced meets KJA standards of excellence, accuracy, and timeliness; keep all project records and reports organized and well maintained.

Requirements