Senior Grant Operations Specialist (Pre-Award)

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is seeking a Senior Grant Operations Specialist to support its grantmaking activities within the Research Operations department. This role serves as the operational project lead for assigned pre-award funding opportunities and other grantmaking initiatives, coordinating planning, execution, and continuous improvement of pre-award activities aligned with the Foundation's mission.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate operational planning and execution for assigned funding opportunities, including RFAs, RFPs, targeted funding opportunities, and other grant mechanisms.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans, track timelines and dependencies, escalate risks, and ensure milestone completion.
• Manage all operational aspects of the pre-award lifecycle, including application launch and intake, scientific review, and funding recommendation activities.
• Develop and/or maintain comprehensive documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), templates, checklists, and operational resources in partnership with department leadership.
• Partner with scientific staff to operationalize funding strategies into executable operational plans and grantmaking workflows.
• Serve as a primary operational point of contact for applicants, reviewers, advisors, and other external stakeholders across assigned funding opportunities.
• Apply established processes and service models consistently while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, quality, and user experience.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams throughout the pre-award grantmaking process, ensuring alignment across scientific, finance, technology, communications, and grants operations functions.
• Manage reviewer recruitment, conflict of interest processes, meeting logistics, scoring workflows, communications, and post-review documentation for scientific review activities.
• Ensure a consistent, responsive, and high-quality applicant and reviewer experience through clear communications, issue resolution, and operational excellence.
• Track operational metrics related to funding opportunities, including application processing, reviewer engagement, and project milestones.
• Participate in annual operational planning activities by contributing lessons learned and recommendations for improving future funding cycles.
• Support implementation and optimization of grants management systems and other operational technologies.
• Develop and maintain a strong working knowledge of the Foundation's Strategic Research Agenda, grantmaking priorities, funding mechanisms, operational policies, and grants management system.
• Provide backup operational support during high-volume funding cycles and/or short-term absences.
• Facilitate onboarding and training related to grants operations processes, systems, and best practices.
• Participate in Foundation-wide initiatives, committees, and/or cross-functional operational projects as appropriate.

Requirements

• Relevant experience serving as a project manager or operational lead for complex funding programs, scientific review processes, or comparable cross-functional initiatives.
• Experience coordinating RFAs, RFPs, grant competitions, peer review, scientific assessment meetings, or similar funding processes.
• Demonstrated experience applying project management methodologies to organize work, manage timelines, mitigate risks, and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent funding opportunities and competing priorities while maintaining exceptional attention to detail.
• Strong communication, meeting facilitation, and relationship management skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across scientific, operational, and administrative teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to identify operational challenges and recommend practical solutions.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and adapt effectively in a dynamic, fast-paced grantmaking environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, grants management systems (SmartSimple preferred), project management tools, and related technologies.

Benefits

• 15+ options for medical insurance (with the Foundation paying 90 percent of the premiums).
• Competitive dental and vision plans.
• 401(k) plan with 6 percent employer contribution.
• Flexible spending accounts.
• Employer-paid life and disability insurance.
• 18 Vacation Days; 12 Well-Being (Sick) Days; 2 Personal Days; summer Fridays (office closure at 2pm) and a summer holiday week over July 4.
• Flexible work environment with hybrid-flex arrangements.
• Eligibility for an annual discretionary bonus.
• Staff and leadership cultivation through regular training courses and events.

Pay

Salary Range: $95,000 - $110,000 USD

Schedule

This is a hybrid-flex position requiring in-person attendance at the Foundation’s office in New York City.

About the Foundation

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research was founded in 2000 with the objective of accelerating meaningful therapeutic advances and, ultimately, a cure for Parkinson’s disease. The Foundation has grown into the largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s disease research, having funded over $2 billion in research projects worldwide. For more information, visit www.michaeljfox.org.