Senior Project Manager, Grant Operations (Remote)

Since our founding in 1924, we've cut cardiovascular disease deaths in half, but there is still so much more to do. To overcome today’s biggest health challenges and accelerate this progress, we need passionate individuals like you. Join our movement, be part of the progress, and help ensure a healthier future for all. You matter, and so does the impact you can make with us.

This position is remote and flexible.

About the role

The Senior Project Manager (SPM) in the Office of Funded Programs (OFP) is a strategic, cross-functional role responsible for driving operational excellence across both pre-award and post-award functions. This position identifies opportunities to streamline processes, leads the development and implementation of efficiency initiatives, and ensures consistent, high-quality execution across the department. The Senior Project Manager also owns OFP’s training suite, manages departmental Impact Labs, and provides backfill support for pre-award activities as needed. This role requires a proactive, solutions-oriented professional who learns quickly, navigates ambiguity with confidence, and can independently move complex projects from concept to completion. The Sr. Project Manager ensures that project goals align with organizational objectives, overseeing scope, timelines, budgets, resource allocation, and stakeholder coordination. The Sr. Project Manager will proactively identify risks, drive solutions, and optimize project execution for maximum impact.

Responsibilities

Process Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, and quality across pre-award and post-award workflows.
• Lead the design, development, and implementation of new processes, tools, and operational models.
• Develop a service catalog for OFP.
• Conduct end-to-end mapping of pre-award and post-award workflows.
• Identify bottlenecks and propose solutions to reduce cycle times for critical OFP services.
• Design a triage model for high-volume periods.
• Conduct systems assessments and propose workflow redesigns.
• Work closely with OFP leadership, pre-award, and post-award teams; build strong relationships across the organization to support adoption of new processes.
• Work with OFP leadership to enhance performance metrics and recommend adjustments to ensure continuous improvement.
• Serve as a thought partner to OFP leadership on long-term operational strategy.

Training & Capacity-building

• Own the full OFP training suite, including design, documentation, delivery, and ongoing updates.
• Design an OFP knowledge and resource hub.
• Ensure training materials reflect current policies, systems, and best practices.

Cross-Functional Project Management & Collaboration

• Lead special projects that span pre-award, post-award, compliance, and operational domains.
• Manage OFP Impact Labs (departmental work groups focused on process innovation).
• Design IRB tracking workflow.
• Manage implementation of a new grants management system (Cayuse).
• Build dashboards to capture OFP trend data.
• Create a process to ensure all OFP templates, checklists, and SOPs are reviewed and updated on a regular cadence.
• Develop comprehensive project plans that outline schedules, deliverables, risks, and resource allocation, while ensuring the plans align with business goals, including budget estimates, risk mitigation, and timeline coordination.
• Communicate project goals, timelines, and outcomes clearly and effectively.
• Define and track project KPIs, ensuring outcomes align with business unit goals.

Pre-Award Support

• Provide pre-award coverage during staff PTO or peak workload periods (i.e., budget development, proposal routing, gift agreement processing, RCO requests).
• Maintain working knowledge of pre-award policies, systems, and processes for non-government grants.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Public Health, or equivalent experience.
• Experience working with government grants, including grant funding, compliance, and administration, is strongly preferred.
• Five (5) years of minimum experience leading complex projects from concept to implementation.
• Five (5) years minimum experience leading pre-award and post-award processes or other operational roles.
• Five (5) years of minimum experience developing training materials or leading staff development initiatives.
• Five (5) years of minimum experience developing, analyzing, and preparing presentations and reports on project outcomes.
• Five (5) years of minimum experience communicating with senior-level management.
• Must be able to travel overnight approximately 10% of the time.

Skills

• Familiarity with pre-award and post-award processes.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex projects from concept to implementation.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proven ability to learn new systems, processes, and subject matter quickly.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication.
• Demonstrated ability to coach teams, resolve issues, and foster a culture of collaboration and customer service.
• Project management certification (PMP, CAPM, or similar) is a plus.
• Proficiency with grants management systems (e.g., enterprise grants management tools, financial systems) is a plus.

Benefits

The American Heart Association invests in its people. Here are the main components of our total rewards package:

• Compensation – Competitive base salary, regularly reviewed and adjusted based on market value. Eligibility for incentive programs based on position type.
• Benefits – Medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance. Robust retirement program with employer match and automatic contribution. Employee assistance program, wellness program, telemedicine, and medical consultation.
• Professional Development – Access to Employee Resource Groups (ERG), mentoring programs, and Heart U, the Association’s national online university with over 100,000 resources.
• Work-Life Harmonization – Paid Time Off (PTO) starting at 16 days per year for new employees, increasing with seniority. 12 paid holidays, including several days off at the end of the year.
• Tuition Assistance – Financial support for employees pursuing further education related to their current or potential future roles.

Pay

The expected pay range is $105,000 - $120,000. Pay is commensurate with experience; geographic differentials may apply.