Sr. Manager, Pre-Award Unit
Job Summary
The Health Sciences Pre-Award Senior Manager provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for a team of Grant & Contract Officers (GCOs), supporting proposal development and submission across Health Sciences departments. This position ensures timely, accurate, and compliant proposal submissions while maintaining a high level of service to faculty and departmental partners. This role shapes pre-award service delivery, optimizes workflows, and leads complex, high-impact proposal activity across a diverse funding portfolio. The Senior Manager supervises GCO staff, oversees workload distribution, and serves as a key resource on complex funding opportunities, sponsor requirements, and institutional policies. This position collaborates closely with central offices and research leadership to support proposal activity and ensure consistent, high-quality pre-award services.
Responsibilities
Direct/Manage/Supervise the grant process both pre- and post-award for the university. Oversee the research, preparation, submission and follow-up of various grants such as industry, foundation, and government.
Collaborate cross-departmentally to determine needs and identify projects fitting organization's strategies. Review planned proposals and submission guidelines to suggest positioning and determine feasibility of meeting deadlines. Provide strategic guidance during research and drafting stages of grant submission.
Review and edit finalized grant to ensure clear and compelling language. Identify, pursue, cultivate, and enhance relationships with foundations and government agencies in support of funding needs.
Second-level manager. Manages the activities of first-level managers and/or supervisors. Responsible for hiring, firing, performance appraisals, and pay reviews.
Leads strategic planning for pre-award operations, including capacity modeling, service delivery approaches, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Supervises, develops, and evaluates Grant & Contract Officers (GCOs), providing coaching, performance feedback, and supporting staff development.
Oversees workload distribution and resource alignment to ensure appropriate departmental coverage and adherence to submission timelines.
Directs the preparation, review, and submission of grant and contract proposals to ensure compliance with sponsor and institutional requirements.
Serves as the senior escalation point for complex, high-risk, or high-visibility proposal scenarios. Advises GCOs, faculty, and research leadership on complex proposals, sponsor regulations, institutional policies, and proposal strategy.
Reviews and provides oversight of proposal budgets to ensure accuracy, allowability, and alignment with sponsor requirements, including indirect cost application.
Oversees adherence to internal processes, timelines, and documentation standards to ensure consistency, quality, and compliance across pre-award services.
Collaborates with the Office of Sponsored Projects, college leadership, and central units, and represents the Pre-Award Office in institutional and cross-functional initiatives.
Identifies and implements process improvements while partnering with the Director and Pre-Award leadership to ensure alignment, cohesive operations, and consistent service delivery across supported departments.
Qualifications
EQUIVALENCY STATEMENT: 1 year of higher education can be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience (Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related work experience).
Department may hire employee at one of the following job levels: Senior Manager, Grant Development Management: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 8 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 6 years of directly related work experience.
Preferences: Experience in an academic or health sciences research environment, Knowledge of NIH policies, electronic research administration systems, and multi-component proposal submissions, Experience supporting centralized or shared service models, Strong understanding of institutional policies and compliance requirements related to sponsored projects.