Senior Grants Specialist

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

MBZUAI is seeking a Senior Grants Specialist to manage the full lifecycle of internal funds and external grants, ensuring compliance with sponsor requirements and institutional policies. You will support proposal development, budgeting, financial reporting, and risk management while collaborating with faculty, researchers, and finance teams.

The role emphasizes grant management systems, accuracy in documentation, and timely submissions, contributing to research governance and funding

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, finance, public administration or Higher Education Administration.
• Experience in research/grants administration or financial management is preferred.
• Ability to develop proposals, budgets, and reports with attention to sponsor guidelines and institutional policies.

Responsibilities

• Administer the full lifecycle of internal base funds and external research grants, including pre-award, award acceptance, execution, post-award, and closeout.
• Develop processes and tracking for grant submissions, deadlines, compliance, and approvals.
• Coordinate with Finance to process invoices, reports, and financial statements.
• Ensure timely submission of financial and technical reports to funding agencies and stakeholders.
• Provide training and support on grant management best practices and compliance.

Skills

Relationship management

Grant lifecycle management

Budget forecasting

Regulatory compliance

Proposal development

Financial reporting

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in relevant field

Tools

Grant management software

Job description

Key Responsibilities

The Senior Grants Specialist at MBZUAI supports the University’sresearch initiatives by managing the lifecycle of internal basefunds, external research grants, and gifts, including pre-award,award acceptance, execution, post-award administration, andcloseout activities. The role ensures compliance with fundingregulations, institutional policies, sponsor requirements, and bestpractices in research administration, while working closely withfaculty, researchers, Finance, and administrators to supporteffective proposal development, budget oversight, financialreporting, and risk management. The Specialist also supports theuse of grant management tools to align research proposals withfunding opportunities, strengthen administrative and financialoversight, and maintain accurate tracking throughout the grantlifecycle. By cultivating strong relationships with keystakeholders, the role contributes to the effective utilization ofresearch funding, supports faculty governance, and advances theefficiency and impact of Research Administration at MBZUAI.

Grants Lifecycle Administration

• Administer the full lifecycle of internal base funds andexternal research grants, ensuring seamless execution of pre-award,post-award, and closeout processes.
• Identify, assess, and recommend relevant funding opportunitieswhile providing expert guidance to faculty and researchers on grantapplication procedures, compliance requirements, and eligibilitycriteria.
• Assist in proposal development, including technical aspects,budget formulation, and alignment with sponsor guidelines,institutional policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Review grant applications, including financial documentation,ensuring accuracy, completeness, and adherence to institutional andsponsor guidelines.
• Implement and maintain a tracking system for grant submissions,deadlines, compliance, and approval stages.
• Ensure accurate and timely submission of proposals, adhering tosponsor-specific electronic submission portals and institutionaldeadlines.

Post-Award & Closeout Management

• Oversee post-award administration, ensuring financialmanagement, grant compliance, and alignment with projectdeliverables as per award terms and conditions.
• Develop processes and manage tracking systems to monitor awardbudgets, expenditures, and cost-sharing requirements in line withfunding agency regulations.
• Coordinate with the Finance and Budget team to process andsubmit invoices, progress reports, and financial statement.
• Collaborate with faculty, the finance team, and departmentaladministrators to implement modifications, extensions, or renewals,ensuring compliance with sponsor terms.
• Manage the closeout process, ensuring timely submission offinal financial and programmatic reports, reconciliations, andcompliance with project budgets.

System & Policy Implementation

• Contribute to the development, implementation, and refinementof grant management system, policies and procedures, ensuringalignment with industry standards.
• Optimize workflows for grant proposal submission, compliancetracking, and progress reporting using automation and projectmanagement tools.
• Lead the and integration of research administrationtechnologies (e.g., RPA, AI tools) to enhance grant managementefficiency and automation.
• Implement and train faculty and staff on the adoption of grantmanagement software to support faculty in utilizing these toolseffectively.

Financial Management & Reporting

• Collaborate with faculty and administrators to develop andmanage grant budgets, including forecasting costs for personnel,equipment, and materials.
• Monitor research expenditures, ensuring funds are spentaccording to approved budgets and grant terms.
• Reconcile payroll and project-related expenses, identifyingdiscrepancies and making corrections in collaboration with financedepartments.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and year-end financial reports,ensuring the financial health of research projects and meetingreporting requirements for the MBZUAI leadership and fundingagencies.
• Maintain proper documentation of financial transactions andexpenditures to support internal and external audits.

Grants Compliance

• Maintain and manage a centralized grants database to track allactivities, including proposal submissions, awards, deadlines, andoutcomes, ensuring data accuracy and integrity.
• Conduct periodic compliance reviews to assess adherence toregulatory requirements and institutional policies.
• Ensure the timely and accurate submission of financial andtechnical reports to funding agencies, coordinating withstakeholders to meet deadlines and requirements.
• Provide compliance training to faculty and staff, ensuringadherence to policies and best practices.

Relationship Management – Internal Collaboration

• Cultivate and maintain strategic relationships with PrincipalInvestigators (PIs), Researchers, departmental staff, and keystakeholders to ensure effective grant project administration.
• Collaborate with faculty, researchers, and the budget office toalign research goals with available funding opportunities.
• Lead regular meetings with stakeholders to provide updates,address challenges, and suggest improvements to grant managementworkflows.
• Implement a feedback loop to continuously refine services basedon stakeholder needs.

Training & Development

• Develop and deliver training sessions on grant lifecyclemanagement, compliance and disclosures, financial reporting, andbest practices.
• Stay updated on research administration regulations to provideongoing professional development opportunities for staff.
• Develop and maintain instructional materials and user guides toassist faculty and staff in navigating grant management processesand tools.

Risk Management

• Identify and address potential risks in grant management,including financial discrepancies, non-compliance, and delays inproject deliverables.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to resolve non-compliance issues,ensuring corrective actions are taken.
• Ensure risk assessments and contingency planning are conductedthroughout the lifecycle of grants.

Academic Qualifications Required

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as businessadministration, finance, public administration, or Higher EducationAdministration.

Professional Experience Required

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in research/grantsadministration or financial management and planning in a highereducation or research institution setting.
• Strong relationship management skills, with the ability to workindependently and collaborate effectively with diversestakeholders.
• Strong understanding of government funding practices andfamiliarity with research compliance regulations and policies.
• Experience in developing grant proposals, budgets, and reports.
• Demonstrated ability to manage grant-funded projects, includingfinancial tracking, reporting, and compliance.
• Proven track record of successful relationship management withdiverse stakeholders, both internal and external.
• Knowledge of budget development and financial managementpractices.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluating grant-funded projectsto assess impact and report outcomes.
• Experience in providing training and support to research teamson grant management best practices and compliancerequirements.