Manager, Research Grant Management Operations

National University of Singapore; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

National University of Singapore's NUS Enterprise invites a Manager, Research Grant Management Operations to ensure the operational integrity of MOE De-GAP, Central GAP and TDA funding. You will lead weekly cadence, maintain dashboards, and drive compliance across budgets, claims and procurement.

This hands-on role focuses on transforming grant administration into an AI-enabled, auditable workflow, coordinating with PI's, finance, procurement and vendors to keep projects on track and financially

Qualifications

• 5+ years of grant administration experience.
• Experience managing budgets, claims submission, procurement tracking and reporting.
• Good financial literacy and comfort with WBS structures, budget monitoring and claims documentation.
• Strong follow-through and ability to lead weekly operating cadence.
• Ability to maintain accurate dashboards, trackers and reporting views.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across finance, procurement, project teams and management.
• Attention to governance, compliance, audit trail and reporting discipline.
• Comfort operating in an environment where processes are still being built.

Responsibilities

• Own Grant Finance & Claims: monitor budgets, commitments, utilisation and remaining balances; coordinate claims submission and related queries; reconcile budgets and flag risks; maintain clear financial views; manage grant audits.
• Lead Procurement Coordination: oversee procurement follow-through from request to PO; coordinate with teams and vendors to resolve issues; ensure alignment with budgets and policies; maintain procurement status in the project dashboard.
• Track Progress & Report to Grantors: maintain milestones, deliverables, timelines; lead weekly cadence; prepare progress updates and grantor reports with documentation; flag delays and gaps.
• Maintain Dashboard Accuracy: ensure a single source of truth for status, utilisation and reporting; keep dashboards updated for management reviews; follow up on actions and overdue items; escalate issues needing decisions.
• Build the Future Grant Management Solution: map workflows; translate requirements into system specs; support integration with Monday.com, Jedox, Slack, iRIMS and other systems; design robust workflow logic.
• Integrate the Three Grant Streams: unify De-GAP, Central GAP and TDA into one framework; standardise tracking and reporting; document differences in mechanics and approvals.
• Support New Programme Review: assess administrative workability and financial neutrality; check overseas compliance, funding source and reporting obligations; flag unfunded commitments pre-launch.
• Partner Across Functions: work with PIs, project leads, grantors, finance, procurement, automation teams and management; translate issues into actions with owners and timelines.

Skills

Grant administration

Budget management

Stakeholder management

Dashboard & reporting

Process improvement

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Monday.com

Jedox

Slack

iRIMS

SAP

BMC Helix

Submittable

Xero

Job description

Job Description

About Us

We are building AI-enabled operating systems to support research translation, venture building, grant administration and commercialisation workflows.

We work across university teams, researchers, startups, corporate partners and public funding agencies to turn complex manual processes into structured, auditable and scalable workflows.

The Role

As Manager, Research Grant Management Operations, you are responsible for the operational integrity of three funding streams: MOE De-GAP, Central GAP and Technology Development Agreement (TDA) funding.

You ensure that grant finances, claims, procurement, project progress and grantor reporting are tracked accurately, followed through consistently, and supported by reliable data.

This is a hands-on ownership role. You will lead weekly operating cadence, keep dashboards accurate, drive stakeholder follow-up, and help move grant administration away from manual work into an integrated AI-driven grant management solution.

Separately, you will support new programme reviews from an operational, overseas compliance and financial sustainability perspective, ensuring programmes are administratively workable and at minimum financially neutral unless otherwise approved.

What You'll Do

Own Grant Finance & Claims

• Monitor grant budgets, commitments, utilisation and remaining balances across De-GAP, Central GAP and TDA.
• Coordinate claims submission, supporting documents, WBS tracking and claims-related queries.
• Reconcile approved budgets, actual spend and remaining balances, and flag under-utilisation, overspend or budget risk early.
• Maintain clear, reliable financial views to support management decisions and grantor reporting.
• Manage grant audits.

Lead Procurement Coordination

• Lead the procurement follow-through for grant-funded activities, from request initiation to PO, vendor follow-up and closure.
• Coordinate with project teams, procurement, finance and vendors to resolve delays or documentation issues.
• Ensure procurement is aligned with approved budgets, grant requirements and internal policies.
• Maintain procurement status as part of the overall project dashboard.

Track Progress & Report to Grantors

• Maintain updated project milestones, deliverables, timelines and reporting commitments.
• Lead the weekly cadence to ensure project updates are current, complete and accurate.
• Prepare progress updates, management reports and grantor reports with supporting documentation.
• Flag delays, risks, changes in scope or reporting gaps early for management attention.

Maintain Dashboard Accuracy

• Maintain a single source of truth for project status, budget utilisation, procurement progress, claims and reporting.
• Ensure dashboards are updated before management reviews and reflect actual project status, not outdated inputs.
• Follow up on open actions, overdue items and missing updates across stakeholders.
• Escalate issues that require decisions, approvals or intervention.

Build the Future Grant Management Solution

• Map current manual workflows across De-GAP, Central GAP and TDA and identify bottlenecks, duplication and control gaps.
• Translate operational requirements into system requirements for an in-house AI-driven grant management solution.
• Support integration across Monday.com, Jedox, Slack, iRIMS and other relevant systems.
• Design and test workflow logic for reminders, approvals, claims tracking, reporting and dashboard updates.
• Contribute as a process owner and product user, ensuring the solution is practical, auditable and scalable.

Integrate the Three Grant Streams

• Bring De-GAP, Central GAP and TDA into one coherent grant management framework.
• Standardise tracking, reporting, claims and dashboard logic where possible.
• Document the differences in funding mechanics, approval routes, milestone tracking and reporting obligations.
• Avoid separate manual workflows by building a common operating model that can support different grant types.

Support New Programme Review

• Support new programme review as a separate scope from grant administration.
• Assess whether new programmes are administratively workable and financially neutral at minimum, unless otherwise approved.
• Check overseas compliance considerations, funding source, cost recovery, claims process and reporting obligations.
• Flag unfunded, non-compliant or operationally unsustainable commitments before programme launch.

Partner Across Functions

• Work closely with Principal Investigators, project leads, grantors, finance, procurement, vendors, automation teams and internal management.
• Translate operational issues into clear actions, owners and timelines.
• Follow up firmly and professionally to keep work moving.
• Keep management informed of risks, delays and decisions required.

Please be informed that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of strong project, programme or grant administration experience.
• Experience managing budgets, claims submission, procurement tracking and reporting.
• Good financial literacy and comfort with WBS structures, budget monitoring and claims documentation.
• Strong follow-through and ability to lead weekly operating cadence.
• Ability to maintain accurate dashboards, trackers and reporting views.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across finance, procurement, project teams and management.
• Attention to governance, compliance, audit trail and reporting discipline.
• Comfort operating in an environment where processes are still being built.

Bonus Points For

• Experience working with AI tools to improve process efficiency.
• Experience supporting automation, workflow redesign or systems implementation.
• Experience integrating multiple workflows into one operating model.
• Experience with grant administration, research funding, public funding or commercialisation funding.
• Experience with systems such as Monday.com, Jedox, Slack, iRIMS, SAP, BMC Helix, Submittable or Xero.
• Exposure to overseas programme administration, compliance checks or cost recovery models.

Why Join Us?

This is a chance to help build the operating backbone for research translation and venture creation. You will sit close to the work, the data and the decisions - supporting grants today while helping build the AI-enabled system that makes the function more scalable tomorrow.

More Information

Job Type: 2-year Contract

Location: Kent Ridge Campus

Organization: NUS Enterprise

Department : ETP - Administration

Job requisition ID : 33246