Executive Director, Grant Development & Administration

Columbia University; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Columbia University in New York seeks an Executive Director of Grant Administration to establish an admin center for pre-award and budget development in Arts and Sciences. You will lead a new team, standardize processes, and guide faculty through external funding and multi‑PI proposals.

You will partner with SPA/SPF, ensure compliance with sponsor terms, and implement training and communications to support research development and grant submissions across the division.

Qualifications

• 7–9 years of related experience in grant administration.
• Advanced degree in the sciences is preferred.
• Experience with federal funding programs and compliance (NSF/DoD/DoE/NIH).
• Strong leadership and ability to build processes and teams.

Responsibilities

• Build the inaugural Grant Administration team, leading strategic direction and portfolio management for pre-award, submissions, and budget development.
• Standardize workflows, documentation, templates, and knowledge sharing to improve efficiency and compliance across units.
• Implement onboarding training for staff and provide continuing education for professional growth.
• Develop regular communications to departments to describe functions and outcomes and ensure clear handoffs between pre-award and post-award.
• Create campus-wide policies and procedures in support of research operations and liaise with SPA/SPF on guidelines.
• Maintain data for management reporting and track KPIs for grant activity and outcomes.
• Represent the team across the organization and address escalated issues in large, multi-PI grants.

Skills

Grant administration

Pre-award budgeting

Project leadership

Policy compliance

ExLibris Pivot-RP

NSF FastLane

DoE/NIH grants

Excel (advanced)

Education

Advanced degree in the sciences

Tools

ExLibris Pivot-RP

NSF's FastLane

InfoReady Review

Job description

Columbia University in New York seeks an Executive Director of Grant Administration to establish an admin center for pre-award and budget development in Arts and Sciences. You will lead a new team, standardize processes, and guide faculty through external funding and multi‑PI proposals.

You will partner with SPA/SPF, ensure compliance with sponsor terms, and implement training and communications to support research development and grant submissions across the division.