Grants Account Manager

Case Western Reserve University; Cleveland (OH); Hybrid; USD 58,000 - 67,000; Full time

Job summary

Case Western Reserve University seeks a seasoned financial and grants administrator to oversee a portfolio with annual direct spending between $5M and $7M. You will lead multi-institution grant and contract proposals, ensure compliant budgeting, and coordinate with faculty, departments, and affiliate partners.

The role includes salary planning and HR collaboration to align staffing with grant budgets and project needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher with 5+ years of related experience; or Associate's degree with 7+ years of related experience.
• Operational finance management and grant management experience preferred; Master's degree is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Serve as financial and business operations director for a portfolio of $5m-$7m in annual direct spending.
• Provide multi-institution, complex proposal development for grants and contracts and manage budget processes.
• Manage salary spend across the portfolio and approve staff hires; adjust salaries with HR.
• Present the School of Medicine's position on compliance management, billing, and payments for shared research endeavors.
• Prepare administrative reports for sponsors and ensure compliance with federal regulations and audit requirements.

Skills

Budget management

Grant management

Contract negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Financial modeling

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree

Associate's degree

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office

PeopleSoft

Oracle

Database applications

Job description

POSITION OBJECTIVE

Case Western Reserve University is committed to providing a transparent estimate of the salary range available for this position at the time of its posting. The salary range is between $58,000 and $66,672, depending on qualifications, experience, department budgets, and industry data.
Employees receive more than just a paycheck. University employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare, retirement plans, tuition assistance, paid time off, and a winter recess.

Essential Functions

• Serve as the financial and business operations director for their assigned portfolio which will range between $5m-$7m in annual direct spending. Extract data from multiple university sources and systems and perform continuous financial modeling for implementation. Review spending patterns to project future trends and prepare long-range operational forecasts and cash flow analysis. Develop monthly forecasts for each principal investigator outlining all projects in their portfolio and meet with them monthly to review trends. Develop and implement strategies to avoid over and under spending. Review and monitor spending levels and commitments. Be the main contact and primary administrator to departmental staff, faculty and chairs for all things related to funded projects Delegate tasks to other hub employees as needed and follow up with colleague`s, departmental staff and faculty to assure tasks are completed in a timely manner. Create efficiencies to improve accuracy. (30%)
• Provide multi-institution, complex proposal development for collaborative research, industry and clinical-trials grants and contracts. Provide background research to emphasize the connection between the research needs statement and the interests of the funder. Manage contract and grant proposal preparation processes for the more demanding and reporting-intensive sponsors with varying policies, restrictions and deliverables. Advise faculty on complex contract and grant terms that may impact the administration of a project involving multiple institutions in both the U.S. and international sites. Facilitate terms and conditions of awards, budget augmentation, and project period with the principals. Ensure compliance with all state and federal agency regulations, industry, non-profit organizations, and university procedures. Develop, and implement a system to ensure all projects closeouts are done timely. Maintain files of sponsored projects financial reports and close out packages. Provide multi-institution, complex proposal development for collaborative research, industry and clinical-trials grants and contracts. Provide background research to emphasize the connection between the research needs statement and the interests of the funder. Meet with principal investigators, chairs and executive director to discuss/initiate corrective actions prior to proposal submissions. Serve as a resource to assigned departments by identifying potential funding sources, interpreting proposal guidelines, providing guidance in navigating federal web-based submission platform, and managing the internal routing process through Sparta. (25%)
• Manage the salary spend across the portfolio by balancing the resources available to each individual faculty. Determine appropriate and affordable staffing based on grant budgets and projections of clinical trial revenues. Approve all staff hires. Initiate reorganizations and layoffs when funding resources change or are eliminated. Override the instructions of principal investigators if necessary. Complete monthly effort/salary distributions for exempt employees. Complete salary adjustments as needed while working collaboratively with human resource administrators and the hub director. Be the main resource to all faculty and staff as it relates to HR issues. (20%)
• Present the School of Medicine's position, utilizing independent judgement, as it relates to compliance management, billing, and payments for shared research endeavors with administrative staff at affiliate hospitals to ensure effective financial management of clinical trials. Monitor clinical trials closely to ensure revenue is received, budgets are increased and payments to affiliate hospitals are made in a timely manner and in accordance with the various Affiliation Agreements. Working across Case Western Reserve University and with the appropriate affiliate staff representatives, monitor, review and approve various crossbills and reports with University Hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth Medical Center to ensure accuracy and funding availability. (10%)
• Prepare administrative reports for submission to sponsoring agencies including interim and final financial reports. Interpret school and university policies and procedures pertaining to grant management and expenditures and ensure compliance by all staff. Communicate any changes to policies and procedures to appropriate staff to ensure implementation. Ensure compliance with federal regulations as outlined in -21, A10 and A133. Maintain a database of all sub-recipients and note all sub-recipients subject to the Single Audit requirements. Gain an understanding of compliance programs of sub-recipients and communicate additional expectations to comply with the university's compliance program. Monitor receipt due date of audit reports and if reports are not received request the audit reports from sub-recipients. Review audit reports and follow up with sub-recipient to determine if corrective actions have been taken on findings related to the university. Monitor on a regular basis the sub-recipient activities for compliance with program and university requirements. Monitor sub-recipient expenditures to ensure compliance with applicable regulations. Assist sub-recipients with resolution of financial noncompliance. (10%)

Nonessential Functions

• Serve an active role, including chairing committees on various leadership teams in developing long- and short-term departmental strategy goals. Cross train with human resources specialists and purchasing managers to ensure smooth daily management of grants and contracts and during times of absence. Cross train with all other grants managers for changes in assignments and absences. (5%)
• Perform other duties as assigned.

CONTACTS

Department: Daily contact with faculty and research personnel in assigned departments and the School of Medicine Office of Finance and Planning, Grants and contracts and all administrative offices, and School of Medicine administrators regarding administrative management of funded projects.

University: Daily contact with purchasing, Accounts Payable, Human Resources central administrative departments to exchange.

External: Weekly contact with University Hospitals, MetroHealth and Cleveland Clinic physicians, administrators, research personnel and residents.
Regular contact with Federal funding agencies and institutes, industrial and non-profit funding agencies regarding funded projects.

Students: Frequent contact with graduate students and student employees to exchange information.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

No direct responsibility.

Qualifications

Education/Experience: Bachelor's degree and 5 or more years of related experience, or Associate's degree and 7 or more years of related experience required. Operational finance management and grant management experience preferred. Master's degree preferred.

Required Skills

• Demonstrated experience in managing strategic and organizational planning activities within a complex organization, preferably in an academic or public health setting.
• Experience developing or managing budgets.
• Knowledge of university policies and procedures preferred.
• Professional and effective oral and written communication skills; and good interpersonal skills with the ability to work and communicate with various individuals within and external to the university. Must demonstrate good presentation skills and the ability to articulately and accurately relay information to others in a formal and informal setting.
• Strong organization skills: ability to multi-task, prioritize and meet deadlines. Must demonstrate attention to detail and accuracy, time management skills, and follow-through.
• Effective management skills: ability to lead, train, work with, and elicit cooperation from team members and staff.
• Ability to work effectively independently and collaboratively within a team. Must be highly motivated, responsible, dependable and a self-starter.
• Effective problem-solving skills; must demonstrate excellent analytical skills, sound judgment and good decision-making.
• Must demonstrate innovation and the ability to develop new ideas, procedures, and systems to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Must demonstrate flexibility and ability to work under pressure; must be able and willing to conform to shifting priorities, demands and timeline.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, database applications, and with internet navigation. Experience with PeopleSoft and/or Oracle a plus.
• Ability to learn new concepts, procedures, processes, and computer programs as needed.
• Ability to demonstrate successful support, education, and advocacy for all students, aligned with the values, mission, and messaging of the university, while adhering to the staff policy on conflict of commitment and interest.
• Ability to meet consistent attendance.
• Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors, and customers face to face.
• Willingness to learn and work with artificial intelligence (AI) tools and technologies.

WORKING CONDITIONS

General office environment. This position is eligible for the staff hybrid work program.

This position is eligible for hybrid work arrangement up to two remote days per week at the discretion of the department. New employees may begin a hybrid schedule upon approval from the supervisor, successful completion of an orientation period and signing the remote work checklist certification form.

Case Western Reserve University is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants are protected under federal and state laws and university policy from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin, protected veteran status, disability, age and genetic information.

Case Western Reserve University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the CWRU Office of Equity at 216-368-3066 to request a reasonable accommodation. Determinations as to granting reasonable accommodations for any applicants will be made on a case-by-case basis.