Grants Manager

Vanderbilt University; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Vanderbilt University in Nashville seeks a Grants Manager to join the College of Connected Computing (CCC). The role focuses on executing pre- and post-award activities for a designated faculty portfolio, requiring independent judgment and a solid grasp of university policies and sponsor guidelines.

The successful candidate will support proposal development, budgets, compliance, and award management, collaborating with investigators and central offices to ensure timely, accurate submissions and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, or related field required.
• Experience in pre- and post-award management; knowledge of sponsor requirements and university policies.

Responsibilities

• Provide policy guidance and assistance with proposal development, certifications, and compliance requirements.
• Develop budgets, PI checklists, and timelines for proposals.
• Interface with investigators, collaborators, and central offices to ensure compliance with requirements.
• Monitor budgets and expenditures; prepare reconciliation and forecasting reports.
• Support pre-award activities and post-award administration including reporting and subcontracting.

Skills

Administrative support

Organizational skills

Time management

Written and verbal skills

Attention to detail

Problem-solving

Deadline management

Advanced grants management knowledge

Interpersonal communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Position Summary

The Grants Manager will be a key member of the grant administration team within the College of Connected Computing (CCC). This position will focus on execution of pre- and post-award activities serving a specified faculty portfolio within the College. It requires exercise of independent judgment, initiative, and decision making and will necessitate a high degree of understanding of university life, policies, and procedures along with external sponsor guidelines and requirements.

Position Summary

The Grants Manager will be a key member of the grant administration team within the College of Connected Computing (CCC). This position will focus on execution of pre- and post-award activities serving a specified faculty portfolio within the College. It requires exercise of independent judgment, initiative, and decision making and will necessitate a high degree of understanding of university life, policies, and procedures along with external sponsor guidelines and requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Pre-Award Responsibilities:

• Provide policy guidance and assistance with all aspects of proposal development, administrative forms, sponsor-required certifications and representations, and compliance requirements
• Develop an appropriate budget, Principal Investigator checklist, and timeline for each proposal submission
• Work directly with the Principal Investigators & external collaborators, and will interface with central administrative offices to ensure that the applications meet all university, school and sponsor requirements
• Identify and resolve issues during the proposal preparation and submission process
• Ensure school-level approvals are included in proposal attachments
• Facilitate application submission, ensuring deadlines are met
• Respond to sponsor requests and questions
• Perform other duties as assigned

Post-award Responsibilities Include

• Analyze and interpret complex grants and contract specifications, guidelines, and regulations
• Act as a liaison with central administrative offices and external entities to facilitate award management
• Monitor, analyze, and manage budgets and expenditures along with all aspects of the award to ensure compliance with sponsor terms and conditions, Uniform Guidelines, and University policies are maintained
• Create budget reconciliation and forecasting reports and meet regularly with faculty to review their financial situations
• Ensure compliance with requirements such as effort reporting, financial & progress reporting
• Assist in the administrative and financial aspects of annual and final progress reports required by sponsors
• Collaborate with sponsors for appropriate prior approval requests, extensions, budget revisions, and general questions
• Facilitate the setup of outgoing subaward agreements and manage invoice approvals
• Work closely with the central administrative office to coordinate reviews of incoming contract agreements
• Provide interim account setups and courtesy extensions as required
• Human Capital Management (HCM) Costing Specialist, managing payroll
• Complete timely journal entries as necessary, grant closeouts, etc.
• Assist with rate setting/implementation for PI/Faculty Service Center(s)
• Perform other duties as assigned

Other Responsibilities

• Participate in institutional and College-wide research administration/financial operations training
• Collaborate with research administration team members to share best practices and develop new tools & resources for implementation

Supervisory Relationships

This position does not have supervisory responsibility; the position reports to the Senior Grants Manager.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in finance, accounting, business, or a related field
• 3+ years of experience in pre- and post-award management (both federal and non-federal), required; a combination of education and experience may be considered
• Strong administrative support skills
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Excellent written and verbal skills
• Outstanding attention to detail
• Problem-solving skills with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage competing deadlines
• Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills
• Experience working with faculty on complex awards and familiarity with a variety of sponsors
• Advanced understanding of research compliance and sponsor-specific regulations
• Familiarity with the Vanderbilt University grants management ecosystem