Senior Grant Administrator

Mass General Brigham (Enterprise Services); Somerville (MA); Hybrid; USD 86,000 - 116,000; Full time

Job summary

Mass General Brigham’s Gene & Cell Therapy Institute seeks a Senior Grant Administrator to manage budgets, proposals, and awards across a system-wide portfolio. You will support pre- and post-award activities, ensure sponsor compliance, and provide expert guidance to investigators and staff in a fast-paced research environment.

This hybrid role is based at Assembly Row in Somerville, MA, with regular collaboration across finance, research management, and faculty to ensure timely financial

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field required.
• 3-5 years of research administration experience preferred in a medical/academic setting.
• Strong budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, and grant management skills.
• Ability to interpret sponsor terms and maintain compliance across multiple awards.

Responsibilities

• Manage pre-award activities: proposal prep, budgets, and sponsor requirements.
• Oversee post-award: budget monitoring, financial reporting, and closeout.
• Ensure compliance with sponsor terms and institutional policies.
• Provide leadership and training to junior grant staff and investigators.
• Troubleshoot complex financial issues and optimize grant workflows.
• Collaborate with research management teams to improve processes.

Skills

Budgeting

Forecasting

Financial analysis

Grant management

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Accounting/Business Administration

Master's degree or CPA preferred

Job description

United States, Massachusetts, Somerville

Mass General Brigham relies on a wide range of professionals, including doctors, nurses, business people, tech experts, researchers, and systems analysts to advance our mission. As a not-for-profit, we support patient care, research, teaching, and community service, striving to provide exceptional care. We believe that high-performing teams drive groundbreaking medical discoveries and invite all applicants to join us and experience what it means to be part of Mass General Brigham.

Job Summary

The Gene and Cell Therapy Institute (GCTI) is a newly created system-wide Institute under Mass General Brigham. The Institute will foster a world-class gene and cell therapy program that will leverage ongoing, groundbreaking scientific research efforts across the MGB system. The mission of GCTI is to bring together the community of MGB investigators which can utilize gene and cell therapy platforms to achieve their scientific and clinical goals and improve the health of patients. The Institute will differentiate itself by harnessing the exceptional strengths of clinician scientists, the large and unique patient population, and major discoveries throughout the hospital system to propel MGB as the leader in Gene & Cell therapies.

Personalized Medicine is a global leader in the emerging field of personalized medicine. We leverage genetics to improve the care of patients and to drive medical discoveries. MGB Personalized Medicine offers biobank services and core services to researchers and genetic tests for patients and is instrumental in improving the handling of genetic results in the clinical environment. We also work with novel technologies to facilitate genetic and genomic research.

The Senior Grant Administrator manages all phases of research grant and contract administration for an assigned portfolio of investigators, programs, and research activities. The position serves as a senior resource to faculty and program leadership, providing expertise in proposal development, budgeting, sponsor requirements, financial management, compliance, and post-award administration. The role supports complex sponsored research activities, independently resolves administrative and financial issues, and ensures compliance with institutional policies and sponsor requirements.

The successful candidate will work closely with Executive Director of Strategic Planning and Operation of GCTI & PM, MGB Research Management and Research Finance, and Faculty to support Pre and Post award grant and financial activities including budgeting, forecasting, creating monthly financial statements, variance analysis, cost analysis, and billing activities for GCTI & PM Grants, and Sundries.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Pre-Award Administration

1. Manage preparation and submission of research proposals, including budgets, budget justifications, application materials, and required institutional documentation.
2. Review sponsor guidelines and advise investigators on application requirements, deadlines, allowable costs, and institutional policies.
3. Ensure proposals are complete, accurate, compliant, and submitted according to sponsor and institutional requirements.
4. Coordinate with investigators, research leadership, finance, central research administration, and external collaborators to address proposal-related issues.
5. Support complex proposals involving multiple investigators, institutions, subawards, or funding mechanisms.
6. These responsibilities align with the MGB profile's requirement to process research grant proposals, awards, and transactions and ensure sponsor requirements are met and documented appropriately.

Post-Award and Financial Management

1. Manage sponsored awards throughout the project lifecycle, including award setup, budget monitoring, financial reporting, modifications, renewals, and closeout.
2. Monitor expenditures against approved budgets and identify financial risks, projected overruns, and funding shortfalls.
3. Prepare financial analyses, forecasts, reconciliations, and reports for investigators and program leadership.
4. Identify cost-sharing opportunities and develop solutions to potential fiscal issues.
5. Coordinate grant closeout, including final financial reconciliation and resolution of outstanding transactions or discrepancies.
6. Support progress reports, renewals, and continuation applications.

Compliance and Award Management

1. Maintain complete and accurate grant and contract records in accordance with institutional, sponsor, and regulatory requirements.
2. Interpret and apply sponsor terms and conditions, institutional policies, and applicable research administration requirements.
3. Review transactions for allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and consistency with approved award terms.
4. Identify compliance concerns and work collaboratively with investigators and institutional offices to resolve issues.

Leadership and Operational Support

1. Serve as a departmental subject matter expert for grant and contract administration.
2. Provide guidance and training to investigators, program staff, and junior grant administration staff.
3. Train and orient new team members on grant management processes and systems.
4. Independently troubleshoot complex administrative, financial, and sponsor-related issues.
5. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve grant administration workflows, standardize processes, and increase operational efficiency.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field required; Master's degree or professional certification (e.g., CPA, CGMA) preferred.
• 3-5 years of research administration experience required, preferably in an academic medical center, healthcare organization, university, or research-intensive environment.

• Demonstrated experience managing complex sponsored research portfolios and both pre- and post-award activities preferred.
• Thorough understanding of grant accounting principles, federal regulations, and grant management best practices.
• Proficiency in financial analysis, budgeting, and forecasting techniques.

Skills/Abilities/Competencies

• Strong attention to detail, analytical skills, and problem-solving abilities, with the ability to interpret complex financial data and ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders and work independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong knowledge of research sponsor and institutional funding policies and guidelines.

• Proficiency in spreadsheet, database, accounting, and grant-management applications.
• Strong budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, and reconciliation skills.
• Ability to work accurately with large and complex financial datasets.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational, analytical, negotiation, and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and independently resolve complex issues.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced research environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate with investigators, administrators, finance teams, and institutional leadership.
• Ability to work quickly and efficiently, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines.
• Self-motivated, resourceful, and able to take initiative, including knowledge of resources to answer questions and find required data and information.

Additional Job Details (if applicable)

Working Conditions

• This is a hybrid role (onsite 3x/week at Assembly Row, Somerville, MA)
• Monday through Friday, eastern business hours required
• Remote workdays require a stable, secure, quiet, and HIPAA-compliant workspace. This will be confirmed via Microsoft Teams video for all employees

Remote Type

Hybrid

Work Location

399 Revolution Drive

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Employee Type

Regular

Work Shift

Day (United States of America)

Pay Range

$85,800.00 - $115,720.80/Annual

Grade

7

At Mass General Brigham, we believe in recognizing and rewarding the unique value each team member brings to our organization. Our approach to determining base pay is comprehensive, and any offer extended will take into account your skills, relevant experience if applicable, education, certifications and other essential factors. The base pay information provided offers an estimate based on the minimum job qualifications; however, it does not encompass all elements contributing to your total compensation package. In addition to competitive base pay, we offer comprehensive benefits, career advancement opportunities, differentials, premiums and bonuses as applicable and recognition programs designed to celebrate your contributions and support your professional growth. We invite you to apply, and our Talent Acquisition team will provide an overview of your potential compensation and benefits package.

EEO Statement:

0100 Mass General Brigham Incorporated is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. To ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Veteran's Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact Human Resources at (857)-282-7642. Mass General Brigham Competency Framework

Mass General Brigham Competency Framework

At Mass General Brigham, our competency framework defines what effective leadership "looks like" by specifying which behaviors are most critical for successful performance at each job level. The framework is comprised of ten competencies (half People-Focused, half Performance-Focused) and are defined by observable and measurable skills and behaviors that contribute to workplace effectiveness and career success. These competencies are used to evaluate performance, make hiring decisions, identify development needs, mobilize employees across our system, and establish a strong talent pipeline.