Senior Manager, Sponsored Research Finance

Allen Cell; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 159,000 - 219,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

401k plan

Paid time off

Job summary

The Allen Institute is seeking an experienced Senior Manager, Pre & Post Award Finance to oversee the Institute’s financial compliance and management of externally funded awards. Reporting to the Executive Director of Finance, you will lead a team and partner with OSR, Accounting, FP&A, and PIs to ensure accurate budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting.

This role manages approximately $100M in external funding and operates in a collaborative, hybrid environment in Washington State.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Public Administration, or a related field.
• 7+ years demonstrated experience managing federal grants/contracts with an emphasis on financial management, forecasting, and other analyses.
• Strong understanding of uniform guidance and experience interpreting and providing guidance.
• Experience using grant financial system and/or grants management applications.
• Prior experience supervising a team in the research administration or related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial activities for externally funded research (NIH grants and private funding).
• Partner with PIs/PMs to forecast budgets and funder submissions.
• Align forecasting with research teams' project needs.
• Oversee financial management of external projects.
• Ensure compliance and monitoring of sponsor requirements.
• Lead financial reviews with PIs/PMs on spend vs budget.
• Manage PMS cash drawdowns, invoicing, and FFRs.
• Maintain strong controls per Uniform Guidance; develop training.
• Track NIH changes and translate into guidance for OSR.
• Support annual audits with Controller and audit firm.
• Provide leadership to Pre & Post Award Finance team.
• Foster high-performance finance culture and automation.
• Lead ERP improvements for award/contract setup through closeout.
• Coordinate with OSR during high submission periods.
• Collaborate with FP&A on budget treatment of sponsored projects.
• Engage stakeholders: PMs, PIs, external partners.
• Build relationships with OSR and senior management.

Skills

Financial forecasting

Budgeting

Communication with PIs/PMs

Leadership/mentorship

Uniform Guidance compliance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Public Administration, or a related field

Tools

Grant management applications

Job description

The Allen Institute is seeking an experienced Senior Manager, Pre & Post Award Finance to oversee the Institute’s financial compliance and management of externally funded awards. Reporting to the Executive Director of Finance, you will lead a team and partner with OSR, Accounting, FP&A, and PIs to ensure accurate budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting.

This role manages approximately $100M in external funding and operates in a collaborative, hybrid environment in Washington State.