Grant Manager

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Job Summary

Under minimal supervision from the Sponsored Research Lead in the division, the grant manager is responsible for pre-award coordination of all sponsored research applications as well as post-award support through closeout for a group of PMA faculty and their respective research groups, including reporting to the Division Chair & Division Operations Officer, thus providing a full spectrum of service to the faculty while communicating effectively with all campus areas.

Provide action-oriented and expert support to Principal Investigators (PIs), handle specific sponsored research award and audit issues with integrity. Coordinate closely with staff and management to implement and maintain policies and procedures that maximize the opportunities for support of PIs, create an environment conducive to such scholarship and assist Caltech with minimizing its compliance risks associated with sponsored research.

This role is eligible for primarily remote work, pending a remote work agreement. Ability to report to campus regularly is required.

Essential Job Duties

Sponsored Research Administration:

• Ensure timely and service-oriented pre-and post-award administration of grants, contracts, subcontracts, consortium agreements and service agreements.
• In collaboration with Sponsored Research Administration team, support the submission, review, negotiation and acceptance within short time frames with sponsor agencies and collaborating organizations to maximize research opportunities.
• In collaboration with Sponsored Research and Post-Award Administration teams, assure that PMA sponsored projects follow compliance policies for sponsored projects administration, including maintaining proper documentation to substantiate direct charges to sponsored projects.
• Maintain a positive, proactive relationship with various campus areas (Office of Sponsored Research, Project Accounting, Development, Procurement Services, Payroll Services, etc.) to ensure full grant compliance and process efficiency.
• Provide guidance in grants administration and provide training, if necessary.
• Coordinate with General Accounting, Provost's Office, Purchasing, Development, and other Caltech teams to maximize the ability of PIs to perform research efficiently.
• Demonstrate behaviors that support performance improvement activities.
• Maintain current working knowledge of federal regulations and sponsor policies to support the responsible conduct of research.

Pre-Award Management:

• Counsel PIs and PMA team members on funding opportunities and strategies for the preparation of successful proposals.
• Assist PI in applying for new or continued sponsored research support.
• Prepare proposal budgets to capture valuable resources and assure compliance with agency and Caltech policies.
• Coordinate the preparation, routing and review of non-scientific portions of proposals including biosketches, budget and justification development, and identifying administrative documentation requiring review.
• Oversee routing and submission of entire application packets in accordance with PMA, Caltech and sponsor requirements and deadlines.
• Assist PIs in sponsored project award implementation. Provide all necessary award specific guidance to faculty and their respective groups on internal policies and procedures, as well as funding agency compliance matters. Specific duties that are related to award implementation include award setup, subrecipient paperwork and monitoring, equipment fabrication setup, cost sharing tracking and reporting, NIH Salary Cap compliance, reporting, etc.
• Manage and update all records for proposal for PMA.

Post-Award Management:

• Monitor and review the expenditure and budget activities associated with successful sponsored project management.
• Perform regular account reconciliation process and correct posting of expenditures to various awards.
• Prepare monthly, or more frequent as necessary, review of financial status, assuring funds are expended appropriately to maximize research opportunities over the course of the funded project.
• Manage spending of various awards to ensure that all grant expenditures are reasonable, allocable, and allowable according to OMB and agency guidelines and follow cost accounting standards.
• Prepare financial projections for principal investigators, the Division Chair and Division Operations Officer.
• Develop and customize, if necessary, periodic (tertiary at a minimum) reports for faculty and Division Chair.
• Advise faculty of potential problems and provide recommendations for corrective action.
• Interact with central accounting office and Office of Sponsored Research on matters related to award closeouts.

Perform other related job duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent with 3 or more years of relevant work experience is required.
• Advanced working knowledge in proposal preparation, monitoring, compliance and award closeouts with the Department of Energy.
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing. Exercise good judgment, diplomacy, and patience.
• Possess interpersonal skills using tact, patience, and courtesy.
• Highly proficient in Excel applications.
• Experience with preparing and managing budgets.
• Strong organizational, administrative, time management, and critical thinking skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with preparing grant proposals.
• Experience with analyzing, evaluating and recommending solutions to faculty on grant-related matters.
• Knowledge of federal funding administration (2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance).
• Knowledge of electronic proposal submission via agency websites (e.g., NSF Fastlane, Grants.gov, Research.Gov, DARPA TFIMS).
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision is desired.

Required Documents

• Resume.