Post-Awards Grants Manager

Salary Grade

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 $49,257 and $62,311, 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.

Job Description

POSITION OBJECTIVE

The Post-Award Grant Manager provides high-level leadership and operational oversight for post-award research administration across multiple departments and research centers in the College of Arts and Sciences. Serving as the strategic financial partner and compliance lead for a defined portfolio of faculty, this position is responsible for managing the full lifecycle of externally funded research projects. The manager typically oversees approximately $5 million in active sponsored funding. Operating with a high degree of autonomy and decision-making authority, the Post-Award Grant Manager directs award setup, budget monitoring, effort certification, subrecipient oversight, and financial reporting, ensuring institutional and sponsor policies are consistently met. This position plays a critical leadership role in partnering with faculty, central offices, and department administrators to maintain financial integrity, reduce administrative burden, and ensure that sponsored funds are spent appropriately and strategically. The post-award grant manager is responsible for anticipating and resolving complex post-award challenges, managing compliance risk, and contributing to process improvements that strengthen the overall research infrastructure. This position also plays a visible role in cross-functional initiatives aimed at advancing institutional financial stewardship, streamlining research operations, and aligning post-award activities with long-term research goals.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Lead strategic financial management of all active sponsored awards within the assigned portfolio in the College of Arts and Sciences. Allocate salaries in HCM and coordinate time entry for non-exempt staff in compliance with the grant award. Monitor accounts monthly to reconcile expenditures, verify allowability, and ensure alignment with sponsor budgets. Provide monthly burn rate reports, variance analysis, and financial projections to faculty. Identify budget risks, communicate proactively with stakeholders, and implement corrective actions in collaboration with departments and principal investigators. Ensure accurate principal investigator effort allocations and salary distributions across faculty, staff, and student roles. Manage an active award portfolio representing 30 to 50 sponsored projects per manager, often with multiple funding sources, subawards, and project changes requiring ongoing oversight and adaptation to evolving sponsor requirements. (30%)
• Serve as the compliance lead for all post-award activity within the assigned portfolio. Coordinate and complete effort certification for College of Arts and Sciences faculty and staff; ensure timely, accurate submission per institutional and federal policy. Review and approve expenditures, including high-value purchases, for allowability and proper justification. Maintain comprehensive documentation to support internal and external audits. (25%)
• Lead post-award subrecipient monitoring efforts. Review and approve subrecipient invoices, confirm deliverables, and monitor financial risk. Coordinate with PIs and pre-award colleagues to manage subaward modifications and documentation. Ensure timely submission of closeout materials and verify final deliverables and payments. Support vendor compliance and purchasing workflows as they relate to sponsor restrictions and audit readiness. Act as a key liaison for cross-institutional collaborations to ensure consistency in subrecipient oversight practices. (15%)
• Direct the financial closeout of projects, including final reconciliations, residual balances, and submission of financial reports. Confirm that all sponsor and institutional requirements are met prior to account termination. Identify and manage post-award changes such as no-cost extensions, carryover, and rebudgeting requests. Provide change requirements and supporting documentation to pre-award for sponsor routing and submission. Maintain visibility on award timelines to ensure changes are addressed proactively. Own and drive the full post-award lifecycle for all funded projects, beginning with assisting departments with award setup information and continuing through closeout, including all required sponsor communications and financial deliverables. (20%)
• Serve as a trusted advisor to faculty, providing one-on-one onboarding for newly funded awards and guiding investigators through post-award requirements. Lead or co-lead faculty kickoff meetings with pre-award colleagues to ensure shared understanding of award terms, budget structures, subaward management, reporting requirements, and compliance obligations. Deliver high-quality customer service and support faculty through the administrative aspects of their research. Provide faculty with long-term financial planning support, including forecasting tools, strategies for sustainable budgeting, and identification of funding gaps or renewal opportunities. Design and deliver training on post-award best practices for faculty, staff, and new team members. Participate in training initiatives and institutional efforts to improve post-award processes and systems. (10%)

NONESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Perform other duties as assigned (<1%)

CONTACTS

Department: Continuous contact with faculty and administrators across College of Arts and Sciences departments to provide post-award account management, reconciliation, guidance, and support.

University: Moderate to frequent contact with central research administration offices including, ORTM, SPA, compliance offices, and university finance to reconcile post-award financial accounts, address compliance requirements, and resolve administrative or financial issues.

External: Occasional to moderate contact with sponsor program officers and subrecipient administrators and other external partners to serve as a liaison on behalf of the department and college to resolve issues or complaints, support reconciliation efforts, and ensure compliance with sponsor regulations and requirements.

Students: Infrequent contact with graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to provide information and guidance as needed.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

No staff supervision.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Bachelors degree and 3 years of related experience in post-award research administration or a comparable field such as grants management, financial operations, accounting, contract administration, or sponsored project oversight; OR Associates degree and 5 years of related experience required. 5 years of experience in higher education, academic medicine, nonprofit research, government, or other complex, compliance-driven, or audit-sensitive environments is preferred.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Demonstrated experience in managing post-award grant administration activities, including financial oversight, account reconciliation, compliance monitoring, reporting, and coordination with faculty, departments, central administration, and external sponsors within a complex academic or research environment.
• Knowledge of federal and non-federal sponsor requirements (e.g., NIH, NSF, DoD, DOE, foundations) preferred.
• Experience in developing, managing, and monitoring budgets
• Familiarity with university financial policies, procedures, and research administration systems (e.g., PeopleSoft, Oracle, SpartaGrants) preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex requirements clearly and professionally.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build positive relationships with faculty, staff, and external partners.
• Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to prioritize, multi-task, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Strong attention to detail, analytical thinking, sound judgment, and effective problem-solving abilities.
• Effective management and leadership skills, including the ability to train, lead, and collaborate with team members.
• Demonstrated initiative, dependability, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Flexibility to adapt to shifting priorities and changing demands; willingness to learn new systems and processes; demonstrated innovation in improving efficiency and effectiveness.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and database applications; ability to quickly learn and adapt to new software tools and electronic submission systems.
• Willingness to learn and work with artificial intelligence (AI) tools and technologies.
• 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.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Typical office environment. Extended periods of computer use required. Adjusting work hours within the work week may be needed on rare occasions when evening/weekend work is required to meet reporting and closeout deadlines.

Hybrid Eligibility

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.

EEO Statement

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.

Reasonable Accommodations

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.

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