The Pre-Award Grants Manager is part of the Basic Science Administration, POD2  Pre-Award team at Vanderbilt University and is a key individual contributor responsible for coordinating and managing a portion of the POD2 applications, grants and contracts. This position works with POD2 Faculty, Students, Staff and collaborating departments and institutions to help construct and submit sponsored funding applications; and to coordinate the subsequent contracts or award funding for successful proposals. Reporting directly to the Administrative Officer for the POD2 Pre-Award team, the Grants Manager submits work flow through the Administrative Officer and subsequently with the central Sponsored Programs Administration office at Vanderbilt University, as well as similar offices at collaborating organizations. 

The Grants Manager should have an attention to minute detail; a strong work ethic relative in particular to strict deadlines; the ability to learn new concepts and systems; the social and communication skills as a team player; the capacity to use those skills in training faculty, staff and students in grant application preparation; and the ability to work in a matrixed environment amid multiple central offices. 

About the Work Unit: 

Basic Science Research Administrative Pod 2 is a group of professionals who provide administrative support to the following departments and centers: Biochemistry Department, Cell & Developmental Biology Department, Center for Stem Cell Biology, Center for Structural Biology, Mass Spectrometry Research Center, Center for Computational Systems Biology, and Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology. Pod 2 is comprised of three teams, each with expertise focused in one of the following areas: sponsored research (pre- and post-award), finance, and HR. 

  Duties and Responsibilities 
 

Key Functions and Expected Performance: 

Prepare and assemble grants proposals/contracts in compliance with sponsor, University, and federal guidelines and strict deadlines in coordination with applicants including faculty, research fellows, and students. 

Conduct extensive monitoring of requirements, deadlines and time management for responses to Program announcements/R.F.A.’s or general application submissions in a proactive manner. Assist with multiple applications for multiple applicants and departments under absolute, unwavering agency and internal deadlines. 

Work and train in a collaborative manner with the Principal Investigator (P.I.), Other collaborative Research institutions; and in conjunction with the Sponsored Programs Administration grants and contracts office, throughout the application process to achieve a professional document for submission. 

Responsible for routing and obtaining appropriate signatures, both physical/paper and electronically routed as required from PI, Key Personnel and other department or outside institutions and agencies. 

Assist P.I. and supervisor to assemble application prior to submission and insure timely submission. 

Prepare draft budgetary allocations through grant application year and periods for applications. 

Estimate budgets based on spending historical spending trends and existing forecasting models from various shared databases. 

Present, edit, and finalize recommended budget for next grant application year with P.I. and central offices. 

Review budgeted direct cost items for A21 (federal compliance) and other agency, industry, or foreign government guidelines for accuracy, accountability, reasonableness, and consistency. 

Interact with peers within other departments and agencies to facilitate the development, submission, and administration of grant proposals. 

Work in a collaborative manner with the P.I. and the central offices throughout the application process to achieve a professional document for submission. 

Responsible for the tracking and receiving back confirmation of submitted application and status. 

Provide or facilitate to outside departments requests for bio sketches, other support, budgets, inter- and intra-departmental contracts, and other ancillary data in a timely fashion. 

Responsible for getting non-competing applications or reports to Grants, Sponsored Programs Administration and/or Research Finance for review and final submission. 

Responsible for insuring accurate data flow from Pre-award team to Post-award and HR teams. 

Assist with and manage budget responsibilities for grants. 

Works in conjunction with supervisor on new, competing or revised grant applications in preparing initial and extended budgets, including Indirect cost calculation. 

Reviews budget details with PI, including personnel, effort allocated and overall expenses, ensuring consistency with agency regulations and Research Finance guidelines. 

Coordinate with post-award team to ensure awards and budget adjustments are recorded properly. 

Serves as a resource for the department or division. 

Monitor agency announcements for funding opportunities available to faculty, research fellows, and students specific to those groups. 

Keeps abreast of new/updated agency policies, procedures, deadlines and timeframes of new initiatives and coordinates communication across the supported departments. 

Attends all necessary training offered by the Sponsored Programs Administration and/or Research Finance in addition to monitoring online/published applicable materials (i.e.: NCURA newsletter, NIH online updates, DOD announcements, internal Vanderbilt guidelines). 

Keeps supervisor and PIs informed of any material changes in policies/procedures from agencies or central offices. 

Provide PI information on obtaining forms and/or websites for submitting: New Animal or IRB protocol requests (NOI), Annual Surveillance Forms, Salary only approvals, Rebudgeting or No-Cost-Extensions, etc. 

Assist overall administrative team as assigned to complete non-application aspects of Human Resource management relative to costing for personnel costing and effort management, annual fiscal budgeting, reporting, forecasting and general office/administrative aspects of operation as assigned. 

Project implementation/maintenance 

Maintain existing plans to achieve defined departmental goals and objectives  

Maintain and edit existing databases, office functions and procedures, etc.  

Compiling data, conducting research assignments and summarizing findings according to general instruction provided by supervisor 

Analyzing and reporting findings relating to operations  

Assist as assigned with completion of various periodic and annual departmental projects and functions, including fiscal-based start-up and close-out deadlines. 

 

Supervisory Relationships: 

This position does not have supervisory responsibility. 

This position reports administratively and functionally to the Basic Science Administration POD2 Pre-Award Administrative Officer. 

  

Education and Certifications: 

A minimum 2-year Associate degree or equivalent is necessary. 

A 4-year Bachelor degree is preferred. 

 

Experience and Skills: 

Proficient in Microsoft Word is necessary. 

Able to create and update worksheets in Excel is necessary. 

Have a working knowledge of Adobe including forms creation, editing and conversion of documents between these three programs is necessary. 

A background in grant application preparation for agencies (NIH, DOD, AHA, etc.) is preferred. 

Familiarity with reviewing and editing private industry and foreign agency contracts is preferred.