Grants Manager
What this job does:
Manages the financial and administrative lifecycle of research grants at a university, hospital, or research institute. Handles pre-award activities like budget development and proposal submission, and post-award activities including financial reporting, compliance monitoring, subcontract management, and closeout.
This job is similar to these lab/research tasks:
Writing NIH, NSF, or foundation grant applications and progress reports; developing project budgets and justifications; managing project timelines and deliverables against funder requirements; navigating institutional submission portals; reporting on research progress to funding agencies.
Typical starting salary range
$60k to $95k
Salary estimate represented as 25th to 75th percentile. Gathered from recent job postings, Glassdoor.com, and Salary.com
Daily task breakdown
- Pre-award: budget development, proposal preparation, and submission (30%)
- Post-award: financial reporting, compliance monitoring, and invoicing (30%)
- Researcher consultation and guidance (20%)
- Subcontract and subaward management (10%)
- Audit support and closeout (10%)
Skills you'll use in this job:
Federal grant regulations (NIH, NSF, DOE, DOD; OMB Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200); budget development and financial management; grant submission systems (eRA Commons, Research.gov, Grants.gov); post-award compliance and financial reporting; effort reporting and cost allocation; subcontract and subaward management; sponsored programs knowledge
Talk about these PhD skills in your resume and interview:
Talk about your direct experience writing or contributing to grant proposals - this is the most credible thing you can bring to a grants manager role. Highlight your familiarity with NIH or NSF mechanisms, your experience developing budgets, and your ability to navigate institutional submission processes and timelines.
Alternative job titles to search:
Grants Manager; Research Administrator; Sponsored Programs Administrator; Grants and Contracts Administrator; Pre-Award Administrator; Post-Award Manager; Research Finance Manager; Sponsored Research Officer; Grants Specialist; Research Compliance and Grants Manager
*Note:
-Job titles are inconsistent between companies. Try various keywords.
-PhDs tend to undershoot seniority level. Target higher than you think.
