About the Role
As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.
UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.
The Department of Global Health was established in 2007, bridging the schools of Medicine and Public Health, with a mandate to harness the expertise and interdisciplinary power of all University of Washington (UW) schools and colleges. Our mission is to improve health for all through research, education, training, and service; to understand and address the causes of disease and health inequities at multiple levels; and to collaborate with partners to develop and sustain locally-led, quality health systems, programs and policies. Driven by tremendous interest among both students and faculty, the Department has grown to more than 400 graduate students and hundreds more undergraduates. We have more than 380 faculty and 1,000 staff working on projects across 130 countries with our deepest ties in United States, Kenya, Uganda, Peru, Mozambique, India, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua.
At the UW Department of Global Health, diversity is integral to excellence. The Department recognizes that disparities in health around the globe stem from inequity. The Department encourages and supports the multiple identities of staff, faculty and students including, but not limited to, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, culture, spiritual practice, geography, mental and physical disability and age. The Department strives to become a local, national, and international leader in developing and maintaining increased representation and recognition of each of these dimensions of diversity among its faculty, staff, and students.
This position will sit in the Global Center for the Integrated Health of Women, Adolescents, and Children (Global WACh) that is based in the UW Departments of Global Health, Obstetrics/Gynecology, and Pediatrics. Our mission is to make scientific discoveries, cultivate leaders, and bridge disciplines to advance the tightly connected health and well-being of women, adolescents and children. Global WACh brings together expertise in maternal health from the Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, neonatal and child health expertise from the Department of Pediatrics, and vast experience working in infectious disease, health metrics and evaluation, education, clinical research, and service delivery within the Department of Global Health. These disciplines combine under a methodology that views women, children, and adolescents as three populations interconnected along a shared life course.
Global WACh has an outstanding opportunity for a full-time Grant Manager (1.0 FTE).
This position is eligible for hybrid or remote work, and will report to the Director of Research Operations, Gut Health and Child Survival team. This person will be responsible for providing expertise in both pre-award and post-award policies and practices as defined by sponsors, federal, state and the University. Proposal development responsibilities include working directly with principal investigators, program managers, and other staff; developing budgets and preparing administrative portions of proposals; and recommending and implementing departmental policies and practices to ensure compliance with sponsor and university requirements.
Pre-award responsibilities include: 1) developing and administering proposal timelines, 2) creating budgets in collaboration with implementing partner institutions, 3) preparing administrative portions of proposals, 4) writing technical components of proposals including budget justifications, facilities descriptions, biosketches and similar, 5) insuring compliance with sponsor and university requirements, 6) quality control of applications, 7) building and maintaining strong partnership with assigned department faculty and staff.
Post-award responsibilities include: 1) preparing and submitting progress reports according to sponsor requirements, 2) providing technical advice and interpretation of regulations to department faculty and staff, 3) preparing and submitting Just-in-Time materials, and 4) ongoing post-award financial management, including monthly review with principal investigators to assure appropriate utilization of funds.
Global WACh seeks a Grant Manager who is passionate about coordinating complex projects, impeccably detail oriented, a creative problem solver, and delivers with excellence on a deadline to support our growing portfolio of research conducted in partnership with diverse funders. A successful candidate will bring a high level of organization, excellent communication skills, and an acute ability to diagnose problems and proactively develop solutions to address them. This position will be based full-time in Seattle, Washington and will report to the Director of Research Operations, Gut Health and Child Survival team.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Post-Award Financial Management and Compliance Management – 65%
• Manage the assigned programs’ post award grants and contracts.
• Develop, implement, and train investigators on policies and procedures in accordance with State policies for all post grant awards such as identifying appropriate documentation and utilizing best practices.
• Manage and oversee post award responsibilities including preparing annual progress reports (i.e., NIH RPPRs) and final status reports for grants and contracts in partnership with the Principal Investigators and department staff.
• Track all post-award requirements, including reporting requirements, reapplication deadlines and other sponsor requests.
• Meet with principal investigators on a regular basis to present and report on the financial status for each project; present and discuss potential problem areas.
• Monitor compliance with funding agency regulations through regular review of award budgets as part of the reconciliation process.
• Advise principal investigators on their payroll compliance and budgetary requirements for their grants and contracts. Based on results from monthly budget reports, advise principal investigators and provide short- and long-term personnel projections related to research funding.
• Review all budget expenditures and charge requests to ensure compliance with the approved budget, researcher and/or program team approval, Uniform Guidance, and verify that purchases do not require prior approval.
• Ensure applicable award documentation (including approvals, amendments, modifications, etc.) as well as any communications with the sponsor or any other Federal or regulatory office (including prior approvals, change in scope, etc.) are maintained and updated in project files.
• Participate in the award close-out process by completing the GWACh closeout checklist and coordinating with relevant UW and sponsor resources to ensure timely close-out.
• Work with PI’s to review and provide recommendations on proposals for potential IRB, IACUC and SFI compliance issues.
• Interface with the University Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), Grants and Contracts Accounting (GCA), and funding agencies (NIH, NSF, foundations, pharma).
• Collaborate with funding agencies (both federal and non-federal) to resolve problems and/or obtain approval for deviation from authorized procedures.
• Manage and work with subrecipients/subcontracts to ensure that proposal requirements and timelines are met. Answer questions and provide guidance of a similar nature as provided to the UW PI.
• Develop and collaborate with other staff on the development of quality assurance systems to identify trends/opportunities for improvement in departmental processes, tools, and communication to further enhance the service provided to PIs.
Administrative Responsibilities – 15%
• Enter award status, deadlines, human subjects status, and reporting data across the Global WACh grants portfolio into an internal dashboard.
• Notify team members of upcoming deadlines and provide appropriate templates and supplemental documents as needed.
• Maintain common filing system for all pre- and post-award grant management.
• Ensure faculty CVs, support, and biosketches are current and serve as the point of contact to research staff requests for this information.
• Participate in UW trainings and meetings around sponsored projects.
• Work with team members on the Global WACh Operations Team to review operational processes and create new SOPs as needed.
• Serve as a content expert and resource for faculty, and other staff members regarding grant and contract proposals, post-award management and compliance.
• Develop systems and tools to provide regular updates to faculty and department administrators regarding changes in federal and university research directives, as well as changes to departmental procedures.
• Collaborate and work closely with other grants and fiscal staff members to provide training and back-up when needed.
Pre-Award Financial Management and Compliance – 10%
• Interpret grant funding opportunity announcements (FOA's, RFP's, RFA's, etc.) and serve as an expert on funder requirements, orienting and training personnel on requirements.
• Develop and prepare complex budgets, graphs, figures, and other administrative sections of proposals for grants and contracts based on knowledge of sponsor requirements and program objectives.
• Review all application components for compliance and submit final applications as requested.
• Complete and submit electronic funding sponsor forms and UW internal forms with 100% accuracy and resolve all non-technical issues occurring during the approval process as requested.
• Conduct a quality control review of all proposals as requested to ensure each application is meeting sponsor/proposal requirements and department and school policies before being routed in SAGE for campus review.
Other Duties as Assigned – 10%
• Attend and participate in team, center and department meetings.
• Provide assessment and feedback for staff annual performance reviews.
• Participate in the GHCS Anti-Racism Plan implementation.
• Other duties as assigned.
As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Public Health, or any related field or equivalent AND five years of experience in research administration, with substantial responsibility for complex budgets and subawards
Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
• High proficiency in Microsoft Excel
• Highly organized with superb attention to detail and ability to see projects through to completion
• At least four years’ experience in a role developing budgets, performing basic fiscal management, or submitting grants to federal or non-federal sponsors
• Experience working with federal (i.e., NIH) and/or non-federal sponsors (i.e., BMGF, Thrasher, WHO) and familiarity with UW and/or federal grant regulations and compliance
• Work experience in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple demands, establish priorities, and meet firm deadlines on complex projects.
• Ability to operate in situations of uncertainty and trouble-shoot challenges demonstrating appropriate judgment and critical thinking.
• High degree of professionalism and diplomacy; ability to work across cultures and remain personable, professional and organized under stressful situations.
• Maintain a customer service-oriented mindset when finding solutions to problems.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills with demonstrated experience communicating across teams to meet shared goals.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Master’s degree in related field
• Experience working with academic researchers on sponsored project grant proposals.
• Experience with project management tools, like Asana or Trello
• Familiarity with UW administrative systems- experience in SAGE or WorkDay a plus
• Interest or experience in global health research
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
This position operates in a deadline-driven environment and may occasionally require extended hours. The position will be asked to work regular work hours M-F (8-5PM) but does require participation in remote conference calls and meeting that may occur during the early morning (typically between 5-8 am) and late evening (typically 8-10 pm) in order to accommodate the time zones of the countries where GWACh works.
Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.