Spa - Award Manager

External Retirement Plan TRS or ORP
•

Employment Type:

Employee
• Benefits Eligibility:
Eligible
•

Working Hours:

Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Salary:
Commensurate with experience
• Posting Date: 09/18/2025
• Proposing Starting Date: 11/03/2025
•

Location:

Athens Area

The University of Georgia is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, veteran status or other protected status. Persons needing accommodations or assistance with the accessibility of materials related to this search are encouraged to contact Central HR (
hrweb
).

Classification:
Grants Supervisor, FLSA Exempt, Full‑time (FTE 1.00).

• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent and 8 years of professional experience

• Leadership/management experience and mentality
• Proven success in a managerial role
• Strategic thinking, risk assessment, decision‑making, and problem‑solving capabilities
• Ability to motivate, mentor, and lead employees, while also holding them accountable
• Team‑oriented mindset
• Time‑management skills in a deadline‑driven unit
• Training experience
• Process improvement
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and delegation skills
• Adaptable/flexible
• Strategic planning abilities

The SPA Award Manager is responsible for the design and implementation of a cohesive and flexible award team that supports faculty and research staff in their pursuit of externally funded research and scholarly activity. The Award Manager will have excellent interpersonal and team‑building skills to promote a productive working relationship between SPA staff and the research community. This position holds an individual who has the vision and the ability to encourage people to be innovative problem solvers while still maintaining a highly compliant environment.

• Strong managerial, supervisory, and leadership skills to supervise and mentor a team of research administrators, and apply HR and managerial skills to oversee day‑to‑day operations of a team responsible for review, negotiation, and acceptance of awards and modifications.
• Outstanding problem‑solving and interpersonal skills to deal effectively with issues at all levels.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing with faculty, staff, and external partners.
• Ability to independently manage competing priorities and meet time‑sensitive deadlines and to train others to do the same.
• Commitment to excellent customer service and the ability to multitask, and to impart techniques to others.
• Extensive knowledge of the methods, procedures, and techniques used in review, negotiation, set up, and administration of sponsored projects awards and modifications.
• Expert knowledge of institutional policies and procedures pertaining to external funding.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with university, state, and federal agencies, and private organizations; partner with other managers in SPA to ensure a seamless process for the life cycle of sponsored activities.
• Ability to evaluate and analyze existing techniques and procedures, actively participate in improvement of existing and development of new procedures, and document and teach those improvements to others.

• Sitting, standing, walking, bending, stooping, pushing, pulling, lifting up to 20 lbs and carrying up to 20 lbs.

• Leadership, direction, training and mentorship of a diverse team of seven professional pre‑award staff members involved in review, negotiation, execution, and administration of sponsored awards and modifications (40% of time).
  • Sets and tracks performance and productivity metrics.
  • Engages in process improvement activities to meet goals of efficiency and enhanced customer service.
  • Responsible for HR activities including hiring, evaluation, termination, promotion, and onboarding and training resources.
  • Provides guidance and expertise in proposal and budget development, sponsor policy, sponsor systems,…