ARO - Pre-Award Grant Manager

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 $52,705 and $74,873, 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.

The Pre-Award Grant Manager provides high-level leadership and direction for pre-award research administration across multiple academic departments and research centers, serving as a key strategic partner in advancing the university's research enterprise. With delegated authority and autonomy over the portfolio supported, this position leads all aspects of proposal development, compliance assurance, and institutional coordination for submissions to a wide range of federal, foundation, industry, and philanthropic sponsors.

The Pre-Award Grant Manager is responsible for driving proposal strategy, establishing proposal workflows, and developing complex, multi-year budgets that align with both sponsor requirements and institutional priorities. This role serves as the primary decision-maker for pre-award processes within their assigned units, coordinating internal approvals, managing institutional commitments, and ensuring all submissions meet regulatory, policy, and deadline requirements. The Pre-Award Grant Manager collaborates closely with faculty, departmental leadership, post-award colleagues, and central offices to ensure a seamless and compliant transition from proposal to award, while proactively identifying funding opportunities and anticipating administrative needs.

This position plays a visible leadership role in supporting faculty success, maintaining operational excellence, and contributing to institution-wide research goals.

• Lead and direct complex proposal submission efforts, including multi-principal investigators, multi-institutional, and center-level applications. Collaborate with principal investigators to develop and implement a detailed submission work plan to ensure the submission of high-quality proposals that are responsive to sponsor requirements. This includes interpretation of sponsor guidelines, developing budgets, confirming eligibility and institutional fit, and creating work plans and timelines. Lead the leadership approval process related to institutional letters of commitment and support, alternate indirect cost rate approval, cost share commitments and sources, and the approval of space modifications to accommodate equipment purchased by the grant.
  
  Draft and revise detailed multi-year, multi-million-dollar proposal budgets that include faculty and staff salary and fringe, indirect cost rate calculations, equipment, supplies, graduate student stipends and tuition, postdoctoral support, and health insurance in compliance with sponsor, school, and university policies. Prepare draft budget justification narratives based on the agreed-upon detailed budget. Partner with investigators to prepare and document letters of intent, pre-proposals, and research prospectuses that align with sponsor strategic priorities.
  
  Facilitate the identification and appropriate inclusion of core facilities and shared institutional resources. Develop and maintain tailored proposal templates, budget models, and strategic planning tools to support scalable proposal development across principal investigators portfolios and sponsor types. Act as a resource to faculty by identifying funding opportunities and explaining new or evolving sponsor requirements. Oversee internal routing and compliance review processes, ensuring that all necessary approvals are in place prior to submission deadlines.
  
  (30%)
• Own and direct the full proposal submission process for a high-volume, high-stakes faculty portfolio, including the coordination and submission of over 100 proposals annually. Ensure that all proposals are submitted accurately, completely, and on time via Sparta Grants and sponsor systems such as NIH ASSIST, Research.gov, and Grants.gov. This includes troubleshooting technical issues across sponsor platforms and serving as the primary contact for resolving submission errors.
  
  Lead risk assessments for proposals involving foreign collaborators, human or animal subjects, and sensitive or restricted data…