Grants & Contracts Manager

The Manager serves as a member of a team of professionals in the MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) Grants & Contracts Office (G&C), supporting the Associate Director and responsible for managing day-to-day reporting tasks for sponsored projects and providing first-line assistance to all staff in the grant administration area. The Award Management Manager is responsible for the success of the work streams and team members they oversee.

Within Award Management, the Manager supervises, manages and develops Staff (10 – 12 employees) in the performance of the day-to-day tasks related to sponsored projects by serving as an expert resource on all aspects of research administration. This position will have responsibility for oversight of work streams and staff productivity and performance within their purview through the assignment of staff workload and service level expectations, as well as the development and reporting of metrics, reports, and consistent utilization of SOPs.

In order to develop staff, the Manager provides guidance, training and quality assurance to staff and is directly responsible for developing staff to achieve the next level of expertise and performance. This individual is a part of the G&C Management Team and works closely and collaboratively with G&C managers to ensure the success of their teams and overall G&C operations.

The ideal candidate will have leadership experience in research administration post award experience, experience managing teams, familiarity with sponsored project regulations, accounting principles, and financial reporting. Preferred qualifications may include advanced experience with sponsored award management and supervising staff in a complex academic or research environment.

Work Schedule:

Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm.

Work Location:

Remote (must be willing to attend meetings onsite quarterly).

• Employer-paid medical coverage starting day one for employees working 30+ hours/week, plus optional group dental, vision, life, AD&D, and disability insurance.
• Accruals for PTO and Extended Illness Bank, plus paid holidays, wellness, childcare, and other leave options.
• Tuition Assistance Program after six months of service and access to extensive wellness, fitness, and employee resource groups.
• Defined-benefit pension through the Teachers Retirement System, voluntary retirement plans, and employer-paid life and reduced salary protection programs.

• Perform management and oversight activities to ensure productivity and achievement of service levels.
• Ensure compliance with accounting principles, sponsor requirements, and federal, state, and institutional policies.
• Provide guidance, training, and quality assurance to develop staff toward higher performance levels.
• Assign workload and ensure adherence to standard operating procedures.

• Oversee monitoring of sponsored award spending for allowability and compliance.
• Manage payroll and sponsored project effort processes.
• Oversee preparation of financial and accounting reports to sponsors.
• Ensure timely and compliant financial and non financial closeout of sponsored projects.
• Support institutional audit engagement and response activities.

• Work with G&C Managers to coordinate cross functional processes and procedures.
• Identify and elevate operational challenges and offer potential solutions.
• Maintain a cohesive “one office” approach to support seamless customer service and issue resolution.

• Stay current on sponsor requirements, institutional policies, federal and state regulations, and internal procedures.
• Provide backfill and transactional support during workload spikes.

• Take ownership of or support special projects as assigned.
• Collaborate across G&C Management to understand project goals and organizational impacts.

• Required:
  
  Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance or related field.
• Preferred:
  Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting.
• Preferred:
  Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

• Required:
  
  5 years professional experience in finance, accounting or related field to…