Post-Award Grants Manager Lead

Job Description

School of Medicine Integrated Resources, Post‑Award has an outstanding opportunity for a Post‑Award Grants Manager Lead to join their team.

Reporting to the Assistant Director, Integrated Resources, Post‑Award, the Post‑Award Grants Manager Lead is responsible for leading a team of post‑award professionals and overseeing complex sponsored research portfolios that support the University of Washington’s research mission.

This role combines strategic leadership, high‑level post‑award expertise, and operational problem‑solving to ensure grants and contracts are managed accurately, compliantly, and on time.

The ideal candidate brings strong judgment, a service mindset, and the ability to build efficient, scalable processes in a fast‑paced shared services environment.

• Lead advanced post‑award administration for a complex portfolio of federal, industry, foundation, and training grants and contracts, ensuring expenditures, payroll, and effort align with sponsor terms, UW policy, and program goals.
• Provide high‑level financial oversight through forecasting, budget‑to‑actual analysis, burn‑rate monitoring, carry forward review, and recommendations that help Principal Investigators and leaders make sound fiscal decisions.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to faculty and research leaders by reviewing award status, interpreting post‑award requirements, resolving issues in UW systems, and guiding timely completion of reports, deliverables, and subaward activities.
• Coordinate with administrative and research partners to maintain accurate award data, signature authority, approvals, and corrective actions across assigned portfolios.
• Oversee complex sponsor and internal reporting needs to support stewardship of research funding and continuity of operations.

• Interpret and apply federal, state, sponsor, and institutional requirements with a strong emphasis on post‑award compliance, internal controls, and consistent operational practices.
• Identify financial and administrative risk areas, analyze trends and gaps, and develop practical corrective actions that strengthen compliance and reduce operational exposure.
• Advise leadership on compliance considerations, policy changes, and mitigation strategies that affect sponsored research activity across the unit.

• Supervise, coach, and develop a team of grants managers and grants specialists, setting clear expectations for service delivery, quality, accountability, and professional growth.
• Manage staffing, workflow distribution, onboarding, performance feedback, and quality assurance processes to support responsive, consistent post‑award services.
• Act as the senior subject matter expert and escalation point for complex sponsor, compliance, and financial issues while fostering strong partnerships with faculty, administrators, and school leadership.

This position manages employees: grants managers and grants specialists.

To be considered for this opportunity your application must demonstrate you meet both the minimum qualifications and additional qualifications listed below. Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field and four or more years of related experience.
• Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.
• Applicants who do not meet these qualifications will not be forwarded to the Hiring Manager.

• Familiarity with post‑award grant and contract processes for both federal and non‑federal funding sources.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain strong attention to detail in a complex environment.

• Familiarity with UW policies and procedures related to research administration and financial management.
• Experience…