Grant Manager

Nth Cycle•Burlington, MA

About The Position

Nth Cycle is seeking a Grant Manager to lead post-award, cross-functional compliance for current and future multi-year grants from federal, state, and international government agencies, including awards from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Dutch National Growth Fund. The role manages grant agreements totaling hundreds of millions of dollars and serves as the primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders throughout each award’s lifecycle. Working across Engineering, Business Development, Capital Projects, Finance, and Legal, the Grant Manager oversees award negotiations, budgets, reporting, deliverables, milestones, compliance, and subrecipient monitoring. The role also develops and implements processes for managing grant personnel time and effort, financial drawdowns, project workflows, and sponsor reporting, while keeping stakeholders aligned and addressing risks, amendments, and extensions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or international equivalent.
At least 8 years of hands-on experience in U.S. federal award management, such as cooperative agreements, loans, and contracts.
Experience managing at least one grant of $10 million or more.
Experience managing post-award activities from negotiations through administration, including budget revisions, scope/SOPO negotiation, compliance reporting, and subrecipient monitoring.
Experience coordinating cross-functional legal, finance, and technical teams under tight deadlines.
Knowledge of federal grant compliance regulations, such as 2 CFR 200.
Knowledge of Federal Award Reporting (FAR) regulations.
Experience coordinating with national laboratories, such as ORNL or NREL, and other subrecipients as part of grant management.
Strong attention to detail and follow-through on complex, cross-functional deliverables over a multi-year grant.
Ability to lead and influence teams without direct authority and coordinate across departments to drive results.
Ability to distill complex technical or commercial information into clear narratives for different audiences.
Flexible schedule and availability to provide additional support in the lead-up to deadlines.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Comfort working directly with senior leadership and external government and commercial stakeholders.
Working knowledge of federal grant reporting and payment systems such as ASAP, PAMS, DOE E-Link, Research.gov, or equivalent.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in public administration, project management, or finance.
Experience managing European awards or contracts.
Certified Federal Contract Manager™ certification.
Certified Research Administrator certification.
Certified Grants Management Specialist certification.
Certified Business Administrator certification.
Certified Universal Manager certification.
Experience in critical minerals, battery recycling, industrial manufacturing, or cleantech sectors.
Experience writing and managing U.S. federal and state grant applications, particularly U.S. Department of Energy programs such as FOAs/NOFOs, ARPA-E, or OCED.
Experience translating technical or scientific project content for semi-technical and non-technical audiences.
Experience directly managing staff or supervising a team, including performance management and development.
Experience managing multiple grants in the $25 million to $100 million range.

Responsibilities

Serve as a primary point of contact with program and contracting officers during award negotiations.
Lead budget revisions, document redlines, and development of milestones and Go/No-Go decision points.
Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to respond to negotiation action items on time.
Develop and negotiate required rate agreements with the sponsor cognizant agency.
Manage post-award compliance obligations, including Davis-Bacon requirements, technical and financial reporting cadences, deliverables, budget tracking, and drawdowns in coordination with Finance.
Track milestones and deliverables against award schedules with Capital Projects, Engineering, Business Development, and Finance leadership; flag risks and scope changes early.
Liaise with grant program staff and subcontractors throughout awards, including monitoring subrecipient compliance and flow-down terms.
Assess, develop, and implement streamlined processes for grant personnel time and effort management, financial drawdowns, project workflows, and sponsor reporting.
Partner with Legal, Finance, Business Development, Capital Projects, and Engineering to gather inputs for negotiations and reports.
Coordinate deliverables and deadlines across stakeholders, keeping teams aligned and on schedule.
Communicate with grant program officers regarding budget and workplan amendments and extensions as appropriate.
Prepare updates for leadership on progress against grant activities.