Grants Administrator

Cobb County Government•Department of Transportation Marietta, GA

11h•Onsite

About The Position

The purpose of this classification is to plan, organize, implement, monitor and evaluate grant funding plans for their assigned department. This position will be the lead in organizing, monitoring and ensuring compliance requirements of the grant funding that supports the Transit Program, with occasional support for state grant submission for the Airport division. The best candidates will have pre-award and post-award working experience, with a significant familiarity with the FTA Transit Award Management System (TrAMS) and some familiarity with GDOT related processes for FAA grants (preferred but not required). This position will work closely to assigned Transit managers to ensure federal compliance of current and future grant funding, appropriate monitoring and tracking of grant activities, lead in reconciliation of frequent budget expenditures and work closely with County Finance divisions and departments. At a less frequent cadence, this position will work closely with the Airport division with the grant submissions for FAA funds, by way of appropriate GDOT divisions. This position will lead in following county related processes in the receipt of new funding and the pursuit of appropriate funding opportunities, inclusive but not limited to completion of board approvals, direct coordination with DOT leadership on their project priorities, coordination with county and regional partners to ensure appropriate updates to regional plans, collection of necessary documents for future grant approvals, etc. The best candidate will have a significant proficiency with financial and budgetary data and inputs, web-based grant portals and dashboards, deciphering and ensuring compliance of regulatory requirements, technical and business writing as appropriate for grants and county agenda processes, etc. supplemented by three years of experience in grant development and administration and/or budget accounting, preferably in a public sector environment; or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for this job. Additionally, the best candidate will be able to coordinate the preparation and review of grant-related agenda items for presentation to the Board of Commissioners (BOC). Receive, review, draft, edit, and verify agenda items to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with grant requirements before submitting them through the appropriate approval process for inclusion on the BOC agenda. The ideal candidate will be able to assists project managers and project leads with the programmatic development of new grant applications, as well as, develop and implement reconciliation processes to identify and calculate grant-eligible expenditures and conduct quarterly reviews to verify that expenditures submitted for reimbursement are accurate, properly documented, and consistent with applicable grant regulations.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration, Finance, or related field required
three years of experience in grant development and administration and/or budget accounting, preferably in a public sector environment
significant proficiency with financial and budgetary data and inputs
proficiency with web-based grant portals and dashboards
proficiency deciphering and ensuring compliance of regulatory requirements
proficiency with technical and business writing as appropriate for grants and county agenda processes
pre-award and post-award working experience
significant familiarity with the FTA Transit Award Management System (TrAMS)
ability to coordinate the preparation and review of grant-related agenda items for presentation to the Board of Commissioners (BOC)
ability to assists project managers and project leads with the programmatic development of new grant applications
ability to develop and implement reconciliation processes to identify and calculate grant-eligible expenditures
ability to conduct quarterly reviews to verify that expenditures submitted for reimbursement are accurate, properly documented, and consistent with applicable grant regulations

Nice To Haves

some familiarity with GDOT related processes for FAA grants

Responsibilities

Monitor financial status of department grant awards: prepares and submits requests for reimbursements; monitors budget expenditures for grant compliance; prepares required financial reports and budget adjustments for grant awards; maintains accurate and complete grant files; and performs grant related special projects and audits.
Reviews and analyzes expenditures, invoices and pay documents to determine eligibility for grant reimbursement; prepares and submits grant reimbursement requests; monitors and tracks receipt of grant revenues to ensure timely receipt and accurate accounting.
Monitors and tracks expenditures of grant funds to ensure spending in accordance with grant regulations; reconciles grant balances; prepares and submits budget revisions, requests for grant extensions and grant close outs to allow for optimal utilization of funds.
Assists department officials in preparation of grant applications and proposals: prepares grant applications in accordance regulations, policies, and procedures; interprets, explains, applies, and ensures compliance with guidelines of granting agents and with all applicable laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, standards, policies, and procedures; initiates any actions necessary to correct deviations; submits grant applications, and quarterly and annual progress reports.
Recommends prioritization regarding capital projects as they related to the availability of grants funding; leads development of grant budgets and advises staff on how and where to budget funds for departmental and contingency purposes.
Identifies and solicits grants from government sources to support the various programs of the department: researches various sources to identify grant funding opportunities; determines availability of grant funding; secures and reviews funding source documents; researches specific goals, purposes, conditions, restrictions, and qualifications for eligibility of each grant opportunity; gathers cost estimates to develop proposed budgets; and evaluates potential success of funding opportunities; and determines or recommends whether to apply for various grant programs.
Coordinates agenda preparation and review: receives, reviews, writes, and edits agenda items to be presented to the Board of Commissioners (BOC); verifies accuracy and completeness of proposed agenda items; and reviews and submits items to appropriate personnel for approval and inclusion in BOC agenda.
Develops and implements preventative maintenance reconciliation process to identify and calculate preventative maintenance expenditures that are eligible for grant reimbursement; performs quarterly review of such expenditures to verify amounts expended as consistent with amount submitted for grant reimbursement in accordance with regulations.
Maintains current knowledge of industry, regulatory and legislative developments affecting transportation grant administration, budget coordination, and expenditure reporting functions to ensure application to areas of responsibility.
Compiles, maintains and updates financial and operational data for analysis to identify trends and/or problems; recommends possible actions and/or appropriate solutions accordingly.
Administers Federal and State transportation grants to include FTA, FAA, GDOT, and local grants; manages multiple complex grant agreements, prepares and submits grant milestone reports, amendments, budget revisions and grant proposals; ensures accurate, eligible and timely grant draw downs and reimbursements, including review of contract files, invoices and other accounting reports and documentation; provides leadership and coordination of Federal and State audits (e.g. Triennial Review).