Grants Analyst

Central Ohio Transit Authority•Columbus, OH

1d•$75,941 - $89,357

About The Position

COTA's Grants Analyst performs professional analytical work supporting the organization's federal, state, local, capital, and private grant programs. The position analyzes funding opportunities, project eligibility, budgets, expenditures, compliance requirements, and performance data while coordinating grant applications, reporting, reimbursements, and closeout processes. The role performs duties that advance COTA's Strategic Plan and reflect the organization's core values of safety, empowerment, accountability, teamwork, and service, while supporting its mission of Moving Every Life Forward.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Public Administration, Business Administration, Urban Planning, or a related field.
Five years of experience in grants administration, financial analysis, budgeting, project controls, compliance, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Experience with federal or state grants, public-sector or transit funding, and financial reporting.

Responsibilities

Research federal, state, local, and private funding opportunities and analyze COTA project eligibility, competitiveness, match requirements, and financial impacts for capital, operating, planning, demonstration, and special-purpose projects.
Coordinate with the Grants Committee, project sponsors, and external consultants to develop grant applications, narratives, budgets, schedules, and supporting documentation.
Administer assigned grants throughout the award lifecycle, including award setup, budget revisions, reimbursement requests and drawdowns, expenditure review, project-status monitoring, matching-fund documentation, and grant closeout.
Review transactions for allowability, allocability, funding availability, and compliance with grant agreements and applicable requirements.
Maintain accurate grant and capital-project financial records and supporting documentation; reconcile the general ledger, project ledgers, grant systems, and approved budgets.
Prepare monthly actual-to-budget analyses, forecasts, variance explanations, and required financial and status reports for internal stakeholders and funding agencies.
Serve as a technical resource and point of contact for project managers, finance staff, auditors, and funding agencies on grant budgets, reporting, documentation, reimbursement status, and compliance requirements; track requests, commitments, deadlines, and corrective actions through resolution.
Maintain COTA's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) records and coordinate project additions, amendments, and supporting financial information for submission to MORPC; reconcile TIP data with COTA's capital plan, grant portfolio, and approved project budgets.
Support annual and multi-year capital-budget development by evaluating project costs, cash flow, grant eligibility, funding assumptions, local-match requirements, and funding gaps; contribute grant and capital data to financial forecasts, TIP, and business-planning processes.
Prepare and validate capital and grant financial schedules for COTA's annual National Transit Database reporting and other external financial reports.
Support financial and grants-related audits through monitoring activities and responses to data requests and reviews.
Develop dashboards, schedules, and portfolio analyses communicating grant balances, reimbursement activity, project performance, risks, and upcoming deadlines.
Assist the Accounting and Budget teams with month-end and year-end activities and with analysis and reporting of revenue and expense variances affecting grant-funded programs.