Grants Management Specialist

Axle•Bethesda, MD

2d•$70,000 - $80,000•Onsite

About The Position

Axle is seeking a Grants Management Specialist to join our vibrant team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supporting the Bethesda, MD. This role provides contractor support services to NIH Grants Management Specialists (GMS) performing high-volume, technical, and administrative tasks across the pre-award and post-award grants lifecycle. The specialist will support federal staff who retain inherently governmental responsibilities such as final funding decisions, obligating funds, and signing Notices of Award. Responsibilities span Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) support, application intake and validation, budget review, compliance and checklist reviews, risk and due-diligence compilation, Just-In-Time (JIT) tracking, award and Notice of Award preparation, and post-award financial monitoring, compliance, and closeout support.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required
5+ years of federal grants experience
3+ years of experience in finance/accounting
Proficiency with SF-424, modular budgets, and indirect cost calculations.
Knowledge of the NIH Grants Policy Statement, human subjects regulations, and audit reporting.
Experience with eRA Commons
Experience with IMPAC II

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred
NIH experience preferred
3+ years of finance/accounting experience preferred

Responsibilities

Draft FOA templates and administrative sections for GMS review.
Maintain FOA publication tracking log and clearance workflows.
Monitor the Electronic Research Administration (eRA) Commons receipt queue.
Validate administrative completeness of applications (forms present, page limits) and flag missing items.
Prepare administrative completeness reports for each application.
Perform mathematical verification and consistency checks between the SF-424 Research and Budget Justification.
Produce budget comparison worksheets and preliminary cost-analysis summaries.
Check for required assurances (human subjects, vertebrate animals, IACUC, IRB approvals), registrations (SAM/UEI), and other required attachments.
Prepare compliance checklist summaries for GMS review.
Compile institutional award history, audit summaries (Single Audit), and other source documents to support GMS risk and due-diligence review.
Track Just-In-Time (JIT) requests; validate completeness of JIT materials and prepare JIT summary memos.
Draft standard correspondence and internal routing memos for GMS approval.
Maintain a shared mailbox triage log.
Assemble draft Notice of Award (NoA) elements, including funding summary, terms to consider, and recommended conditions, for GMS review.
Prepare funding summary sheets, obligation worksheets, and internal checklists.
Enter award metadata into NIH tracking systems under supervision, create grantee file folders, and assemble administrative award packets.
Reconcile budgets against awarded amounts and prepare monthly/quarterly financial status summaries for GMS review.
Track and summarize Federal Financial Report (FFR) submissions and flag delinquent reports.
Review and summarize progress reports, other support, no-cost extension requests, and prior approval requests for completeness and policy issues.
Prepare issue logs and draft recommendation memos for GMS action.
Compile documentation for administrative amendments and closeout packages, including final FFR reconciliation, final progress report, and property disposition.
Prepare draft closeout checklists and closeout memos.
Ensure award records meet NIH retention and compliance standards and prepare electronic archive packages.
Prepare a weekly status report on active tasks and outstanding items.
Participate in monthly performance review meetings with GMS leadership to review performance metrics, risks, and backlog.
Immediately escalate any items that could materially affect award timing or compliance.