Team Lead, Grants and Contracts (Shared Services)

Stevens Institute of Technology • Hoboken, NJ

4d

About The Position

The Manager, Grants and Contracts (Shared Services) leads a team of Grants and Contracts Specialists within the Office of Sponsored Research and Accounting (OSRA), providing comprehensive lifecycle support for sponsored projects. This role is responsible for overseeing pre-award, post-award, data management, and compliance functions while ensuring consistent, high-quality service delivery across a shared services model. The Manager partners with faculty, departments, and central administrative units to drive operational excellence, ensure regulatory compliance, and promote efficient, standardized processes. This position plays a critical leadership role in advancing the institution’s research enterprise through team development, process improvement, and strong stakeholder engagement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, public administration, or related field.
• 5–8 years of progressive experience in sponsored research administration, including both pre-award and post-award functions.
• Demonstrated supervisory or team leadership experience.
• Strong knowledge of federal regulations (e.g., Uniform Guidance) and sponsor requirements.
• Experience managing complex proposals and awards.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with an emphasis on stakeholder engagement.
• Experience with enterprise systems (e.g., InfoEd, Workday Financials, or similar platforms).

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a shared services or centralized research administration model.
• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) or similar credential.
• Experience with system implementations, process improvement, or operational transformation initiatives.
• Knowledge of major sponsors (NIH, NSF, DoD, foundations, industry).

Responsibilities

• Supervise, mentor, and develop a team of Grants and Contracts Specialists.
• Manage team workload distribution across a shared services model to ensure timely and high-quality service delivery.
• Establish performance expectations, monitor outcomes, and conduct regular performance evaluations.
• Foster a customer-service-oriented culture focused on responsiveness, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Identify training needs and support professional development, including compliance and sponsor knowledge.
• Oversee proposal development support, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and compliance with sponsor and institutional requirements.
• Provide guidance on complex proposals, including multi-investigator, multi-site, and high-risk submissions.
• Ensure appropriate review processes are followed prior to submission to OSRA for institutional approval.
• Monitor proposal volume, deadlines, and submission success rates across the team.
• Ensure data integrity for proposal records and current/pending support documentation.
• Oversee award setup and maintenance in InfoEd and integration into Workday Financials.
• Provide guidance on complex award terms and conditions, including contract negotiations and subawards.
• Ensure appropriate monitoring of budgets, expenditures, and compliance across assigned portfolios.
• Oversee subaward processes, including agreement execution, risk assessment, and subrecipient monitoring.
• Ensure timely completion of prior approvals, financial activities, and award closeout processes.
• Ensure accuracy and completeness of proposal and award data across InfoEd, Workday Financials, and sponsor systems.
• Oversee data quality initiatives and establish standards for data entry and maintenance.
• Monitor and analyze reporting outputs to support institutional leadership, compliance, and operational decisions.
• Collaborate on system enhancements, implementations, and process standardization within the shared services unit.
• Ensure adherence to federal regulations (e.g., Uniform Guidance), sponsor requirements, and institutional policies.
• Oversee compliance review processes for proposals and awards, ensuring consistent application of policies.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate compliance risks; escalate complex or high-risk issues as appropriate.
• Support audit readiness and coordinate responses to internal and external audits.
• Oversee monitoring of effort reporting, cost sharing, and other compliance activities.
• Serve as a senior point of contact for faculty and departments, particularly for complex or escalated issues.
• Build strong partnerships with OSRA leadership, RICES (FCOI, IRB/IACUC), and OSA finance teams.
• Promote clear communication and consistent service delivery across supported units.
• Lead outreach, training, and education efforts to improve faculty and staff understanding of research administration processes.
• Lead initiatives to improve efficiency, consistency, and scalability within the shared services model.
• Develop and document standard operating procedures (SOPs) and best practices.
• Use metrics and data to assess performance, identify gaps, and implement improvements.
• Support change management efforts related to new systems, policies, and organizational structures.

Benefits

• Refer to the Stevens Institute of Technology Benefits Guidebook for a full overview of our benefits offerings.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager