Manager, Pre-Award Operations

Endeavor Health • Evanston, IL

1d

About The Position

The Manager, Pre-Award Operations leads the daily pre-award function within the Office for Sponsored Programs, supporting investigators across the Endeavor Health Research Institute in developing, reviewing, and submitting proposals to federal and state agencies, foundations, and industry sponsors. The role also contributes to contract negotiations, subrecipient monitoring, and general awards management. The Manager supervises pre-award staff, reviews proposals and budgets before institutional endorsement, and partners with the Director, Office for Sponsored Programs on policy development, process improvement, training, and metrics. The role ensures submissions comply with sponsor guidelines, federal regulations including 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance), and Endeavor Health policies.

The position is based in Evanston, Illinois, and is full-time, Monday through Friday, with flexible work schedules noted. The hourly pay range is $43.38–$67.24, with the offered rate determined by factors including expertise and years of experience.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Management, Public Administration, Health Administration, or Science.
• At least five years of progressively responsible experience in sponsored programs or research administration, with substantial pre-award experience.
• Demonstrated experience preparing and reviewing proposals and budgets for federal sponsors, including NIH.
• Demonstrated supervisory experience or documented team leadership experience in a research administration setting.
• Working knowledge of 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance), the NIH Grants Policy Statement, and standard federal application systems such as Grants.gov, eRA Commons, and ASSIST.
• Experience in an academic medical center, hospital-based research institute, or comparable clinical research environment.
• Experience with electronic research administration systems, such as Cayuse, InfoEd, or Huron Research Suite, and enterprise financial systems.
• Experience developing standard operating procedures, service metrics, and training programs.

Responsibilities

• Supervise Pre-Award Specialists, including hiring, onboarding, training, workload distribution, coaching, and performance evaluation.
• Establish and monitor service standards, submission timelines, and quality benchmarks, and report team metrics to the Director, Office for Sponsored Programs.
• Develop, document, and improve standard operating procedures for proposal intake, review, routing, and submission.
• Submit proposals on behalf of the institution.
• Coordinate award activities and sponsor communications, including no-cost extensions and carryforward requests.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex, time-sensitive, or high-value submissions and investigator service concerns.
• Review and approve proposal budgets, budget justifications, and administrative components for accuracy, allowability, and compliance with sponsor guidelines and institutional policy.
• Provide direct pre-award support for complex submissions, including multi-project applications, career development awards, subaward arrangements, and industry-sponsored agreements.
• Advise investigators and department administrators on funding opportunity requirements, application components, budget development, F&A application, cost sharing, and sponsor policy.
• Coordinate institutional endorsement and submission through sponsor systems, including Grants.gov, eRA Commons, ASSIST, NSF Research.gov, and electronic research administration proposal modules.
• Review notices of award and coordinate with the post-award team on award setup, at-risk account requests, and just-in-time submissions.
• Monitor changes in federal regulations, agency policies, and sponsor guidelines, and communicate their implications to staff, investigators, and leadership.
• Partner with research compliance, legal, contracting, and finance colleagues on matters such as subrecipient commitment review, conflict of interest disclosure, export control screening referral, and other pre-submission requirements.
• Develop and deliver training for investigators, research staff, and department administrators on pre-award processes and sponsor requirements.
• Support internal and external audits, sponsor site visits, and data requests related to the pre-award function.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Eligibility for an Annual Incentive Plan, with potential earnings based on organizational performance, for eligible positions.
• Premium pay such as shift, on-call, or holiday pay, based on the job and eligibility.
• Incentive pay for select positions.
• Opportunity for annual performance-based increases.
• Career pathways to promote professional growth and development.
• Medical, dental, pet, and vision plan options.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Free parking.
• Wellness program.
• Savings plan.
• Health Savings Account options.
• Retirement options with company match.
• Paid time off and holiday pay.
• Community involvement opportunities.

What This Job Offers

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