Post-Award Grants Manager Lead

University of Washington • Seattle, WA

8h • Hybrid

About The Position

The School of Medicine Integrated Resources, Post-Award team is seeking a Post-Award Grants Manager Lead. This role reports to the Assistant Director, Integrated Resources, Post-Award. The Post-Award Grants Manager Lead will be responsible for leading a team of post-award professionals and overseeing complex sponsored research portfolios that support the University of Washington’s research mission. This position requires strong judgment, a service mindset, and the ability to build efficient, scalable processes in a fast-paced shared services environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field and four or more years of related experience.
• Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.
• Familiarity with post-award grant and contract processes for both federal and non-federal funding sources.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain strong attention to detail in a complex environment.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with UW policies and procedures related to research administration and financial management.
• Experience partnering with UW central operations such as OSP, IACUC, HSD, and GCA.
• Experience using UW systems, including Workday.

Responsibilities

• Lead advanced post-award administration for a complex portfolio of federal, industry, foundation, and training grants and contracts, ensuring expenditures, payroll, and effort align with sponsor terms, UW policy, and program goals.
• Provide high-level financial oversight through forecasting, budget-to-actual analysis, burn-rate monitoring, carryforward review, and recommendations that help Principal Investigators and leaders make sound fiscal decisions.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to faculty and research leaders by reviewing award status, interpreting post-award requirements, resolving issues in UW systems, and guiding timely completion of reports, deliverables, and subaward activities.
• Coordinate with administrative and research partners to maintain accurate award data, signature authority, approvals, and corrective actions across assigned portfolios.
• Oversee complex sponsor and internal reporting needs to support stewardship of research funding and continuity of operations.
• Interpret and apply federal, state, sponsor, and institutional requirements with a strong emphasis on post-award compliance, internal controls, and consistent operational practices.
• Identify financial and administrative risk areas, analyze trends and gaps, and develop practical corrective actions that strengthen compliance and reduce operational exposure.
• Advise leadership on compliance considerations, policy changes, and mitigation strategies that affect sponsored research activity across the unit.
• Supervise, coach, and develop a team of grants managers and grants specialists, setting clear expectations for service delivery, quality, accountability, and professional growth.
• Manage staffing, workflow distribution, onboarding, performance feedback, and quality assurance processes to support responsive, consistent post-award services.
• Act as the senior subject matter expert and escalation point for complex sponsor, compliance, and financial issues while fostering strong partnerships with faculty, administrators, and school leadership.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• Paid holidays
• Flexible scheduling
• Professional development
• Learning and development program
• Tuition reimbursement

What This Job Offers

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