Manager I, Pre-Award Services

Manager I, Pre-Award Services

The mission of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) Office for Research is to facilitate the highest caliber of biomedical research, from basic to translational to clinical, among the VP&S faculty, students, and staff at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC).

As a member of the Pre-Award Team, the Manager I, Pre Award Services oversees grant-related pre-award activities for the basic sciences and other participating departments within VP&S. The incumbent applies advanced expertise in grants administration to support a complex portfolio of funding opportunities while providing leadership, guidance, and operational oversight for a team of pre-award professionals.

The Manager I is responsible for fostering employee development, supporting performance management activities, promoting collaboration and continuous improvement, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality pre-award services. This role requires strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to build effective relationships with faculty, researchers, and institutional stakeholders while ensuring compliant and timely proposal submissions.

Responsibilities

• Pre-Award Grant Administration
  • Assists PIs in the development, review, and submission of all Federal, State, and foundation grants and contract applications, including individual investigator grants, multiple principal investigator (MPI), and complex grants, such as training grants, career development grants, and program center grants. Independently leads submission of grants: Manages timelines, research team communication, and the overall progression of submission to ensure the on-time completion of high quality, responsive and compliant proposal applications. Proactively communicates progress and roadblocks and collaborates with leadership to mitigate problems and identify or innovate solutions.
  • Facilitates and supports the research and identification of funding opportunities on behalf of investigators, as appropriate.
  • Prepares and delivers presentations to faculty and researchers. Prepares agenda and presents at monthly department administrator and researcher meetings.
  • Prepares grant budgets and budget justifications based on the aims provided and RFA technical content requirements in full compliance with sponsor/donor and CU policies, as well as engages outside collaborators and establishes subcontracts.
  • Drafts supporting documents for grants including letters of intent, letters of support, cover letters, facilities, and resources.
  • Maintains detailed, up-to-date records of PI's other support, biosketches, and grant submission documents.
  • Responds to RFAs and summary statements and addresses issues prior to submission.
  • In coordination with the Post-Award Team and the principal investigators, promotes accurate preparation and timely submission of progress reports as required by sponsoring program.
  • Tracks the status of pending applications, follows up with investigator regarding review/funding status of application.
  • Supports investigators in responding to Just-In-Time requests.
  • Ensures files are complete for awarded applications, secures missing information from principal investigators and/or administrators.
  • Maintains standards: budget templates, standardized checklists for core staff and PIs tailored to the sponsor/mechanism, standardized filing system using shared drives, updated resources and facilities.
  • Guides and mentors researchers and junior team members on grant funding policies, regulations, and procedures.
  • Performs all other duties as assigned within scope of practice and/or training.
• People and Stakeholder Management
  • Manages a team of pre-award administrators. Provides coaching, ongoing feedback, and guidance to support employee development and performance. Participates in or leads creation and implementation of team processes to promote effective communication, collaboration, and decision-making, and ensure alignment across pre-award team. Models and communicates team values and culture.
  • Contributes to onboarding and training for new and current team members. Collaborates with lead trainer to identify training needs, provide subject matter expertise for development of training materials, facilitate trainings, and support the continuous improvement of pre-award learning and development resources.
• Collaborates with leadership on human resources activities such as recruiting, hiring, and performance management. Conducts performance appraisals for direct reports, identifies and mitigates any roadblocks to performance, and escalates any performance concerns in a timely manner. Collaborates with leadership and HR to develop and implement action plans, reporting on progress.
• Models professionalism and accountability in interactions with internal clients through clear, respectful, and timely communication and responsive follow-up.
• Manages and maintains positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, such as faculty, internal offices, funding agencies, and collaborating organizations.

• Strategy and Continuous Improvement
  • Collaborates with members of pre-award leadership to share information and contribute to the ongoing improvement of standards, policies, and procedures leading to the continuous enhancement of service, quality, and performance.
  • Identifies team challenge areas and knowledge gaps and determines needs around research, team learning, or resource development. Develops plan for addressing gaps, in collaboration with leadership and lead trainer, and oversees execution by delegating projects and monitoring progress on goals.
  • Leads or participates in team projects and initiatives, including serving as a subject matter expert. Uses tools and reporting mechanisms to track progress and ensure timely communication of issues and status. Prepares reports or presentations as needed, including to senior leadership.
  • Supports execution of strategy for pre-award and research administration teams, including strategy for pre-award expansion. Ensures that direct reports have the support they need to contribute to achievement of strategic and operational objectives. Monitors effectiveness of implementation and ensures two-way communication between team members and leadership.
  • Maintains sound knowledge of federal rules and regulations that govern research grants as well as stays informed about sponsor terms and conditions for submitting and administering grant awards.
  • Keeps current on all organizational policies, goals, and initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in biological science or business/administration degree such as finance, accounting, business administration, business, public health, public administration, or a directly related field
• A minimum of 4 years of relevant experience in pre-award grant management.
• Demonstrated expertise in the full scope of pre-award grant management, including mastery of terminology, standards, and tools for grant management; prior experience with and understanding of NIH systems (eRA Commons, ASSIST, RePORTER); knowledge of complex budgeting, subawards, and deadline management; management of MPI grants, complex grants, and training grants; and experience implementing new policy changes. Ability to coach, guide, and educate others in the full scope of pre-award management.
• Team leadership skills, including strong communication, feedback, and conflict management skills, empathy and emotional intelligence, and the ability to foster collaboration, promote a culture of goal-achievement, coach and develop others, and lead others through new and changing situations. Ability to handle situations with respect, tact, and sensitivity.
• Strong customer service orientation and skills, with the ability to interact and collaborate positively, constructively, and effectively with multiple constituencies. Ability to model strong service to others and coach others through challenging client situations.
• Strong interpersonal and emotional intelligence skills focused on establishing and maintaining productive relationships with faculty, peers, leadership, and other stakeholders. Ability to adapt to meet the needs of clients, deescalate challenging situations, and mentor others in client management.
• Capacity to work with a high degree of independence and successfully within a deadline driven, multi-tasking environment. Ability to handle multiple projects at high levels of complexity, demonstrate sound judgment in managing time, prioritizing, and decision-making.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
• Self-motivated and demonstrates initiative, patience, and resourcefulness in adapting to changes.
• Proficiency in problem assessment and collaborative problem solving in interdisciplinary settings. Ability to proactively communicate progress and roadblocks and escalate complex issues to management and research offices.
• Ability to collaborate on and deliver presentations to various audiences, including senior leadership.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (especially Excel) or similar software is required and an ability and willingness to learn new systems and programs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Supervisory and/or training experience.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.