Senior Research Administrator

When you join the growing BILH team, you're not just taking a job, you're making a difference in people's lives.

The Senior Grants Administrator is responsible for the daily administrative operations of defined research areas including grant and contract proposal preparation and approval, establishment of account infrastructure, management of financial transactions, preparation of regular reporting on status of funding and approval of research expenditures.

Job Description:

Responsibilities but not limited to:

Pre-Award :

• Coordinates and supports overall grant proposal submission process, including budget development for new, resubmissions, and non-competing submissions.

• Interprets funding announcements (FOAs, RFPs) and summarizes requirements for investigators.

• Advises investigators of grant policies, due dates for progress reports, and compliance requirements.

• Reviews final proposals in the final stage prior to routing to Signature Official for signing and submission.

• Advises on regulatory compliance components of proposals (human/animal protocols, COI, data management).

• Provides technical mentorship on complex compliance and sponsor systems.

• Serves as an institutional resource on sponsor systems, advanced compliance requirements, and submission best practices; Conducts advanced compliance screening of proposals.

• Serves as a resource and mentor to Pre-Award I and II staff, supporting complex or high-priority submissions.

• Maintains advanced proficiency with sponsor submission systems (e.g., NIH ASSIST, Research.gov, Grants.gov, etc.) and trains investigators/staff in their effective use.

Post-Award :

• Works with information from internal systems, grant management software, and other systems to monitor purchases, actual, and encumbered expenses as well as salary distributions.

• Must have a strong working knowledge of sponsored grants including budget management for federal and non-federal awards, contracts and subcontracts.

• Works with Financial Analysts and others as necessary to reconcile information/reports and provides investigators with regular financial status reports in user-friendly formats. Conducts regular meetings with investigators where projections are provided and reviewed to avoid deficit spending. Works with investigators and directors to manage deficits.

• Responsible for managing all time and effort reporting for defined areas of responsibility.

• Works with PIs to regularly monitor information and make changes as appropriate. Reports any unusual or non-compliant information to PI and team leadership.

• Approves routine invoices and purchase orders for complex and high-dollar portfolios. Reviews procurement transactions for compliance and escalates unusual or non-standard items to Grant Advisor Lead or Manager for approval.

• Monitors subrecipient agreements for reporting compliance and deliverables.

• Leads the effort certification process and resolves discrepancies prior to submission.

Team-Related Responsibilities:

• Works within team structure under a Grant Advisor Lead and participates in daily/weekly stand-up meetings to coordinate assignments and progress.

• Updates team trackers in real time to ensure accurate reporting for grant submissions, reconciliations, effort, and closeouts.

• Takes the lead on the most complex grant portfolios (multi-PI, multi-sub, or high-dollar awards).

• Provides early escalation of risks or delays to the Grant Advisor Lead for redistribution of workload.

• Provides technical mentorship and training to junior staff.

• Provides support to team members during absences or periods of high workload.

• Participates in team debriefs and continuous improvement discussions after closeouts or reconciliations to support team-wide improvements.

• Provides feedback after major submissions to improve processes.

• Acts as primary liaison to investigators within a complex or compliance-intensive portfolio, ensuring proactive communication on submissions, reporting, and audits.

Qualifications :

• Bachelor's degree preferred.

• 5-8 years of grant administration experience required.

• Experience with grant management, budget preparation and financial management principles and regulatory requirements.

• Previously demonstrated understanding of policy and practice governing research compliance within a large institution.

• Experience with computer systems required, including web- based applications and some Microsoft Office applications which may include Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Access.

Competencies :

Decision Making: Ability to make decisions that are guided by general instructions and practices requiring some interpretation. May make recommendations for solving problems of moderate complexity and importance.

Problem Solving: Ability to address problems that are varied, requiring analysis or interpretation of the situation using direct observation, knowledge and skills based on general precedents.

Independence of Action: Ability to follow precedents and procedures. May set priorities and organize work within general guidelines. Seeks assistance when confronted with difficult and/or unpredictable situations.

Written Communications: Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written English with internal and external customers.

Oral Communications: Ability to comprehend and converse in English to communicate effectively with medical center staff, patients, families and external customers.

Knowledge: Ability to demonstrate full working knowledge of standard concepts, practices, procedures and policies with the ability to use them in varied situations.

Teamwork: Ability to work collaboratively in small teams to improve the operations of immediate work group by offering ideas, identifying issues, and respecting team members.

Customer Service: Ability to provide a high level of customer service to patients, visitors, staff and external customers in a professional, service-oriented, respectful manner using skills in active listening and problem solving. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Social/Environmental Requirements :

Work requires close attention for work to be accurately completed. Intermittent breaks during the workday do not compromise the work. Work routine is fairly consistent, but employee needs to be able to use judgment to respond to potential unplanned events several times a week. No substantial exposure to adverse environmental conditions.

Health Care Status: NHCW: No patient contact. Health Care Worker Status may vary by department.

Sensory Requirements :

Close work (paperwork, visual examination), monitor use, conversation.

Physical Requirements :

Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally in carrying, lifting, pushing, pulling objects; sitting most of the time, with walking and standing required only occasionally; this job requires constant keyboard use, frequent sitting; there may be occasional walking, fine manipulation using both hands.

Pay Range:

$85,000.00 USD - $125,000.00 USD

The pay range listed for this position is the annual base salary range the organization reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for this position at this time. Actual compensation is determined based on several factors, that may include seniority, education, training, relevant experience, relevant certifications, geography of work location, job responsibilities, or other applicable factors permissible by law.

As a health care organization, we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to care for and protect our patients, our colleagues and our communities. Beth Israel Lahey Health requires that all staff be vaccinated against influenza (flu) as a condition of employment.

More than 35,000 people working together. Nurses, doctors, technicians, therapists, researchers, teachers and more, making a difference in patients' lives. Your skill and compassion can make us even stronger.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled