Director, Grants Administration

Job Description

Job Description

THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS

DIRECTOR OF GRANTS ADMINISTRATION

The University of St. Thomas is the Catholic University in the heart of Houston. We are committed to the Catholic intellectual tradition and the dialogue between faith and reason. By pursuing excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service, we embody and instill in our students the core values of our founders, the Basilian Fathers: goodness, discipline, and knowledge. We foster engagement in a diverse, collaborative community.

The University of St. Thomas is a comprehensive university, grounded in the liberal arts. Committed to the unity of all knowledge, we offer programs in the traditional liberal arts, professional, and skill-based disciplines. University of St. Thomas graduates think critically, communicate effectively, succeed professionally, and lead ethically.

JOB SUMMARY: The Director of Grants Administration leads the university's sponsored research and restricted grants portfolio, balancing rigorous institutional compliance with proactive faculty enablement. Operating under a dual framework, this position reports to the Provost's Office and works closely with the Chief Financial Officer's (CFO) office to ensure seamless alignment on fiscal matters, budget forecasting, drawdowns, and audit compliance. The Director will provide comprehensive oversight of the entire grant lifecycle, supporting faculty with pre-award proposal development and budget construction while ensuring post-award financial accuracy, audit readiness, and timely closeout. The Director serves as a strategic partner to academic departments, actively facilitating external funding while safeguarding the university's regulatory and financial standing.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Actively monitor federal, state, and private foundation grant opportunities to systematically match them with faculty research profiles and STEM initiatives.
• Provide hands-on, concierge-level assistance to faculty and Principal Investigators (PIs) through the pre-award phase by translating complex RFP guidelines.
• Build compliant proposal budgets and manage the internal institutional routing process for all external funding requests.
• Design and execute ongoing training sessions, toolkits, and workshops to demystify the grant lifecycle for early-career faculty.
• Streamline internal workflows to actively reduce bureaucratic friction and administrative burdens for teaching and research professors.
• Ensure absolute institutional compliance with Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), federal cost principles, state regulations, and individual donor restrictions.
• Partner closely with the general accounting, finance, and CFO offices to monitor restricted fund expenditures, ensure matching fund tracking, and review budget-to-actual reports.
• Execute accurate, timely federal drawdowns and oversee post-award effort certification workflows.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all internal and external grant audits to guarantee zero major findings.
• Author, update, and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) governing institutional research compliance, time-and-effort reporting, and conflict of interest disclosures.

Qualifications:

• Extensive professional experience in grants administration, sponsored research, or public-sector compliance within a higher education setting.
• Comprehensive knowledge of Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) and federal/state grant regulations.
• Proven track record of successful pre-award budgeting and post-award financial reconciliation in partnership with centralized finance teams.
• Demonstrated commitment to a philosophy of service, partnership, and collaboration with academic faculty.
• Exceptional interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills to effectively bridge administrative compliance and academic innovation.
• Experience working in a fast-paced, multi-faceted environment with the ability to manage strict, competing grant deadlines under pressure.
• Proficiency working with computer-based higher education ERP systems, grant routing software, and standard office suites.
• Certified Grants Management Specialist (CGMS) or Certified Research Administrator (CRA) designation (preferred).

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree or advanced professional certification in a related field preferred.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Occasional evening or weekend work is necessary to meet strict external grant submission deadlines.

The University of Saint Thomas is committed to the religious, ethical, and intellectual traditions of Catholic higher education. As permitted by law, practicing Catholics who will advance the mission of the school are preferred for this position. However, the University invites all qualified applicants to apply .