Grants & Contracts Manager

We are seeking a Grants & Contracts Manager. This position will coordinate sponsored funds management in the Department of Medicine for two divisions: Gastroenterology & Hepatology and the Division of Endocrinology for post-award functions that include, but may not be limited to: proposal preparation, submission, budget development, account maintenance and oversight, billing/invoicing, reporting, compliance, and closeout. Pre-award functions are handled centrally in the Department of Medicine, but there may be occasional need for pre-award functions for specialized applications or other urgent circumstances. Works independently on a variety of grants/contracts that range from simple to highly complex. This position reports directly to the Grants & Contracts Administrator of the Department of Medicine with dual reporting accountability to the Division leadership. Will oversee the post-award and closeout activities for a variety of grants/contracts, with varying levels of complexity. This role also serves as point of contact and resource guide for department faculty and analysts for the planning and development of budgets for submission with grant packages to various federal agencies, private agencies, foundations and commercial contract proposals. This includes providing instruction on protocol, regulations and guidelines pertinent to the agency/or university.

Job Scope/Complexity

Will provide broad/in-depth guidance on protocols, regulations and guidelines to PI and other scientific/research professionals, both within the University and with other associated research/administrative professionals outside of the University. This position offers guidance and learning support to Grants & Contracts Analysts, Specialists and Coordinators within the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. This position is responsible for assessing training needs, as well as coordinating and facilitating staff training. Works closely with faculty and staff on complex awards and submissions; provides ongoing staff training; disseminates information on new regulations and compliance rules; provides quarterly and annual sponsored funding reports as needed to department, center and/or division leadership as required. Will act as the final point of contact for the department, center, and/or division with faculty, grants and sponsored research staff.

This position works independently on a variety of complex level grants/contracts, including, but not limited to: oversight of all NIH grants, including R01, R01/RFA, R34, K08 or K23, F32, T32, P50 multi-project (including grants with highly detailed budgets, multiple projects, Cores and Subawards), U awards including academic industrial partnerships, investigator-initiated Dept. of Defense grants, higher complexity Foundation grants, pharmaceutical company clinical trials. May also assist with details related to Subawards from other institutions on their R01 grants.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

Sponsored Projects - Post Award (95%)

• Responsible for reviewing all Notice of Grants Awards from sponsor forwarded from the Office of Research Administration. Review is based upon accuracy, content, adherence to institutional, government, and other sponsor guidelines.

• Work cooperatively with research shared services to ensure grant accounts are established in a timely and accurate fashion. Brings SAP errors to the attention of Sponsored Shared Services accountants.

• Provides additional documentation to the sponsor which is made a condition of funding release (other sources of support, etc).
• Requests allocation accounts for and from other departments to provide accountability and transparency into collaborative science, and to manage overspend risk.
• Requests pre-award accounts to accurately reflect expenses on a project in situations where Sponsored Shared Services does not have the right documentation to clear the funding for spend in SAP.
• The Grants and Contracts Manager makes a risk assessment and requests a pre-award account on behalf of the division where he/she agrees it is probable that the funding will be released (the risk is borne by the department).

• Prepare and coordinate subawards.
• Following activation of funding in SAP by Sponsored Shared Services, distributes the available budget into expense categories in SAP.
• Ensure eForms are processed and funds are utilized compliantly.
• Ensure grant balance workbooks are developed and up-to-date.
• Develop reports to proactively identify payroll gaps, develop projects, and perform what if scenarios.
• Manages control salary report.
• Ensures pre and post review of effort and effort certification by individuals.
• Responds to all ad hoc reporting requests not fulfilled by the JHU controller’s office, from both outside agencies and SOM departments, including requests for documentation to support sponsored audits.
• Responds to requests for information about PI activities and funding, to support grant applications made by both Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and other departments (e.g. training grant applications)
• Prepare variance reports on research actual results verses budget. Works with Faculty and staff within the Division to identify reasons for variances and resolve problems or balances on research accounts.
• Works with Sponsored Shared Services Accountants and Mangers to verify financial data and update and correct it as necessary in support of the final financial “FSR” report required to be made to the granting agency at grant closeout.
• Validates or generates invoices, as required, often to private granting agencies.
• Carefully monitors unique terms and conditions for non-federal support. Communicates with the controller’s office to process invoices and reports to sponsoring agencies as necessary.
• Create systems to provide internal support to ensure knowledge and improvement in post-award management within the Division
• Serve as a liaison with Research Administration, DOM Administration, SOM Business Office, Shared Services, the General Counsel’s Office, et al.
• Monitors and approves costs transfers for late reasons and works with Faculty to reduce incidents of cost transfers, especially outside a reasonable time period.

Sponsored Projects - Pre Award (5%)

• Review budget justification for appropriateness and completeness of content. Compare budget detail to budget justification for consistency.
• Verify compliance with sponsoring organizations’ guidelines, as well as with relevant University policies and procedures. Assist Principal Investigators in completion of required information. Ensure appropriate F&A rates are assigned.
• Reviews tables from scientific section if indicated to crosscheck against information presented in budget.
• Assures IRB and Animal protocol numbers are valid.
• Provides the groundwork for subcontract negotiations, including review for Hopkins-friendly contract language prototypes, and even mathematical corrections to subcontract proposals from other institutions.
• Coordinate submission of large grant proposals ensuring that all applicable direct and indirect cost rates have been applied.
• Responsible for tracking proposals and other documentation through signature/approval processes.
• Maintain grants database system for tracking active and pending awards by fiscal year, and/or individual investigator.
• Facilitate and/or produce specialized sponsored projects reports.

Financial 

Operational Finance

• Understands financial systems at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, including, but not limited to: Fibi, eRA Commons, SAP (ECC and Analysis), & Greenphire Systems.
• Versed in SAP finance data infrastructure: Fund Numbers, Cost Centers, Internal Order numbers, GL codes, and the purpose for each category. Understands HR SAP data infrastructure such as Org unit, personnel number, position number, wage type as these are used in financial planning and analysis.
• Understands financial transaction types and the advantages, restrictions, and compliance issues with each. These include purchasing and purchasing authorizations, legal documents, such as leases, purchase orders, purchasing cards, corporate travel cards, and SAP transactions including shopping carts, check requests, invoice payments, and cost transfers.
• Knowledgeable about controller’s office policies for purchasing, accounts payable, supply chain, accounts receivable, and effort.
• Understands SOM account types (sponsored, dowry, gift, endowment interest, royalty, internal grants, clinical, service center, general funds, and operating accounts. For each account type, is aware of the sources of revenue and expense for each, and the variables which influence each.
• Is knowledgeable about the individual accounts (IOs) within the account type categories above. Is aware of accounts’ origin, ownership, and whether the accounts are a “going concern” or an exhaustible source of funding.
• Specifically responsible for execution and/or management of the following activities
• Approval of SAP transactions for all types of sponsored accounts.
• iManage sponsored team members that are responsible for approval of procurement cards and petty cash.
• In approver role, checks balances or reports to make decisions about whether the funding source requested in a transaction is available for use.
• Validates supporting documents for transactions, and GL coding for a transaction.
• Responsible for following up with individuals responsible for submitting transactions where there is a need for additional information to support a transaction, or for policy training or technical support. Notes reasons for rejection for any transaction that allows notes. Works with individuals to help them understand financial transactions and policies. Tactfully communicates decisions.
• Responsible for submitting eforms to maintain and manage payroll distributions for service center, clinical, and administrative employees.
• Runs reports for analysis – SAP. Formats reports or executes pivot tables for optimum analysis.
• Leverages relationships with the operational financial leaders
• Performs quality checks on data from SAP. Where quality is in question, escalates concerns and questions
• Maintains a high degree of personal integrity and discretion in day to day operational finance, maintaining confidentiality about salary information, dowry and account balances and startup packages, overspent accounts, staffing adjustments, and the strategic objectives that inform day to day decisions.
• Recommends steps and executes plan to resolve issues with internal controls or reporting integrity based on knowledge of financial infrastructure.
• Maintains divisional financial records on the shared drive.

Financial Reporting & Research

• Provides regular sponsored financial reports to PIs. Answers questions, researches transactions and explains balances as necessary.
• Prepares and submits reports to external agencies as required in non-sponsored arena.
• Makes significant contributions in working sessions to understand what research results mean, and what to do with the results going forward.
• Solves operational problems that arise by recommending and implementing new processes, educating stakeholders, or providing more regular information to stakeholders.

Financial Planning

• Responsible for all funds budgeting for all Sponsored Accounts.
• Analyzes components of revenue and expense for a subset of accounts to increase budgeting accuracy. Rolls each expense type into major all funds categories and submits budgets formatted in the budget template.
• Participates in discussions, makes recommendations, and implements long range operational finance goals.
• Participates in discussions and makes recommendations for internal fiscal policies and procedures
• Participate in the annual departmental budget submission.
• Serve as one of the Department’s finance and administrative staff who act as a liaison with university and hospital areas such as the School of Medicine’s Business Office, Research Administration, Research Accounting, Dean’s Office, Human Resources, JHU Controller’s Office, Tax Office, and JHH Finance Office.
• Manages Effort Reporting- quarterly reconciliation between payroll allocations and faculty effort in accordance with governing grant principles.
• Manage a team of Grants and Contracts Analysts across two Divisions.
• Coordinate with other departments for financial activity involving assigned Department such as research grants and contracts involving the department faculty.

Special Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of accounting and budgeting theory and practices required. Thorough knowledge and understanding of The Johns Hopkins University accounting system and related fiscal offices preferred.
• Ability to make independent judgments and to act on decisions on a daily basis.
• Proven ability to provide leadership, management and training to the sponsored research team.
• Ability to work with flexibility on several tasks simultaneously and to meet various concurrent deadlines.
• Thorough knowledge of external Federal guidelines/procedures for grants and contracts, including NIH, NSF, DOD and NASA.
• Strong communication skills are required as well as tact and discretion. Maintain strict confidentiality of payroll/personnel and budget information.
• Knowledge of Excel, Powerpoint and Word.
• Knowledge of JHU on-line systems for budgets, purchasing and accounting preferred.

• Bachelor's Degree.
• Five years of related experience in sponsored research and/or financial positions, preferably in an academic or medical setting. Two of those years must include working in a lead or supervisory capacity with extensive supervisory responsibilities or high level, direct involvement in grants and contracts leadership development training projects, serving as a recognized subject matter expert.
• Additional education may substitute for required experience and additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond HS Diploma/Graduation Equivalent, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

Classified Title: Grants & Contracts Manager  
Role/Level/Range: ATP/04/PE  
Starting Salary Range: $73,300 - $128,300 Annually ($100,000 targeted; Commensurate w/exp.) 
Employee group: Full Time 
Schedule: M-F, 8:30AM - 5:00PM 
FLSA Status: Exempt 
Location: Remote 
Department name: SOM DOM General Admin Chairmans Offf   
Personnel area: School of Medicine