• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $95,000 to $110,000

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director of Finance & Administration for the Columbia Nano Initiative (CNI/CISE) and working closely with the Finance Manager, the Grants and Contracts Manager is expected to deliver high quality and customer-focused grants management services for a significant portfolio of Federal and private grants and contracts. Closely interacts with faculty and administration in all proposal and post-award-related duties. The Grants and Contracts Manager supervises the Pre- and Post-Award process by utilizing internal and external resources, including work-study and casual employees. Provide other support as required.

Responsibilities

• 35% - Pre-Award:
  • Assists the Director of Finance & Administration in providing general administrative and financial support for the Columbia Nano Initiative.
  • Provides timely, accurate, and compliant pre-award support for PIs in proposal development, data collection, writing, compilation/collating, and proofing.
  • Assists CNI PIs to develop and submit research proposals following agency guidelines and ensures adherence to SPA, SPF, University, CNI, and external agency formatting and content guidelines and requirements.
  • Coordinates proposal budget preparation and submission to sponsoring agencies within tight timeframes. 
• 35% - Post-Award:
  • Provides timely, accurate, and compliant post-award support for PIs, including the monitoring and oversight of grant expenditures, adherence to pre-approved agency budgets, and ensuring compliance with Federal Uniform Guidance.  
  • Serves as primary grants of contact between the CNI and PIs, Contracts Officers, Program Coordinators, SPA, SPF, Payroll, and other School and University offices.
  • Prepares and delivers various accounting and financial reports for individual projects and sponsors. 
• 25% - Compliance and Training:
  • Analyze trends and expenditures to ensure compliance with financial policies of CISE/CNI, SEAS, and the University. Develops reports of financial activities as needed.
  • Assist with sub-award contracts and invoices, billing, and reconciliations.
  • Manages monthly award reconciliations and provides coverage for the Finance Manager.
  • Mentors and trains CNI junior grant personnel, financial and program coordinators, and work-study students.
  • Creates training tools and ensures adherence of junior grant staff to Federal and University policies. 
  • Perform related duties for projects as assigned. 
• 5% - Performs other tasks, duties, and assignments as assigned. 

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required, preferably in a financial or research administration-related field.
• Must have 4 to 6 years of experience in finance, research administration, or business-based professional activity.
• Experience and familiarity with grants and contracts management is essential. 
• Must be able to prioritize tasks and be flexible in terms of working hours in keeping with changing priorities and deadlines. 
• Must be a team player and yet be able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Excellent interpersonal skills necessary to work interactively and collaboratively with faculty, research staff, CNI office personnel, University offices, and external granting agencies.  
• Quantitative skills are essential for this position.
• Excellent computer, organizational, and communication skills are required.
• Proficiency with Excel and other related software at an advanced level is important.
• High level of attention to detail.
• Proven knowledge of federal, state, city government, and private non-profit policies and regulations related to sponsored projects.
• Must be able to meet strict deadlines, demonstrate general knowledge of business practices and University and sponsored project policies and procedures. 
• Must be able to quickly learn university electronic processing systems. Experience with university electronic systems (purchasing, accounts payable, payroll) and database strongly desirable.

Preferred Qualifications

• An advanced degree is desirable.
• Professional certifications in research administration are highly desirable. 
• Background in budgeting, accounting, and contract administration is highly desirable.
• Experience in higher education or other large, complex institutions is preferred.
• Familiarity with Columbia financial systems, particularly the Accounting at Columbia (ARC) system, is preferred.
• Experience with running financial reports for project reconciliation, budgeting in the University Budget Tool, handling labor accounting in People @ Columbia (PAC) and performing affirmative action employment searches in the Recruitment of Academic Recruitment System (ARS) is desired.
• Strong leadership and supervisory skills preferred. 

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

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