• 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.

About Columbia University

Columbia University is one of the world's most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions. It expects all areas of the university to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world.

Connections working at Columbia University