U

UCSF

Public health sciences university in San Francisco

Grants Manager

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/20/2026
$200k
Expert
Bachelor's
San Francisco, CA, USA
In Person
Business & StrategyBusiness Operations

About the job

Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in a related area and/or equivalent experience or training.
  • Six or more years of related work experience.
  • Three or more years of supervisory experience overseeing contract and grant negotiation and administration.
  • In-depth knowledge of organizational operational, personnel, and financial transactions and systems related to contract and grant administration.
  • Sufficient management and professional experience, business acumen, judgment, and integrity to serve faculty and sponsors while protecting and advancing the University's interests.
  • Ability to work independently, with organizational and interpersonal skills.
  • Service orientation; management, leadership, judgment, decision-making, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills.
  • Demonstrated skills using common desktop and web applications, and understanding of research enterprise databases.
  • Ability to communicate clearly verbally and in writing to multiple constituencies.
  • Demonstrated leadership and supervisory experience in a university or institute research environment.
  • Ability to comprehend and interpret complex federal, nonprofit, and university policies and regulations.
  • Ability to work independently and cooperatively in a high-pressure environment with time-sensitive deadlines; prioritize and remain flexible; communicate effectively; maintain customer service quality; and provide leadership and decisive action when necessary.
  • Ability to communicate diplomatically with varied audiences and develop and maintain effective working relationships in a diverse, multicultural environment.
  • Critical-thinking skills and proven ability to interpret and communicate policy.
  • Demonstrated ability to give corrective and constructive feedback.
  • Ability to work in a changing environment and deal effectively with ambiguity.
  • Ability to identify task scope and difficulty and set objectives for self and others.
  • Knowledge of pre-award research administration policies and practices, including NIH Grants Policy, Federal Acquisition Regulations, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Demonstration Partnership, and other government requirements such as CAS, A-21, A-110, A-133, financial conflict of interest, human and laboratory animal use, and certifications.
  • Experience developing policies and processes in response to changing institutional needs and external compliance mandates or regulations.
  • In-depth experience with federal and non-federal contract and grant administration in an educational or nonprofit institution.
  • Experience collaborating with UCSF partners to develop new policies and processes.
  • Experience with domestic and international agreements, including contracts, grants, consortiums, sub-awards, material transfer and data use agreements, across research, public service, fellowships, and clinical trials; understanding of the associated requirements, implications, and policies.
  • Demonstrated experience managing a complex operation with diverse staff.
Responsibilities
  • Ensure consistent application of contract and grant policy; work with OSR leadership to report and interpret performance and metric data; and coordinate additional training needs with OSR training specialists.
  • Supervise, manage workloads, oversee work, and develop staff in contracts and grants specialist and signing-official roles.
  • Provide leadership and coverage during contract supervisor absences.
  • Identify issues, collect relevant information, work with the Director or Assistant Director of Proposals and Grants to develop a resolution plan, and manage resolution through completion.
  • Oversee and coordinate department operations through subordinate staff in collaboration with other contract and grant professionals and managers.
  • Serve as the organizational expert on sponsored-project policies and procedures, and recommend organization-wide policy and procedure changes to higher-level managers.
  • Communicate and teach advanced research administration and compliance concepts at campus, national, and organizational meetings.
  • Develop programs addressing special or emerging areas of interest or concern and establish or recommend departmental policy changes.
  • Manage staff review of grant and contract award terms and conditions.
  • Provide daily oversight, expertise, guidance, and problem resolution to Grants Officers, Grants Specialists, and Grants Associates on policy interpretation, implementation, situational problem-solving, and transactions.
  • Train and provide professional development for staff in sponsored-project administration and other relevant subject areas.
  • Supervise a dual team currently comprising 17–18 staff members.
  • Develop and mentor Grants Officers, create leadership opportunities, guide client-department relationship building, and direct mentoring of their reporting staff.
  • Interview candidates, make hiring decisions, manage performance and progressive discipline, write and deliver performance appraisals, approve leave, recommend career development, and oversee training and skills development.
  • Implement team-building strategies and develop outcome measures to evaluate and recognize achievement.
  • Manage team workloads and achieve goals through subordinate team members.
  • Work with the Proposals and Grants Director and Assistant Director to develop and monitor staff FTE, human resources, and space planning.
  • Review and analyze quarterly workload distribution metrics, monthly deadline matrices, and transaction and activity reports; recommend workload or assignment changes and implement approved changes.
  • Manage workloads with Grants Officers and Grants Specialists and coordinate workload and coverage across teams with other Team Managers.
  • Work with other Grants Managers to adjust assignments in response to growth, turnover, customer requests, and other changes.
  • Work with the Director or Assistant Director to address staffing needs and develop strategies for workload volume or complexity changes.
  • Facilitate effective working relationships and processes among Grants Officers, Grants Specialists, and Grants Associates; manage roles and responsibilities; respond to assignment-change requests and concerns; and escalate issues when needed.
  • Lead weekly team meetings focused on agenda and skills-building items.
  • Attend biweekly OSR Leadership meetings and weekly meetings with the Grants Director or Assistant Director.
  • Attend NCRUA or SRA conferences.
  • Hold delegated authority to sign contracts and grants.
  • Review proposals before submission and sign as the institutional representative.
  • Review award documentation for accuracy and special terms and conditions.
  • Identify terms and conditions requiring review by a Contract Officer, including intellectual property, data ownership and use, indemnification, and confidentiality provisions.
  • Sign as the institutional representative accepting awards on behalf of UCSF.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.
Desired Qualifications
  • Demonstrated ability to use diplomacy and negotiate mutually beneficial terms for complex agreements.
  • Knowledge of industry best practices.
  • Ability to analyze complex technical data using logic and quantitative reasoning, and apply and implement creative solutions that respect each party's policies and needs.
  • Skills in conflict resolution, negotiation, and facilitation.
  • Experience using metrics and measures as assessment tools.
  • Seven or more years of contract and grant administration experience at a university or institute with a research mission.
  • Demonstrated success leading a high-performance team in a deadline-driven, customer-service organization and setting and achieving goals and results.
  • Knowledge and experience with academic audit and fiscal standards, working with auditors, writing management responses, and managing corrective actions.
  • Background or experience in training and staff development.
  • Knowledge of research administration pre-award formats, policies, and practices.

About the company

UC San Francisco is a public research university in San Francisco focused solely on health sciences, combining professional education with biomedical research and patient care. Its schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy train clinicians and scientists, while teams investigate cancer, immunology, genomics and neuroscience. UCSF Medical Center and Benioff Children's Hospitals connect clinical care with faculty research and training, and university clinics serve patients across Northern California. Founded in 1864, UCSF is the University of California campus dedicated to graduate and professional education and biomedical research, based in San Francisco.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

N/A

Founded

1864

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