Sr. Administrative Mgr., Rsch.

Mass General Brigham McLean is seeking a full-time Senior Administrative Manager, Research to join the grant administration team to provide oversight and management to the Basic Neuroscience Division’s sponsored research portfolio throughout the funding life cycle. The candidate will serve as the primary liaison between the Principal Investigators (PI) and MGB Research Management. The Sr. Administrative Manager will comply with NIH, Industry, and Foundation pre-award and post-award policies and procedures. The Sr. Administrative Manager will develop budgets for new and competing grant awards, perform regular reviews of funds and budgets for purposes of confirming charges and reconciling discrepancies, and will do budget projections for the lifetime of each grant for the Basic Neuroscience Division. The Sr. Administrative Manager will oversee a team of Grant Administrator and Administrative Assistants and will support hiring, training, and guidance for new Grant Administrators and support staff. S/he will be responsible for the bi-annual effort certification for BND PIs. S/he will help set the administrative direction and long-term strategy for research in the BND Division. S/he will perform additional duties to support the main administrative office for the BND Division as needed.

Experience in research grant administration is highly preferred, as is a working knowledge of NIH and other federal, state, and foundation grant regulations and requirements. This role is an excellent opportunity for a motivated, detail-oriented individual interested in working in an academic medical research environment. We are committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This commitment applies to staff members at all levels as well as the patient populations we care for. The BND Division is looking to hire a Sr. Administrative Manager who demonstrates these same values to join our team.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Types of Awards:

• Portfolio includes but is not limited to: NIH/federally funded, foundation, industry, clinical trials, fellowships, subcontracts/sub-awards, billing agreements, sundry funds, T32 grants, P50 grants, NIH contracts, institutional service agreements.

Pre-Award:

• Coordinate grant proposal preparation; identify new opportunities for funding; is aware of and works with internal and external proposal submission deadlines for various funding opportunities.
• Oversee all aspects of the grant application process, including development of study budgets for sponsored research and associated funds in accordance with sponsor fiscal policies and procedures.
• Serve as primary contact for collaborating sites regarding development of budgets, addressing fiscal questions, and monitoring for compliance with MGB and sponsor policies.
• Understand and conform with the administrative, budgetary, and financial compliance regulations of all sponsors as well as with MGB fiscal policy; stay current and up to date on all policy changes.
• Assist Grant Administrators in establishing and disseminating policies and procedures. Evaluate, initiate, and implement various systems and procedures to maximize efficiency.
• Identify opportunities for pre-award process improvement and standardization and implement those changes.

Post-award:

• Review outgoing subaward invoices and financial status reports.
• Collaborate with PIs on annual NIH/foundation progress reports.
• Provide timely closeout of all expired projects through the coordination of fiscal and administrative resources throughout the system.
• Advice regarding the allowability of costs to be charged to a grant; work with Research Finance to resolve complex accounting issues.
• Ensure appropriate approvals and agreements are in place for human subjects work and data transfers; monitor as appropriate through award life cycle.
• Work with the Innovation Office in the oversight of administrative policies regarding patents and material transfer agreements (MTA)
• Monitor project expenditures, including monthly assessments of fund activity; recommend action as necessary; prepare and maintain financial reports on an ongoing basis.
• Identify and prevent project overruns and help resolve anticipated deficits.
• Process outgoing subaward payments for approval and track them against budgets.
• Review check requests and reimbursements for errors and missing documentation
• Provide PIs and subaward sites counsel regarding fiscal strategy; anticipate and proactively address problems.
• Provide research leadership with up-to-date budgets and salary distributions for personnel.
• At discretion of PIs, serve as liaison to HR on behalf of PIs’ staff members; furnish PIs and their staff with hospital policies and procedures; review finances for proposed new hires.
• Manage PeopleSoft transactions for select staff members.
• Train and provide support for division’s Grant Coordinator (GC) and Grant Administrators (GA); ensure appropriate resources are available to GC and GAs to successfully perform his/her job responsibilities; meet regularly to review GC/GA portfolio and provide guidance.
• Manage independent contractor setup and invoicing as needed.

BND Division Responsibilities

• Coordinate and participate in Research Administrators Discussion Group, participate in the McL and Research Administration Advisory Committee
• Coordinate and participate in the Preclinical Steering Committee
• Manage bi-annual effort certification reports for select PIs; review reports to ensure accuracy and consistency.
• Support standardization of pre-award and post-award activities to include standard templates, processes, and adherence to deadlines. Respond to audit questions and queries and maintain all records for potential audits.
• Help implement an organizational structure for the division’s Research Administration team. Establish defined roles and responsibilities for GAs and the GC.
• Provide operational and regulatory guidance to the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center
• Responsible for annual research audits on funding, and research personnel/FTEs for the BND Division

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

The candidate will be responsible for the oversight and management of $10 - $20 million of research related funding.

The above is intended to describe the general contents and requirements of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive statement of all duties, responsibilities or skills of personnel so classified.

Job qualifications include:

• Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree in a related field (Health/Bus. Admin.) preferred.
• 5-7 years of related experience required; experience with NIH grants and/or clinical trials preferred.
• Advanced Excel skills required; experience using other accounting or financial software, such as MicroStrategy, Insight, and PeopleSoft, helpful.
• Supervisory experience required.

Planning and Workflow Management Skills:

• Ability to independently prioritize, multi-task, and meet deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to be organized and flexible in an environment that requires continuous monitoring of priorities
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Robust problem-solving ability, including the ability to gather information, identify resources, and imagine alternatives

Communication Skills:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Cognizant and respectful of cultural differences in communication approach
• Skillful at negotiating and building persuasive arguments supported by policy

Professionalism and Integrity:

• Exceptional judgment and an ability to maintain confidentiality
• Excellent interpersonal and management skills with facility to interact professionally at all levels
• Positive customer-service orientation
• Desire to promote change and initiate new ideas for constant improvement.

McLean is an Affirmative Action Employer. By embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment