Job Description

Grants Manager Of Post Award Finance

Columbia University's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute unites world-class scientists across diverse academic disciplines to conduct groundbreaking research that transforms our understanding of the brain and its influence on the mind and behavior. As a leading neuroscience institute, our mission is to decipher the mind and brain to better understand behavior. Our researchers are committed to foundational science, uncovering the principles that shape how the brain develops, functions, and recovers. With more than 50 labs, the Zuckerman Institute serves as a hub for collaboration, bringing together Columbia's top scholars to drive research in bold new directions. Located in Manhattanville, our state-of-the-art Jerome L. Greene Science Center provides an inspiring home for discovery in one of the world's most dynamic cities.

The Zuckerman Institute is seeking a Grants Manager of Post Award Finance to join the Finance team. This position will report to the Senior Associate Director of Post Award Finance, this is an exciting opportunity for a talented individual with a breadth of expertise in research financial activities. The Post Award team aims to provide comprehensive post award support and service to the PIs, researchers, and labs at the Zuckerman Institute, while ensuring proper stewardship of sponsored research and university funds. The primary role of the position is to provide comprehensive post award support to PIs, researchers, and ZI labs in keeping a healthy financial portfolio to ensure research objectives are met for the advancement of the Institute's and university's research enterprise.

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Provide financial oversight and compliance of all expenses charged to sponsored and non-sponsored projects of each lab assigned to the Grants Manager's portfolio.
• Review, monitor, and track PI effort commitments to sponsored projects and other funding sources, as well as personnel allocations for lab members.
• Provides guidance on spending plans and performs projections for PIs to assist with managing appropriate burn rates on sponsored projects.
• Periodically reviews and provides recommendations on portfolio diversification.
• Processes appropriate transactions that are necessary to execute financial decisions as directed and confirmed by PIs and labs, to include cost transfers and bottom-line transfers, etc.
• Reviews P-Card transactions and other expense allocations for approval.
• Work with the ZI budget team to monitor and clear the payroll suspense report as needed.
• Coordinates with the ZI Pre-award team and CU central offices to initiate and process modifications on awards and submit financial deliverables to sponsors on behalf of the PI and labs in a timely manner.
• Work with foreign departments to ensure external personnel are properly allocated to appropriate funding sources.
• Coordinates with PIs, researchers, and department administrators in other departments to ensure effort certifications, grants attestations, and any other uniform guidance compliance requirements are met.
• Properly utilizes an Excel-based Portfolio Summary Tool (PST) to monitor the financial activities of each lab on a monthly basis. PST is reconciled monthly and used to track expenses charged, spending rates on projects, monitor the accuracy of personnel allocations on projects, perform projections, and ensure compliance of expenses charged to projects. The PST is sent to the PI and/or lab manager every month and provides a summary analysis of the lab's finances.
• Meets with PIs and labs regularly to review the lab's portfolio and financial health, and sustainability.
• Performs other job duties as required in order to successfully provide comprehensive post-award support to PIs and researchers at ZI.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree and a minimum of 3-5 years of experience in post-award research administration and providing direct support to PIs in a higher education setting. Knowledgeable in uniform guidance, rules and regulations, and best practices in administering federal, state, private, and other sponsored research funds. Strong interpersonal and communication skills, critical thinking, organizational, attention to detail, and a proactive problem solver. We are interested in individuals who are team players, adaptable in a changing environment, and one pursuing continued growth in the field of research administration.

Preferred Qualifications:

CRA certification or BA in accounting or business administration.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.

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