Lead Grants Manager

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Lead Grants Manager coordinating pre-and post-award activities at Vanderbilt University. Requires 8 years of experience and a bachelor's degree.

Posted 6/3/2026full-timeNashville • Tennessee • 🇺🇸 United StatesSeniorWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Manage all pre-award grant activities for the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation’s central office and OVPRI’s other departments, centers, and institutes.
In cooperation with the Research Development and Support (RDS) team, prepare and assemble grant proposals and contracts in compliance with sponsor, university, and federal guidelines.
Conduct extensive monitoring of requirements, deadlines, and time management for responses to Program Announcements/Requests for Applications or general application submissions.
Work and train in a collaborative manner with the Principal Investigator (PI) and other collaborative research institutions.
Develop, review, and submit grant proposals in the Vanderbilt Electronic Research Administration (VERA) system.
Maintain up-to-date biosketches, current and pending support, and other frequently used documentation for all eligible PIs throughout OVPRI.
Independently prepare draft budgetary allocations in accordance with sponsor guidelines.
Review budgeted direct cost items for Uniform Guidance compliance and other agency, industry, or foreign government guidelines for accuracy.
Responsible for new, competing, or revised grant applications in preparing initial, final, and extended period budgets.

Requirements

What you’ll need

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education or equivalent professional training and experience is required.
A master’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education is preferred.
A Certified Research Administrator (CRA) certification is strongly preferred.
At least 8 years of experience in grant application preparation for agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, DOD, etc.) is required.
Strong organizational & analytical skills
Resourceful and detail-oriented
Excellent interpersonal written & oral communications skills
Ability to plan, develop, and coordinate multiple projects
Ability to work both as a member of a team & independently
High proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (including Word and Excel)
High proficiency in Adobe Professional, including forms creation, editing, and conversion of documents.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Hybrid work arrangement with an expectation of being in the office at least 3 days per week
Competitive salary
Professional development opportunities at Vanderbilt University

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

grant application preparationbudgetary allocationsUniform Guidance complianceproposal developmentgrant proposal submissionmonitoring requirementstime managementdocumentation maintenancebiosketch preparationcurrent and pending support

Soft Skills

organizational skillsanalytical skillsdetail-orientedinterpersonal skillswritten communicationoral communicationproject coordinationteam collaborationindependent workresourcefulness

Certifications

Certified Research Administrator (CRA)