Pre-Award Manager

Position Overview
Housed in the Office of Research & Innovation, the Pre-Award Manager serves as a liaison between the sponsored programs division and other administrative units at Winston-Salem State University. The role supports the full life cycle of sponsored program administration, with an emphasis on pre-award functions. Responsibilities include assisting Principal Investigators (PIs) with funding identification, interpretation of agency guidelines, proposal development, routing and submission, budget development, sub-award issuance, and contract negotiation. The manager also provides feedback to the Associate Provost for Research & Innovation and to the Director of Research & Sponsored Programs on operations and team leadership.

Responsibilities

Assist faculty who seek extramural funding by conducting one-on-one meetings or visiting academic departments to help identify funding opportunities and develop grant-seeking plans.

Identify research funding opportunities and help faculty use the funding opportunities database.

Assist faculty with proposal development, including narratives, budgets, and required attachments and forms.

Review and edit eligible proposals for grammar, punctuation, clarity, and responsiveness to the funding opportunity.

Provide a final review of completed proposals before they are forwarded for signature and submission.

Assist faculty with routing proposals through WSSU’s electronic application system(s) (e.g., Cayuse, Amplifund).

Assist faculty with meeting funder reporting requirements and help request modifications such as no-cost extensions of faculty grants.

Communicate with sponsors, pass-through entities, and sub-recipient for proposal submissions, report submissions, prior approval requests, and amendments/revisions via phone, email, and electronic research administration portals.

Review the terms and conditions of agreements and sub-awards.

Recommend acceptance of modifications and liaise with WSSU’s Legal Affairs Office.

Help the Director of Research & Sponsored Programs identify, verify, and support upcoming faculty submissions from the different academic units at WSSU.

Advise on initial Internal Notice of Intent-related meeting agendas for the Grants Administrators as needed, as they meet with faculty PIs and their research teams.

Confirm budget numbers and categories, as well as completeness of application components, for submitted grants in the electronic application system.

Provide cross-training and cross-awareness of pre-award topics, successes, and challenges across academic units for the Grants Administrators.

Work with the Director of Research & Sponsored Programs on tracking candidates for annual faculty research award recognition.

Offer direct pre-award support to WSSU administrators and other non-faculty staff members interested in submitting grant applications.

Maintain knowledge of institutional policies and protocols to apply to pre-award administrative responsibilities.

Create, update, edit, and maintain Standard Operating Procedures for Pre-Award processes.

Maintain office data information systems by contributing and updating regularly the sponsored programs work log regarding faculty proposals in progress, submissions, and awards.

Hold electronic application system authority for approving grant submissions.

Maintain a library of templates for budgets and other common forms.

Write summaries of faculty grant awards as requested for use on the WSSU website or by Integrated Marketing Communication or university leaders.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.

2–3 years of related experience.

Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Prior experience with grants management platforms and agency submission websites within a university setting.

Salary
Commensurate with education and experience.

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