Grants Proposal Manager

Job Type:

RAND is seeking a Grants Proposal Manager to lead the preparation and submission of compliant grant applications to federal agencies such as NIH, NSF, DOE, CDC, AHRQ and other funding entities for research and development grants, including R01s, R21s, and U19s among others. This position will work closely with principal investigators, grant administrators, pricing analysts and other stakeholders to ensure that grant applications are developed and submitted in accordance with sponsor guidelines and institutional policies.

The Grants Proposal Manager is responsible for managing the lifecycle of competitive grant submissions, including coordinating multiple concurrent deadlines and deliverables, facilitating communication among stakeholders, and ensuring accuracy and compliance with sponsor and institutional requirements. This position ensures the proper use of grant submission platforms such as NIH ASSIST, Grants.gov, and other electronic systems, depending on the funder.

In addition to federal grant proposals, the Grants Proposal Manager will support submissions to major private foundations such as Arnold Ventures, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and The Pew Charitable Trusts and contract proposal submissions to other federal government agencies, state and local governments, and commercial entities.

This role may support early strategy development, particularly aligning application content to funder priorities, interpreting grant guidelines, and identifying issues that require resolution prior to submission. The Grants Proposal Manager also contributes to the refinement of grant development processes and tools to improve quality and efficiency in submissions.

• Grant Management - Manages the coordination and submission of moderately complex grant applications. Works with principal investigators, division staff, grants administrators, pricing analysts and administrative teams to compile technical, budgetary, and administrative components. Provides guidance to principal investigators on interpreting and meeting submission requirements and instructions. Ensures proposals are submitted in compliance with sponsor requirements and in a timely manner, with limited oversight.

• Proposal Support Materials - Assists with customizing and updating biosketches, current and pending support documents, facilities descriptions, and other required grant attachments. Maintains internal templates, boilerplate and document libraries for use across submissions.

• Grants Process Improvements - Supports the development, documentation, and maintenance of standard operating procedures, templates, and checklists for grant submissions. Contributes to continuous process improvement and documentation efforts.

• Training and Professional Development - Participates in training and process development efforts for research teams and PDS staff on grant-related topics such as sponsor systems, updates to submission policies, and institutional processes. Attends professional development opportunities and stays up to date on changes within the various grant-making federal agencies to which RAND applies.

• Cross-functional Collaboration - Works closely with pricing analysts, grants administrators, research and analysis staff, division leadership, external affairs, and other teams to ensure seamless coordination of grant applications and post-submission requirements.

• System and Recordkeeping - Ensures submission records and supporting documents are maintained in appropriate institutional systems, including CRM or grant management tools as applicable.

• Technical Assistance - Provides guidance to proposal team members and research teams on sponsor systems such as NIH ASSIST, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov Workspace.

Qualifications

• Experience with enterprise databases.

• Excellent written and verbal skill dealing with a variety of proposal staff.

• Working proficiency of funding opportunity types (contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, etc.).

• Understanding of budget types and price proposal implications (T&M, CPFF, FFP, etc.).

• Basic understanding of FAR, DFAR and contractual terms and implications on proposal development.

Education

Minimum High School diploma: bachelor's degree preferred.

Experience

Minimum of 8 years related experience; 4 years' experience preferred with a bachelor's degree.

Pay Range: $75,700- $112,400

RAND considers a variety of factors when formulating an offer, including but not limited to, the specific role and associated responsibilities; a candidate's work experience, education/training, skills, expertise; and internal equity.Successful candidates will be offered employment in a specific title, as determined by the candidate's education and experience. The salary range includes base pay plus RAND's sabbatic pay (which provides additional compensation above base pay when vacation is taken). In addition, RAND provides strong benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, paid time-off and more.

Location

Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, PA, or Santa Monica, CA
This can be a 100% remote position, hybrid is preferred.

Equal Opportunity Employer