Administrator, Grants Compliance

Role overview

This role is responsible for managing compliance for grant-funded work across private, state, and federal awards. The administrator will build and maintain a grant management and compliance framework that supports the entire grant lifecycle and keeps activity aligned with funder rules, internal policies, and applicable legal requirements.

The position also supports project execution in line with the original award proposal, coordinates changes with project teams and funders, tracks spending against budgets, and flags risks to milestones or expenditure timelines. In addition, this role supervises a part-time grant-related employee.

Primary duties

• Oversee functional processes within the college or division so grant operations remain efficient, consistent, and compliant.
• Direct assigned staff by setting expectations, reviewing quality and timeliness of work, giving feedback, supporting growth, and ensuring compliance with grant administration standards.
• Track adherence to internal policies, procedures, and institutional standards; identify gaps and suggest improvements.
• Safeguard the accuracy, organization, and retention of records and documentation to meet institutional, regulatory, and audit needs.
• Act as a main point of contact for internal teams and outside partners, resolving coordination and communication issues related to the role.
• Represent the department in meetings, reviews, and other professional settings tied to grant administration and compliance.
• Prepare, review, analyze, and present reports and supporting materials for leadership, compliance monitoring, and operational planning.

Grant compliance and system leadership

• Manage the full lifecycle of externally funded projects, including opportunity tracking, proposal monitoring, award administration, compliance review, and closeout.
• Serve as the lead administrator for the college’s grant lifecycle management system, including setup, workflow design, access management, and ongoing improvements.
• Build and refine automated workflows for proposals, approvals, reporting, compliance checks, and grant changes to improve efficiency.
• Maintain centralized data governance for grant records, ensuring information remains accurate, complete, and accessible.
• Create and maintain dashboards, reports, and analytics that show pipeline activity, proposal progress, financial status, compliance risk, and program results.
• Advise grant project managers and principal investigators on proposals, implementation, reporting, and closeout activities.
• Monitor milestones, deliverables, financial activity, and reporting obligations, then take corrective action when issues arise.
• Lead compliance monitoring and audit-preparedness work, including periodic reviews, audit trails, and adherence to federal, state, and local rules such as 2 CFR Part 200.
• Partner with Finance, IT, and other stakeholders to connect the grants system with ERP, CRM, and document management tools for better data flow and reporting.
• Review grant budgets and expenditures with Grants Accounting to confirm allowability, track cost share and matching requirements, and stay within approved budgets.
• Coordinate subawards and external partnerships by monitoring compliance, tracking performance, and keeping documentation current.
• Serve as the main contact for funding agencies, auditors, and external partners during audits, site visits, and compliance reviews.
• Use system data and analysis to advise leadership on performance trends, funding patterns, compliance exposure, and strategic opportunities.
• Update grants policies, procedures, and implementation guides to reflect system capabilities, regulatory changes, and best practices.
• Support pre-award work, including opportunity tracking, proposal workflows, and budget review to strengthen competitiveness and strategic alignment.
• Train faculty, staff, and administrators on the grants system, compliance obligations, and sound grants management practices.
• Handle grant modifications, rebudgeting, and other change requests through formal workflow and approval steps.
• Supervise part-time and temporary staff, student employees, or consultants supporting post-award grant projects as needed.
• Provide ongoing expert guidance to project directors and principal investigators on requirements, timelines, reporting, budgeting, and compliance throughout the award lifecycle.

Required qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in higher education administration, finance, business, public policy/government, or a closely related area is required.
• At least five years of post-award grant management experience is required.
• Preferred credentials include Grant Professional Certification, CGMS, PMP, and/or CRA.
• Background in higher education is preferred.
• Experience using sponsored-program grant management databases is preferred.
• One year of supervisory experience is preferred.

Additional information

Compensation is set within the posted range based on the candidate’s education and/or years of experience. In general, hires are placed in the lower third of the pay scale. The best-consideration application date is July 29, 2026.

Employment details

This is a full-time, on-site position in Baltimore, MD.