The posting
Job Description
Creighton University College of Nursing is seeking a collaborative, detail-oriented Grant Manager to join our growing research and scholarship enterprise. This position offers an opportunity to work directly with faculty investigators and College leadership to support innovative research, education, and healthcare initiatives from proposal development through successful award management and closeout.
The Grant Manager will serve as a trusted College-level resource for Principal Investigators (PIs), providing comprehensive pre- and post-award grant administration and financial management. More than a transactional grants role, this position is designed around proactive partnership with investigators—helping faculty navigate the complexities of sponsored funding, effectively manage their awards, and focus their time and expertise on advancing their scholarly work.
The Grant Manager will work closely with the Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, faculty investigators, project teams, and University partners in sponsored programs, finance, human resources, procurement, and research administration. The position will also contribute to strengthening the College's research infrastructure and developing efficient, faculty-centered approaches to grant administration.
Pay Range: $72,000-$80,000 annual.
Support Competitive Grant Applications
Partner with faculty investigators throughout the pre-award process to develop high-quality, compliant submissions. You will:
- Assist with identifying/prospecting for grant opportunities that align with investigator research trajectories and project needs
- Review funding opportunities and sponsor requirements and help investigators establish realistic proposal-development timelines.
- Develop and review proposal budgets and budget justifications, including personnel, travel, equipment, participant support, consultants, and subawards.
- Coordinate administrative proposal components, including biosketches, letters of support, institutional forms, subrecipient materials, and required approvals.
- Support proposal routing and electronic submission processes and serve as a liaison between investigators and University pre-award offices.
- Help investigators anticipate requirements, resolve administrative barriers, and meet internal and sponsor deadlines.
Manage Awards from Start to Finish
Provide proactive post-award and financial support across a portfolio of externally and internally funded projects. You will:
- Review notices of award, approved budgets, sponsor terms and conditions, restrictions, and reporting requirements.
- Monitor expenditures, balances, personnel costs, commitments, and budget-to-actual performance.
- Develop spending projections and identify potential underspending, overspending, or other financial concerns early enough for corrective action.
- Guide investigators regarding allowable expenses and appropriate stewardship of sponsored funds.
- Coordinate budget revisions, no-cost extensions, carryforward requests, personnel and effort changes, and other post-award actions.
- Support grant-funded hiring, salary allocations, effort commitments, subawards, professional services, participant compensation, purchasing, reimbursements, and other project expenses.
- Support interim and final reporting and facilitate timely and accurate award closeout.
Build PI Confidence and Capacity
A distinguishing feature of this role is the opportunity to develop meaningful, ongoing partnerships with funded investigators.
The Grant Manager will provide a structured New Award/PI Orientation for newly funded investigators, helping PIs understand their approved budget, sponsor requirements, financial processes, personnel and effort commitments, reporting expectations, and available resources.
The Grant Manager will then maintain regular grant-management touchpoints with funded PIs and project directors to review financial performance and projections, anticipated expenditures, personnel and effort, upcoming deadlines, required administrative actions, and potential areas of risk.
Rather than waiting for problems to emerge, you will help investigators anticipate what comes next and successfully navigate the administrative and financial aspects of their awards.
Strengthen Our Research Infrastructure
The Grant Manager will maintain College-level grant and award tracking, support portfolio reporting, identify opportunities to improve grant-management processes, and develop practical tools, templates, checklists, and resources for investigators.
As workload permits, approximately 10–20% of the role may also support broader College research and scholarship initiatives. Examples may include supporting internally funded research programs, coordinating mock grant reviews or sponsor consultations, tracking research and scholarship outcomes, and contributing to strategic initiatives that strengthen the College's research infrastructure.
Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, accounting, research administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience. • Minimum of three years of relevant experience in grant, contract, research, financial, or sponsored-project administration, including pre- and/or post-award administration. • Experience developing and managing grant or sponsored-project budgets, including interpreting sponsor guidelines and applicable cost principles. • Experience with financial monitoring, reconciliation, budget-to-actual analysis, and/or expenditure forecasting. • Preferred: Experience providing both pre- and post-award administration in a university, academic health center, healthcare, or research environment; federal grant administration/Uniform Guidance; subawards and professional service agreements; effort reporting, cost sharing, salary allocation, and grant-funded personnel; and investigator training or onboarding.
Preferred Qualifications
We are particularly interested in candidates who bring one or more of the following:
- Experience with both pre- and post-award administration in a university, academic health center, healthcare organization, or research environment.
- Experience administering federally sponsored projects and familiarity with Uniform Guidance and federal cost principles.
- Experience with federal agencies that support nursing, healthcare, education, or health-services research.
- Experience with subawards, professional service agreements, multi-institutional projects, effort reporting, cost sharing, salary allocation, or grant-funded personnel.
- Experience developing financial projections, dashboards, or portfolio-monitoring tools.
- Experience training, onboarding, or providing individualized consultation to PIs or project directors.
- Certified Research Administrator (CRA), Certified Financial Research Administrator (CFRA), or another relevant professional certification—or interest in pursuing certification.
- Familiarity with Creighton University research administration, financial, human resources, or procurement systems and processes.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Working knowledge of federal, state, foundation, and other sponsor requirements related to grant and contract administration. • Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, and ability to effectively use or learn financial, research-administration, procurement, and electronic submission systems. • Strong written, verbal, interpersonal, and customer-service skills, including the ability to translate complex financial and administrative requirements into clear, actionable guidance. • Strong organization, project management, attention to detail, analytical problem-solving, and ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines. • Ability to exercise sound judgment, work independently, collaborate across teams, build effective relationships, and identify opportunities for process improvement.
Licenses/Certifications:
Preferred: Certified Research Administrator (CRA), Certified Financial Research Administrator (CFRA), or other relevant professional certification, or interest in pursuing certification.
Who Will Thrive in This Role?
This position may be a great fit for someone who enjoys both the precision of financial and grant administration and the relationships that make research possible.
The successful candidate will be someone who can look at a grant budget and spot a potential issue before it becomes a problem; translate complicated sponsor requirements into practical next steps; keep multiple projects and deadlines organized; and build trusted relationships with investigators, project teams, and administrative partners.
We are looking for a colleague who is proactive, organized, collaborative, service-oriented, and comfortable taking ownership. You don't need to know every answer immediately—but you should enjoy figuring out the answer, connecting the right people and resources, and helping investigators move their work forward.
Why Creighton University College of Nursing?
At Creighton University College of Nursing, the Grant Manager will join an environment committed to advancing nursing science, healthcare, education, and community impact through research and scholarship. This role provides a unique opportunity to work across the full sponsored-project lifecycle while developing close partnerships with faculty investigators and College leadership. The Grant Manager will have the opportunity not only to administer grants, but also to help shape and strengthen the systems that support a growing research and scholarship enterprise. Creighton University is committed to its core values and to cultivating belonging and an inclusive working and learning environment. The Grant Manager will contribute to this mission through collaborative relationships, excellent service, responsible stewardship, and support of faculty and project teams working to improve health, education, and communities.
About Us
Creighton University is committed to providing a safe and non-discriminatory educational and employment environment. The University admits qualified students, hires qualified employees and accepts patients for treatment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or other status protected by law. Its education and employment policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other programs and activities, are administered without unlawful discrimination. Creighton complies with all applicable laws and regulations governing equal opportunity in the workplace and in educational activities.
Applicants with disabilities needing reasonable accommodations to complete the application or hiring process should contact Human Resources at [email protected]. Creighton University seeks candidates who understand, respect, and can contribute to the University's mission and values.
