Assistant Grants/Business Manager

US-NJ-Princeton

Job ID: 2025-20520
Type: Full-Time
# of Openings: 1
Category: Grants and Contracts

Overview

The Princeton Neuroscience Institute at Princeton University is searching for an Assistant Business/ Grants Manager to assist with the business support of the Institute as well as the administration of research grants for our faculty, students, and research staff. Under the supervision of the Grants and Finance Managers, the Assistant Business/Grants Manager's responsibilities will include: monitoring spending in sponsored and non-sponsored accounts, ensuring adherence to compliance regulations, assisting with the timely submission of proposals and annual reports, preparing budgets and other documents, coordinating financial reports for sponsored and non-sponsored accounts, providing administrative support for PNI Recharge Center and maintaining PNI Shared Drive.

The Assistant Grants/Business Manager will be expected to attend all relevant training classes and stay current with changes in policies, procedures and processes pertaining to sponsored research and financial management.

Business Functions:
Assist Finance Manager with department purchasing, gas billing, PNI-wide supply ordering, F&T requests
Reconcile department accounts and monitor expenditures
Review and clean up erroneous charges posted to PNI accounts
Facilitate and monitor internal and external billing, including but not limited to, LAR, PRIME and Concur.
Provide back up to Finance Manager for financial aspects of PNI’s Recharge Centers
Assist in the preparation of financial reports
Maintain PNI share drive
Work with the finance manager on PNI-wide events’ budgets and operations
Other administrative duties assigned by Finance Manager and Assistant Director.

Grants Functions:
Pre-Award Activities:
Assist with grant-related submissions to the Office of Research and Project Administration (ORPA) and other funders through the Princeton University Grants Management System (ERA) and the appropriate sponsor system such as Grants.gov, Fastlane, or directly to the funding agency/foundation as necessary, ensuring compliance with Princeton University and sponsoring agency policies and procedures;
Assist the grants managers throughout the sponsored research lifecycle, including the proposal process, the interim financial reports, and grants closeout process. This includes maintaining and updating faculty biosketches, current and pending support documents, and collaborator information for sponsored projects using ORCID and SciENcv;
Assist with preparing grants checklists, templates, and forms; and assist with guiding project members on content and documentation necessary for proposals to be submitted to funding sources
Assist with coordination of congruency/protocol approvals through the University Research Board (URB), Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) and the Research Integrity and Assurance Systems (RIA);
Assist with the preparation of Just-In-Time information at the sponsor's request.

Post-Award Activities:
Assist with monitoring allowable and allocable costs, spending patterns, and balances on PI financial portfolios;
Assist with preparation of PIs financial portfolio forecasts and spending updates;
Assist with the monthly grant reconciliation process - review monthly financial reports for erroneous charges, review open encumbrances, review the A0014 default holding chartstring, and process journals to transfer inappropriate costs as needed;
Assist with University and/or Sponsor forms related to extensions, pre-award, continuations, new projects, subcontract funding, re-budgets, etc.;
Assist with preparation of annual progress reports and close-out documents;
Assist with the review and approval of PRIME requisitions and non-PO payments,in accordance with University F&T and Sponsor-specific policies;
Serve as back-up in Finance/Grants Manager’s absence to process LAR (Lab Animal Resources) monthly invoice allocations and review and approval of Concur travel expense reports in compliance with University F&T and Sponsor-specific policies
Assist with allocating salaries in accordance to awarded budgets and make adjustments as needed (salary projections, commitments) and assist with the effort certification process via Labor Accounting.
Assist with PI summer salary process and documentation
Assist with transfer or relinquishment of grant awards between other universities or sponsors;
Maintain and dispose of grant files in accordance with SRA’s record retention policy

As the grants assistant becomes acclimated to sponsored research processes, policies and procedures, this individual will be assigned their own portfolio of fellowships and career awards to administer under the supervision of the grants managers.

Essential Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 3-4+ years of financial and/or grants experience in a university setting;
Familiarity with principles of accounting and demonstrated ability to manage budgets;
Working knowledge of regulations regarding fiscal management of federal funds including Uniform Guidance;
Exceptional computational skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite products, especially Excel and Word;
Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills, as well as written and verbal communications skills;
Excellent data gathering skills with the ability to exercise independent judgment to plan and prioritize diverse workload, and willingness to take initiative;
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast paced, changing environment and handle frequent deadlines;
Ability to function effectively in a team-based environment;
Service and detailed approach to grants and funds management;
Must maintain strict confidentiality of personnel and salary information

Preferred Qualifications:

Familiarity with University policies and procedures regarding grant applications is preferred;
Familiarity with the University's personnel and fiscal management policies, and the University's sponsored projects and financial system applications, such as Princeton ERA, Labor Accounting, Information Warehouse, and PeopleSoft PRIME or previous experience of these systems at another University is desirable;
Ability to comprehend and to implement the policies of a large number of funding agencies (such as NIH, NSF, DOE, NASA, DARPA, ONR and private foundations and corporations);
Commitment to financial integrity and confidentiality.

This position is subject to the University's background check policy.

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS