Senior Grants and Contracts Management Consultant 4

Job Details

Job Title: Senior Grants and Contracts Management Consultant 4

Department: Public Health | College Administration

The Senior Grants & Contracts Management Consultant leads and advises pre-award grant support activities for principal investigators (PIs) within The Ohio State University College of Public Health (CPH). This position provides expert-level guidance throughout the full proposal lifecycle, including proposal development, budget preparation, submission, and administrative compliance, and serves as a key strategic resource for investigators, research staff, and college leadership.

The consultant serves as a senior-level leader for proposal development and acts as the primary point of contact for complex and high-risk submissions. Responsibilities include coordinating proposal assembly and submission with the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP); locating, formatting, editing, and reviewing all required proposal components; ensuring adherence to sponsor guidelines and internal deadlines; and advising investigators on submission strategies and best practices.

This position leads the development and review of complex and multi-year grant budgets and establishes subrecipient budgets and supporting documentation in coordination with internal stakeholders. The consultant provides expert review of administrative components such as biographical sketches, resources and facilities documents, letters of support, and other sponsor-required materials.

The Senior Grants & Contracts Management Consultant works closely with division chairs, the Associate Dean for Research, and principal investigators to advise on grant submission procedures, lead grant submission activities, and troubleshoot and resolve complex or escalated grant-related process issues. The role also identifies and disseminates funding opportunities and provides strategic guidance to investigators on proposal positioning and competitiveness.

This position leads and participates in the preparation and submission of training grants and other large, complex, and multi-disciplinary applications. The consultant provides leadership in administrative compliance, interpreting sponsor guidelines and university policies, ensuring appropriate effort commitments, allowable expenditures, and adherence to administrative requirements.

The consultant applies comprehensive knowledge of compliance requirements related to human and animal subjects research, financial conflict of interest, conflict of commitment, foreign involvement and collaboration, biosafety, and related regulatory areas. Responsibilities include reviewing current and pending support, gathering protocol and compliance documentation, and ensuring required trainings and disclosures are completed within sponsor-specified timelines when proposals are likely to be funded.

In addition, the Senior Grants & Contracts Management Consultant leads administrative efforts related to sponsored research reporting, including the preparation and submission of annual progress reports and other required deliverables, and communicates proposal metrics, compliance trends, and fiscal information to college leadership.

The position collaborates with the CPH business office and other internal partners to support select post-award activities, including subaward setup, no-cost extensions, residual balance management, and other administrative actions as appropriate.

The Senior Grants & Contracts Management Consultant provides functional leadership and direct supervision of pre-award staff member within the college, overseeing workload distribution, performance expectations, training, and professional development. This position leads and coordinates pre-award activities across the college, ensures consistency and compliance in proposal development and submission processes, and contributes to onboarding and knowledge development for research administration staff. The consultant promotes continuous improvement of pre-award operations and research administration processes, maintains professional expertise by attending relevant national or regional professional development conferences, and performs additional duties as assigned.

This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement, with a combination of remote and on-campus work, based on business needs and in accordance with university and college policies.

Essential Functions

• Prepare and review budgetary and supporting documents with investigators for grant/contract applications and renewals.
• Provide expertise and guidance to principal investigators and department administrators on policy guidelines for requests for applications, subcontracts, and related budgetary, personnel and expenditure-related activities.
• Review terms and conditions for each Notice of Award received and maintain compliance by working with investigators.
• Represent the College of Public Health in grant-related discussions with the OSU Office of Sponsored Programs, other OSU and collaborating research units, or funding agencies.
• Maintain knowledge of current Research Administration practices and policies.

Minimum Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 6 years of relevant experience required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated previous experience with development of and/or submission of grant applications.
• Advanced word processing skills; Intermediate spreadsheet skills including ability to create budgetary documents
• Ability to identify inconsistencies between application requirements and submitted documents
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Solid communication skills to clearly explain concepts and solutions to stakeholders.
• Advanced degree in relevant field may be desirable.
• 8-12 years of relevant experience preferred.