What does a grants administrator do?
A grants administrator is responsible for approving financial and administrative assistance to employees and the organization provided that they submit the required documents and application for project development and processes. Grants administrators determine the eligibility of programs to calculate payments, generate financial reports and transactions, and coordinate with the management team for project implementation. They also follow strict procedures and protocols to ensure that the budget adheres to internal guidelines and requirements. A grants administrator must have excellent communication and analytical skills to review proposals and legal documents.
Grants administrator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real grants administrator resumes:
- Establish operating policies and procedures and attain SNF Medicare certification.
- Update faculty regarding new federal sponsor (NIH and NSF) policies and regulations.
- Verify compliance documents (IRB, IACUC, internal documents) with RVL and PCRO on inter-institutional agreements.
- Organize and prepare grant applications for submission to NIH and private foundations.
- Submit research relate regulatory and annual reports, including IRB applications and updates, annual reports, and the like.
- Serve as technical resource for grant recipients with knowledge of federal regulations and guidelines; OMB circulars A110 and A122.
- Maintain responsibility for member payroll, and benefits administration.
- Support youth enrichment program by overseeing office operations and payroll.
- Conduct compliance and HIPAA audits as necessary to maintain both federal/company compliance and accountability.
- Monitor and enforce safety management, analyze statistical data, and reports for QA and efficiency.
- Train clinic staff on HIPAA regulations to ensure proper understanding and implementation of processes within federal guidelines.
- Maintain credentialing status of dental providers and remain current on policies surrounding Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance.
- Develop quality assurance program for home health agencies and complete utilization reviews on Medicaid and Medicare client records.
- Re-Establish the QA committee and institute continuous quality improvement activities with resulting impact on the facility's regulatory compliance history.
- Prepare financial status reports and forecast grant expenditures and projections.
Grants administrator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Grants Administrators are proficient in Grants Management, Financial Reports, and Pre-award. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Leadership skills, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Grants Administrators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Grants Management, 11%
Maintain timely coordination and communication with involved parties regarding grants management issues.
- Financial Reports, 6%
Monitored compliance with federal and state contracts and grant agreements and prepared associated financial reports.
- Pre-award, 6%
Direct and manage pre-award administrative and financial management of federal, non-federal, and institutional awards within the Digestive Disease Center.
- Customer Service, 5%
Supported internal projects to improve customer services and operational environment.
- Research Administration, 5%
Developed and implement grant and research administration policies and procedures.
- Principal Investigators, 5%
Build cooperative, positive working relationships with representatives of sponsoring agencies, Principal Investigators and University departmental personnel.
"grants management," "financial reports," and "pre-award" are among the most common skills that grants administrators use at work. You can find even more grants administrator responsibilities below, including:
Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a grants administrator to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "natural sciences managers lead research teams and therefore need to work well with others in order to reach common goals." Additionally, a grants administrator resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "use of interpersonal skills' abilities to support clients/customer service requirements. "
Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform grants administrator duties is leadership skills. Grants administrators responsibilities require that "natural sciences managers must be able to organize, direct, and motivate others." Grants administrators also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "assisted in the grant budget development process and documentation of changes during the senior leadership team budget review meetings. "
Time-management skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of grants administrators is time-management skills. This skill is critical to many everyday grants administrator duties, as "natural sciences managers must be able to perform multiple administrative, supervisory, and technical tasks while ensuring that projects remain on schedule." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "prepared fiscal reports, reimbursement requests, and budget revisions according to deadlines. "
Communication skills. grants administrator responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "natural sciences managers must be able to communicate clearly with a variety of audiences, such as scientists, policymakers, and the public." This resume example shows what grants administrators do with communication skills on a typical day: "provide project management and leadership for all active projects with the aim of enhancing customer communication and reporting. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in grants administrator job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what grants administrators do. Grants administrator responsibilities rely on this skill because "natural sciences managers use scientific observation and analysis to find answers to complex technical questions." You can also see how grants administrator duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "provide customer service and general problem resolution. "
The three companies that hire the most grants administrators are:
- Brigham and Women's Hospital12 grants administrators jobs
- Massachusetts General Hospital8 grants administrators jobs
- American Heart Association8 grants administrators jobs
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Compare different grants administrators
Grants administrator vs. Media buyer
Media Buyers are marketing professionals who manage the company's advertisements. They create the company's media plan to determine the advertising needs of the company. They negotiate with external providers to get the best advertisement placement values. To do this, Media Buyers are expected to conduct thorough research on the different advertising companies, networks, media, size of placement, and length of advertisement. Their research must consider the target market and determine the best media to reach their target market. Media Buyers should have good negotiation skills and must be able to maintain good working relationships with providers.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, grants administrator responsibilities require skills like "grants management," "financial reports," "pre-award," and "customer service." Meanwhile a typical media buyer has skills in areas such as "digital marketing," "campaign performance," "media buying," and "facebook." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Media buyers really shine in the professional industry with an average salary of $74,775. Comparatively, grants administrators tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $54,882.The education levels that media buyers earn slightly differ from grants administrators. In particular, media buyers are 17.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a grants administrator. Additionally, they're 2.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Grants administrator vs. Senior purchasing agent
Senior Purchasing Agents are experienced employees in the company's purchasing department. They oversee the purchase requisitions of the employees. They validate requests, ensure that the requestors followed company guidelines, check the availability of the items with the chosen supplier, and forward the purchase order to the supplier. Upon fulfillment of the request, Senior Purchasing Agents check the deliveries, ensure that the items are complete and correct, forward the items to the requestor, and process the payment for the supplier. Senior Purchasing agents also prepare reports, spot trends in employee or department purchases, and create recommendations based on observations. They are also expected to form good working relationships with suppliers.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, grants administrator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "grants management," "financial reports," "pre-award," and "research administration." Meanwhile, a senior purchasing agent has duties that require skills in areas such as "purchase orders," "supplier relationships," "strategic sourcing," and "continuous improvement." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Senior purchasing agents earn a higher average salary than grants administrators. But senior purchasing agents earn the highest pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $89,158. Additionally, grants administrators earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $54,882 annually.In general, senior purchasing agents achieve lower levels of education than grants administrators. They're 8.5% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Grants administrator vs. Senior agent
A senior agent manages incoming calls, generates leads, and schedules appointments for important meetings. They must accurately track and respond to the internet leads and provide top quality customer service to the clients. Their job also requires them to travel to multiple countries to monitor company functions. They must also estimate the costs of infrastructure and construction projects.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, grants administrators are more likely to have skills like "grants management," "financial reports," "pre-award," and "research administration." But a senior agent is more likely to have skills like "right-of-way," "real estate," "sr," and "work ethic."
Senior agents make a very good living in the energy industry with an average annual salary of $59,581. On the other hand, grants administrators are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $54,882.When it comes to education, senior agents tend to earn lower degree levels compared to grants administrators. In fact, they're 14.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Grants administrator vs. Purchasing assistant
A purchasing assistant is responsible for obtaining raw materials and goods for a business or company. They primarily function to assist purchasing managers or supervisors by keeping records, maintaining inventory, reviewing purchase orders, and monitoring shipments and deliveries. Furthermore, a purchasing assistant may perform administrative support tasks ranging from arranging appointments and managing schedules, answering calls and inquiries, reaching out to vendors and suppliers, producing reports, and coordinating with various departments to ensure the smooth flow of products within the company.
Types of grants administrator
Updated January 8, 2025
