Senior Project Manager, Grant Operations (Remote)

The American Heart Association is dedicated to combating cardiovascular disease and is seeking a Senior Project Manager for Grant Operations. This strategic role involves driving operational excellence in both pre-award and post-award functions, streamlining processes, and managing training initiatives to ensure high-quality execution across the department.

Responsibilities:

• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency, and quality across pre‑award and post‑award workflows. Lead the design, development, and implementation of new processes, tools, and operational models. Examples: Develop a service catalog for OFP Conduct end‑to‑end mapping of pre‑award and post‑award workflows Identify bottlenecks and propose solutions to reduce cycle times for critical OFP services Design a triage model for high‑volume periods Conduct systems assessments and propose workflow redesigns
• Work closely with OFP leadership, pre‑award and post‑award teams; and build strong relationships across the organization to support adoption of new processes
• Work with OFP leadership to enhance performance metrics and recommend adjustments to ensure continuous improvement
• Serve as a thought partner to OFP leadership on long‑term operational strategy
• Own the full OFP training suite, including design, documentation, delivery, and ongoing updates
• Design an OFP knowledge and resource hub
• Ensure training materials reflect current policies, systems, and best practices
• Lead special projects that span pre award, post award, compliance, and operational domains. Examples include: Manage OFP Impact Labs (departmental work groups focused on process innovation). Design IRB tracking workflow Manage implementation of a new grants management system (Cayuse) Build dashboards to capture OFP trend data Create a process to ensure all OFP templates, checklists, and SOPs are reviewed and updated on a regular cadence
• Develop comprehensive project plans that outline schedules, deliverables, risks and resource allocation, while ensuring the plans align with business goals, including budget estimates, risk mitigation, and timeline coordination
• Communicate project goals, timelines, and outcomes clearly and effectively
• Define and track project KPIs, ensuring outcomes align with business unit goals
• Provide pre‑award coverage during staff PTO or peak workload periods (i.e., budget development, proposal routing, gift agreement processing, RCO requests)
• Maintain working knowledge of pre‑award policies, systems, and processes for non-government grants

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Public Health, or equivalent experience
• Five (5) years of minimum experience leading complex projects from concept to implementation
• Five (5) years minimum experience leading pre‑award and post‑award processes or other operational roles
• Five (5) years of minimum experience developing training materials or leading staff development initiatives
• Five (5) years of minimum experience developing, analyzing, and preparing presentations and reports on project outcomes
• Five (5) years of minimum experience communicating with senior-level management
• Familiarity with pre‑award and post‑award processes
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and meet deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex projects from concept to implementation
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Proven ability to learn new systems, processes, and subject matter quickly
• Exceptional written and verbal communication
• Demonstrated ability to coach teams, resolve issues, and foster a culture of collaboration and customer service
• Must be able to travel overnight approximately 10% of the time
• Experience working with government grants, including grant funding, compliance, and administration, is strongly preferred
• Project management certification (PMP, CAPM, or similar) is a plus
• Proficiency with grants management systems (e.g., enterprise grants management tools, financial systems) is a plus