Pre & Post Award Clinical Research Grants Project Manager

About the role

ABOUT VITALIEF Vitalief is a clinical research consulting firm focused exclusively on the clinical research industry, providing consulting, staffing, and technology-enabled services to academic medical centers, health systems, sponsors, CROs, and site networks. By combining deep subject matter expertise with the experience of senior research practitioners, we help organizations accelerate study activation, optimize operations, improve financial performance, and build scalable workforce solutions that reduce costs, increase efficiency, and advance clinical breakthroughs for patients. POSITION OVERVIEW Vitalief is seeking an experienced Pre & Post-Award Clinical Research Grants Project Manager to support a major statewide clinical research initiative for a leading academic medical center in New Jersey. The Project Manager will serve as the central point of coordination for the overall grant initiative, working closely with the Principal Investigator, client leadership, and cross-functional teams including Research, Finance, Sponsored Programs, Regulatory/IRB, Contracts, Data, Operations, and external collaborators. This is a project leadership and coordination role. The Project Manager will not necessarily perform every grant-related function but will ensure that the appropriate teams complete their responsibilities accurately and on schedule. WHY VITALIEF? Meaningful Impact: Support innovative clinical research that advances treatment options and improves patient outcomes. People-First Culture: Join a collaborative environment focused on professional growth, innovation, and teamwork. Comprehensive Benefits: Enjoy 20 PTO days, 9 paid holidays, company-paid life insurance, short- and long-term disability coverage, a 401(k) retirement plan, and comprehensive healthcare benefits. Work Location: Primarily remote job (EST Zone work hours) with 10% travel to New Jersey. Salary Range: $110,000–$140,000, depending on experience level. Responsibilities: Develop and manage the overall grant project plan, timelines, milestones, deliverables, and dependencies. Coordinate pre-award proposal development and submission activities across multiple internal departments and external organizations. Track deliverables, deadlines, sponsor requirements, and project dependencies. Identify and proactively address project risks, gaps, issues, and potential delays. Coordinate meetings, action items, decisions, communications, and follow-up across project teams. Serve as the primary liaison between the PI/project team, institutional research administration, Finance, Contracts, Regulatory/IRB, and external collaborators / subrecipients. Support post-award implementation, including award setup, budget management, financial monitoring, reporting, subawards, and closeout. Monitor budgets and expenditures and assist with forecasting, financial issue resolution, and compliance with sponsor requirements. Coordinate IRB and other regulatory activities and ensure required approvals, training, and reporting are completed. Maintain comprehensive project documentation and provide regular status updates to leadership. Help ensure the overall statewide initiative remains on schedule and aligned with grant objectives and institutional requirements. Required Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in life sciences, public health, healthcare administration, business, or related field. 8+ years of experience in clinical research, grants administration, sponsored research, research administration, or project management. Experience managing complex pre- and post-award grants, preferably within an academic medical center, university, healthcare system, or research consortium. Strong understanding of the full state and federal grant lifecycle, including proposal development, submission, award setup, financial management, compliance, reporting, subawards, and closeout. Experience working closely with Principal Investigators and multidisciplinary research teams. Strong knowledge of grant budgeting, forecasting, financial monitoring, and sponsored research compliance. Experience coordinating multiple stakeholders, workstreams, deadlines, and deliverables in a matrixed environment. Knowledge of NIH funding mechanisms, including P and U awards and Center grants (P30/P50), preferred. Experience with multi-institutional research, subrecipients, or external collaborators preferred. Excellent communication, organization, problem-solving, and relationship-management skills. Ability to drive accountability and influence outcomes without direct authority over project team members. Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working at a computer. Standing, walking, visual perception, talking and hearing. Lifting up to 20lbs. Ability to travel domestically.