Grants Management Specialist

Job Summary:

This is a senior business leadership role within UCSF Contracts & Grants Accounting (CGA) that will serve as the Global Process Owner for Oracle Cloud ERP Project Portfolio Management (PPM). The position is responsible for ensuring that UCSF’s sponsored research business processes, policies, financial requirements, compliance requirements, and reporting needs are effectively represented in the design and ongoing operation of PPM.

The primary focus of the position is sponsored research and grants management. The individual should have a strong understanding of the sponsored research lifecycle and the operational and financial processes associated with managing research awards. This includes award setup, budgeting, expenditure management, project costing, billing, financial reporting, compliance, and closeout.

The GPO will own the end-to-end business design for PPM and work closely with IT, Finance, research administrators, implementation teams, and other stakeholders. This person will identify and prioritize business requirements, define future-state processes, evaluate system solutions, and help determine how research-related processes should be standardized across UCSF.

A key part of the role will be making decisions where business needs and system capabilities do not perfectly align. The GPO needs to understand the business well enough to determine when a process should change, when standard Oracle functionality should be used, and when a different solution may be necessary.

This is not primarily a technical Oracle configuration role. The individual needs enough enterprise-system implementation experience to effectively represent the business and partner with technical teams. Ideally, the person has participated in a large ERP or comparable system implementation and understands requirements gathering, process design, testing/UAT, implementation readiness, go-live, change management, and post-production support.

The responsibility also continues after implementation. The GPO will have ongoing ownership and governance of PPM business processes and policies. This includes monitoring system performance, identifying process improvements, evaluating Oracle releases and enhancements, maintaining standards, and ensuring future system and process changes continue to meet UCSF’s research, financial, compliance, and reporting needs.

The position requires strong stakeholder leadership and the ability to work across CGA, IT, Finance, research administration, faculty-facing organizations, leadership, and other UCSF and UC stakeholders. The individual needs to be comfortable facilitating difficult decisions, communicating complex issues clearly, managing competing priorities, and influencing groups without necessarily having direct authority over them.

Chang management is also an important part of the role. The GPO will help develop documentation and training, communicate changes, support implementation and adoption, and ensure new processes are understood and consistently followed across the research enterprise.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a senior sponsored research/grants professional who understands the research funding lifecycle and has meaningful experience with a large enterprise-system implementation.

The person does not need to be the most technical Oracle expert in the organization. However, they need enough systems knowledge and implementation experience to work effectively with IT, understand and evaluate design options, translate research requirements into business and system requirements, and make informed decisions.

For this search, I would prioritize the qualifications in this order:

Sponsored Research / Grants Management Expertise – This is the foundation of the role.

Large Enterprise System Implementation Experience – Meaningful responsibility for requirements, process design, testing, implementation, or business ownership of a major system.

Business Process Ownership and Governance – Ability to define future-state processes, establish standards, make business decisions, and provide ongoing process ownership.

Stakeholder Leadership and Influence – Ability to work effectively across research administration, Finance, IT, leadership, and other stakeholders.

Change Management and Continuous Improvement – Ability to successfully implement new processes and maintain and improve them after go-live.

In simple terms, we are looking for someone who understands sponsored research and grants management deeply and has enough enterprise technology implementation experience to serve as the business owner for Oracle PPM. The person should be able to bridge the gap between research administration and technology, understanding what the business needs, translating those needs for IT, making appropriate process and system decisions, and ultimately owning and governing those processes for UCSF over the long term.

Department Summary:

The UCSF Controller’s Office delivers accounting services and related systems for faculty, staff, and students, all University Departments, foreign operations, the Health System, the UCSF Foundation, and outside entities that have a business relationship with the University. The Controller’s Office's vision is to be a trusted advisor, working in partnership with faculty, staff, and students to enhance the campus's financial stewardship and uphold the public’s trust in the institution and its mission.

The Contracts & Grants Accounting (CGA) unit of the Controller’s Office supports UCSF research and education by providing collaborative and advisory post-award management and financial oversight of sponsored research and campus-based student loans. The CGA unit is responsible for managing award set-up, billing, collections, financial and effort reporting, and closeout of sponsored research contracts and grants; monitoring compliance with applicable federal, state, local, or other sponsor regulations and requirements as well as University policies; collaborating with principal investigators, research administrators, sponsors, the Office of Sponsored Research (pre-award), and other campus and University departments.

%

of time Essential Function (Yes/No)

Key Responsibilities

(To be completed by Supervisor)

25 Y Serves as the organization expert on a significant policy issue(s) or initiative. Collaborate with IT and other departments to identify, communicate, and prioritize business requirements for systems and processes, ensuring alignment with organizational goals. Serve as the business lead for project oversight to ensure departmental needs are met. 20 Y Provides leadership, guidance, education, and policy development on the project. Responsible for driving the end-to-end business design for PPM workstreams. This includes award setup, budgeting, expenditure tracking, billing, and reporting for research projects, as well as understanding and coordinating with those handling departmental and faculty funds and gifts. Will have ongoing institutional ownership and governance of PPM business processes and policies beyond ERP implementation.

10 Y Identifies policy issues of importance to the organization / initiative which frequently cross organizational lines and require research of state and national organizations; develops appropriate analytical and procedural framework for addressing the issues. Partners with stakeholders to monitor system performance and address any gaps or inefficiencies. Provides input on process enhancements and ensures alignment with operational goals. Drive a coordinated approach to ERP-related business process changes across PPM and related workstreams. Will be the business lead in driving the evaluation and adoption of quarterly releases from Oracle including ongoing system governance. 15 Y Formulates new policies and procedures for implementation on the organization. Drive departmental planning, policy development, and management of strategic initiatives for Research within the ERP project. Provides consultative services to department administrators and stakeholders, ensuring processes are optimized for organizational objectives. Has advisory responsibility to leadership regarding enterprise business process strategy, governance, and operational impacts.

10 Y Ensures compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in a complex changing environment. Coordinates with IT to ensure systems are effectively supporting departmental goals and aligns with UCSF’s policies, compliance needs, and reporting requirements. Define and standardize future-state business processes that support sponsored research administration and project accounting across UCSF. Monitors changes in the research and regulatory landscape and is instrumental in determining the required policy, process and system updates.

10 Y Plans, develops and implements new programs and organizational structure changes required to implement new policy. Works with team members of all levels to develop documentation, training materials, and post-implementation support strategies. This includes change management, training, and stakeholder communications across the UCSF research enterprise. 10 Y Proposes, leads and / or participates on policy and planning committees and working groups. Leads cross-functional collaboration, acting as the primary representative for the business unit in discussions related to systems, reporting, and data needs. Represent UCSF with UCOP and other external stakeholders on PPM-related matters as well as areas where UCOP policy intersects with UCSF system and business processes for research administration.

100% (To update total %, enter the amount of time in whole numbers (without the % symbol - e.g., 15, 20) then highlight the total sum (e.g., 1%) at the bottom of the column and press F9. The total sum should add up to 100%.)

Required:

Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training

Minimum 3 years of hands-on experience with Oracle Cloud ERP (Fusion), including Grants Management, Projects, and Financials modules.

Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in sponsored research administration or related financial systems management within higher education or research institutions.

10+ years of relevant progressive experience

Demonstrated success representing the business owner for an Oracle Cloud ERP implementation or upgrade for the Sponsored Research or Grants workstream at an R1 or similarly complex university or academic medical center.

Ability to travel to UCSF locations as needed

Expert knowledge of common organizational- or research-specific and other computer application programs.

Highly skilled communication and interpersonal skills to communicate with and influence others, both verbally and in writing.

Ability to use discretion and maintain all confidentiality.

Ability to multi-task with demanding timeframes.

Expert analytical / problem-solving skills.

Preferred:

Advanced Degree

Highly skilled in all levels of project management.

Strong understanding of sponsored project lifecycle management — from proposal to award setup, expenditure management, billing, compliance, and closeout.