Grants Management Specialist

The application closing date:

13 Sept 2026

Description:

The Grants Management Specialist will provide support in the administration of national and international research grant awards. She/he will be responsible for the smooth handling of the research and financial management portfolio within the Research Grants Unit. The portfolio revolves around the pre-award, due diligence and grants and contracts management and post-award phases. This includes the administration of a number of research grants; participate in multi-disciplinary teams preparing and compiling research grant proposals; reviewing cooperative agreements and policies, project setup, preparing financial and progress reports for research investigators, collaborators and external funders; compliance and institutional reporting obligations. In addition, the Grants Management Specialist will be responsible for maintaining grants databases, financial reconciliations, creating boiler templates and coordination and support activities. The position requires high level analytical skills, be deadline driven, attention to detailed orientated and multi-tasking skills. Grants Management Specialist will support both AHRI’s operating sites i.e. Somkhele and Durban.

The position will report to the AHRI grants managers and dotted line to their assigned faculty members.

Overview of Duties

1. Pre-Award Grants Management

Funding Announcements:

• First point of contact for principal investigators (PIs) seeking support with research funding
• Offers info sessions, grantsmanship, application guides for major competitions, and various research funding options.
• Advises on rules, regulations and submission procedures for grant applications opportunities.
• Check eligibility

Grant Application Development:

• Provide proposal and budget development support services to faculty, senior and early-career researchers.
• Liaises with collaborators and funders when necessary.
• Coordinate discussions around the application and budget with various stakeholders including AHRI research core departments for their input.
• Provide boiler templates and draft pieces of work to support standard and consistent language.
• Provide expertise in budget development and appropriate justifications to describe the expertise of personnel on the project and why other budget items are being requested.
• Maintains necessary records, files, reports, databases, and resource materials.
• Involved in smooth and timely submission of grant applications

Just-In-Time:

• Involved in the coordination of the just-in-time requests from funders.
• Coordinate with the project team and its collaborators on action items
• Provide assistance to Faculties and Researchers in drafting and/or collating scientific and non-scientific information such as other support, biographical information etc.

2. Due Diligence and Grants and Contracts Management

Due Diligence Reporting:

• Coordinate due diligence requests routed to AHRI.
• Ensure that all relevant departments at AHRI are aware and provide the appropriate input.
• Perform due diligence on other institutions that we do business with such as sub awardees.

Contract Management Support:

• Review and ensure notice of awards are correct.
• Check if there is any deviation in proposal budget vs final approved budget.
• Ensure there is a system in place to manage AHRI’s reporting obligations.
• Maintain a contact list for the program and grants management specialist details.
• Complete agreement summary form
• Review Intellectual property and report deviation from institutional policy.
• Ensure and coordinate all grants extension and amendments are in place before the grant end date.
• Review VAT requirements.

3. Post Award Grants Management

Project Administrative Initiation:

• Engage with the project PI and team on the next steps of implementing the administrative components of funded project.
• Set-up a SAP project cost centre.
• Notify the project team and operational departments of the new project.
• Communicate to the project team on specific compliance requirements from the terms and conditions of the award and institutional requirements.
• Budget confirmation for employment recruitment, appointment and renewals.
• Prepare and facilitate payroll changes to HR for current staff to go onto the project.

Project Funding Management:

• Assist faculty as part the project team ensure that there is sufficient grant financial resources to the support the scientific objectives
• Ensure project team are spending in according with funders regulations.
• Review and ensure compliance of transactions based on allowability, allocability, reasonable and whether it is bonifide.
• Reconcile all income and expenditure per project.
• Ensure institutional indirect costs are recovered accurately on a monthly basis per project.
• Prepare PI project reports.
• Generate and track AHRI debtor’s invoices (advance funding or spend & claim) for all projects that AHRI receives as a prime or subaward.
• Check monthly on project personnel being charged correctly on each project. Payroll change request forms to be initiated for any changes.
• Initiate any cost transfers and facilitate core cost recoveries
• Re-budgeting & forecasting exercise for the project team.
• Provide support during grant funded specific audits (e.g. US federal, AAS audits etc.)

Subrecipient Monitoring:

• Ensure Drafting, negotiation, and approval of outgoing Subawards and amendments.
• Subrecipient monitoring activities.
• Ensure subrecipients return unused funds and plan within AHRI to utilize subrecipient unused funds.
• Site visits where necessary

Technical Reporting:

• Identify reporting obligations.
• Flag all necessary personnel in advance for any technical reporting obligations for the project.
• Ensure correct reporting templates are used (funders may have specific templates)
• Facilitation and collection of collaborators programmatic and financial reports
• Assist, prepare & submit grant funded project financial and scientific reports to funders and ensure on-time submission.
• Communicate to funders changes in the project on behalf of the PI.

Grant Close-out:

• Ensure proper close-out of research grant awards by going through all terms and conditions.
• Implement a standard close-out procedure and database to manage closing out of projects.
• Prepare, assist, and submit final reports such scientific reports, financial reports, intellectual property reports etc.
• Providing guidance to program personnel regarding grants-related close-out matters

4. Coordination Activities

• •Participate in multi-disciplinary teams preparing and compiling research grant proposals. Ensure appropriate checklist and templates are used.
• Maintains necessary records, files, reports, databases, and resource materials. Such as due diligence records, contract database, grants overview and sub award schedule, invoice schedule,
• Troubleshooting assistance.
• Keeping updated on grants and funders policies and guidelines.

Minimum Qualifications

1. BSc in any science discipline or related qualification or B.Com in Accounting or related qualification

2. Qualification in grants and contract management (desirable)

3. Qualification in Project management (desirable, not essential)

Minimum Experience

1. Previous experience working in the field of TB, HIV and/or NCDs

2. 5 years’ work experience. 2 years’ experience in a similar role would be advantageous

3. Experience in working with international and national multidisciplinary grant applications,

preferable

1. Experience of managing large collaborative research grants (>R5m) and knowledge of a

variety of sponsors including research councils, government, charitable, and industrial funding

(desirable, not essential), preferable

Skills Required

1. ‘Hands on’ approach

2. Understanding of project operations including project planning, coordination and management

3. Ability to do proper planning and perform accurate work under pressure

4. Willingness to learn and continuously improve oneself

5. Taking initiative, being proactive and deadline orientated

6. Highly motivated and independent

7. High level analytical skills

8. Update line manager in an effective way

Worker Type:

Employee

AHRI is a values-driven organisation. As an employer we are committed to staff engagement and development. Our culture is one of high performance and partnership.

Our values
The successful candidate will be expected to live by AHRI’s values, including collaboration, ubuntu, leadership, innovation, transformation, and excellence.

Employment equity
AHRI is fully compliant with South African labour law and is committed to employment equity. This position is primarily open to South African or other African applicants, with a valid work permit desirable. AHRI reserves the right in special circumstances to accept late applications or to extend the above date to facilitate further searches. Furthermore, AHRI reserves the right not to make an appointment.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, kindly consider your application as unsuccessful if you do not hear from us within 14 days of the application closing date.