Grants Manager, WGU Advancement, Salt Lake City, UT

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

Grade: Professional 309

Pay Range: $80,300.00 - $120,400.00

Job Description

The Grants Manager supports comprehensive grants administration for WGU, spanning pre-award and post-award activities for grants, scholarships, and other externally funded initiatives. This role works collaboratively across Advancement, colleges, business units, and project teams to identify funding opportunities, develop competitive proposals, manage the award acceptance and negotiation process, and ensure full compliance with sponsor, institutional, federal, and state requirements.

The Grants Manager serves as a key partner to grant leaders and internal stakeholders, supporting the lifecycle of funded projects—from researching opportunities and proposal development through award setup, budget tracking, reporting, and closeout. This position ensures that grant activities are executed professionally, efficiently, and in alignment with sponsor requirements and WGU’s mission and strategic priorities.

Responsibilities

Pre-Award Responsibilities

• Research and identify grant opportunities aligned with WGU’s mission and strategic goals.
• Collaborate with faculty, staff, and Advancement colleagues to assist with developing and refining grant proposals and budgets.
• Manage the proposal submission process, including coordinating documents, routing for approvals, and communicating with sponsors as needed.
• Interpret grant solicitations, funder requirements, and relevant regulations to support proposal development.
• Assist in the development and refinement of grants management procedures, protocols, and standard practices.
   

Post-Award Responsibilities

• Take a project-management approach to establishing new awards across WGU, including initiating workflows, communication plans, and implementation support.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with sponsor guidelines, institutional policies, research regulations, and award terms conditions.
• Track grant budgets in collaboration with finance partners; monitor expenditures and ensure allowability.
• Support grant leaders in executing project deliverables and troubleshooting implementation issues.
• Maintain accurate tracking of post-award activities and grant progress using CRM tools (e.g., Smartsheet and Salesforce).
• Oversee preparation and timely submission of progress, financial, and final reports.
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders to develop data infrastructure needed to report on outcomes, KPIs, and grant performance.
• Engage with sponsors, as appropriate, regarding reporting, program updates, or project changes.
• Collaborate with Development and Engagement teams to support funder stewardship and relationship goals.
   

General Responsibilities

• Provide training, guidance, and support to faculty and staff on grants processes, policies, and best practices.
• Analyze proposals, contracts, and award documents to identify requirements, risks, and items requiring clarification.
• Maintain organized documentation and records for all assigned grants.
• Ability to travel up to approximately 5%.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

This job description includes a general representation of job requirements rather than a comprehensive inventory of all required responsibilities or work activities.  The contents of this document or related job requirements may change at any time with or without notice.
 

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of full-cycle grants management, including proposal development, award administration, compliance, reporting, and closeout
• Understanding of grant administration, regulatory requirements, and compliance obligations
• Ability to analyze complex proposals, contracts, and reporting requirements
• Excellent project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple deadlines and high-volume workloads
• Strong writing abilities, particularly related to proposals and funder reporting
• Excellent oral communication skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools and the ability to learn new systems; experience with grant tracking systems (e.g., Smartsheet, Salesforce or electronic grant management systems) preferred
• Ability to collect, analyze, and report data in accessible formats
• Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work with diverse internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to listen, respond constructively, and work both independently and collaboratively

• Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of experience in grants administration, project management, research administration, or related fields; OR Master’s degree and 3 years of experience.

Experience in lieu of education

Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements.  Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in higher education grants administration.
• Strong project management background.
• Demonstrated experience with federal, state, corporate, and foundation funders.

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Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.