Federal grant officers play a critical role in overseeing the administrative, fiscal, and compliance aspects of federal grant programs. They manage the full grant lifecycle, from conducting pre-award risk assessments to ensuring post-award compliance and providing technical assistance to grantees.
Key Insights
- Grant officers serve as centralized record holders and are responsible for reviewing budgets and financial plans for accuracy during the pre-award phase.
- They conduct pre-award risk assessments to identify and address potential risks through negotiated grant agreements and conditions.
- Post-award, they monitor grantee compliance with federal regulations, track reporting requirements, and offer ongoing risk management and technical support.
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The grant officer on the federal level of personnel is tasked with the administrative and fiscal review and monitoring of the grant. They are also charged as the centralized gatekeeper holder of all official records. They are in charge of what we call the centralized official grant file.
When it comes to financial management, they review budgets and financial plans submitted by the applicants for accuracy. During pre-award, they take potential recipients, all applicants, through what we call a pre-award risk assessment, identifying risks that have to be countered, mitigated, or addressed in the actual notice of an award. When it comes to contracting and agreements, they negotiate, prepare, and execute grant agreements with modifications and sometimes specific conditions if they identify risk during the pre-award risk assessment.
When it comes to post-award, they ensure compliance oversight. They ensure grantees comply with federal regulations, agency policies, and reporting requirements. They track time and submission of all financial and administrative reports.
And when it comes to risk management, which is done pre-award and post-award, they are continuously monitoring to identify financial and administrative risk related to the grantee's operations or potential operations. And they also offer support and coordination, technical assistance when needed, on best practices for effective administering of a grant.