Ascension LLC is seeking a detail-oriented and mission-driven Grants Management Support Specialist, Museum & Native-Tribal Programs to support the Institute of Museum and Library Services in administering grant lifecycle activities for museum, Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Tribal-related grant programs.

This role is ideal for a grants professional with experience supporting federal grant programs, reviewing application materials, tracking performance reports, supporting post-award monitoring, and working with electronic grants management systems. The strongest candidates will understand the importance of accuracy, consistency, confidentiality, and timely execution in a federal grants environment.

The ideal candidate brings working knowledge of 2 CFR 200, federal grants administration, museum or library programs, Tribal eligibility considerations, and grant data systems. IMLS specifically identifies that Native support requires tribal eligibility expertise and familiarity with tribal governance requirements, while museum support requires demonstrated museum administration expertise.

Summary of Contractor Role

The Grants Management Support Specialist will provide administrative, technical, analytical, and data support across the full IMLS grant lifecycle. This includes pre-award application review support, draft eligibility analysis, eGMS data entry and validation, award processing support, post-award monitoring assistance, administrative change request processing, report tracking, file preparation, and weekly/monthly/annual status reporting.

This position does not make final eligibility determinations, select peer reviewers, approve funding recommendations, approve monitoring actions, execute awards, or obligate federal funds. The contractor’s work is advisory and administrative in nature, with all final decisions reserved for federal staff.

The successful candidate will be self-driven, organized, comfortable working remotely, and able to operate with precision in a structured federal environment. This role requires strong written communication, sound judgment, excellent data entry skills, comfort working with Adobe PDF files, and proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 tools, including Excel, Teams, and OneDrive. The solicitation also requires proficiency with Adobe Acrobat Pro and experience working with complex proprietary relational databases.

Expected Day-to-Day Activities

The selected candidate will be expected to:

• Conduct administrative completeness checks for museum, Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Tribal-related grant applications.
• Prepare draft eligibility analyses for federal review and final determination.
• Enter, update, validate, and quality check application and award data in eGMS.
• Review required application documentation, including strategic plans, attachments, budgets, and supporting files.
• Use IMLS review tools, such as First Check and Final Check tools, to support eligibility, completeness, and budget analysis.
• Recommend potential peer reviewers and support draft panel configuration activities.
• Set up review panels in eGMS with reviewers and assigned applications.
• Troubleshoot reviewer issues by email, phone, and virtual collaboration tools.
• Prepare panel support materials, project descriptions, spreadsheets, and files for upload.
• Prepare data and visualizations that support federal decision-making.
• Develop funding recommendation spreadsheets and conduct pre-award budget checks for federal review.
• Review assigned interim and final performance reports and document administrative findings.
• Identify issues, risks, missing information, or non-compliance indicators and prepare draft recommendations for federal review.
• Prepare administrative correspondence templates for grantee outreach.
• Track grantee reporting compliance and support follow-up on overdue submissions.
• Maintain monitoring logs documenting issues, status, and supporting actions.
• Review and process administrative personnel change requests.
• Identify eGMS data anomalies and recommend corrections.
• Prepare datasets, tracking reports, and internal program reports as requested.
• Log received reports, evaluations, and plans in tracking spreadsheets.
• Update report statuses and upload related materials in eGMS.
• Prepare evaluations and plans for Section 508-compliant web posting.
• Contribute to weekly status reports, monthly SLA tracking and risk logs, and annual performance accomplishment reports.
• Protect confidential information, personally identifiable information, and sensitive but unclassified materials in accordance with IMLS requirements.
• Follow IMLS policies, procedures, guidance, job aids, and federal grants management standards.