CIMR Research Administrator

Duties & Responsibilities

• Work directly with investigators on assigned proposal submissions to ensure proposals meet technical, administrative and financial requirements, as well as ensuring deadlines are met and established policies and requirements of both VCU and sponsoring agencies are met.
• Aid in proposal development and establish necessary timelines with the Investigators to ensure deadlines are met for all submissions assigned.
• Create a management plan and communicate clearly with the Principal Investigators on submission requirements and assignments; ensure roles, responsibilities and timelines are clear for each proposal assigned.
• Prepare non-technical components of submissions seeking PI input where needed: budget, budget narrative, coordinating administrative requirements for sub recipients, preparing RAMS-SPOT submissions, completing sponsor forms, etc.
• Prepare clinical trial budgets and negotiate with sponsors as needed, with a clear understanding of various implications and reaching out to OSP as required and/or needed.
• Prepare cost share authorizations and advance index requests seeking department approvals as needed.
• Review terms and conditions of awards and communicate special terms to Investigators and department administration as needed.
• Provide data and assist supervisor as needed to prepare department level pre-award reporting for areas assigned.
• Provide financial and administrative support of program sponsored research portfolios as assigned to include: grants, cooperative agreements and contracts including industry clinical trials.
• Work with investigators to establish new awards and initiate spending; ensure award financial record and budget are accurate in university systems.
• Provide financial and administrative support including monthly reviews of: expenditures, projections, personnel allocations and cost share indexes. Ensure expenses allocated to project are allowable, reasonable and allocable. Compliance concerns should be brought to supervisor and primary investigators immediately.
• Meet with investigators of projects assigned no less than quarterly to review project status and financial projections.
• Ensure accurate labor distributions on sponsored and cost share indexes are maintained.
• Manage sub awards: initiate sub award administrative actions, receive invoices, monitor finances, and obtain PI approval for invoice payment, process payments.
• Demonstrate a commitment to risk assessment (considering cost, benefit and impact)
• Utilize identified internal control mechanisms
• Practice routine verification of the accuracy of data

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent related experience.
• Possess or have the ability to acquire skills in the following areas: analyze financial transactions for trends and variances; create reports, tracking tools and professional documents; budget development; expense forecasting; financial reconciliation; ability to interpret and apply complex government regulations and contractual terms.
• Pro-actively ask questions and seek guidance when needed.
• Excellent customer service skills, written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work as part of a team.
• Strong problem solving and time management skills are essential, including ability to adapt to frequent changes in work assignments, prioritize and manage competing priorities and deadlines.
• Must be precise, thorough, reliable and perform daily activities with minimal supervision.
• Must be proficient in the use of computers with the ability to learn new systems and software applications with ease.
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from various backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.