Grants Specialist

Responsibilities

• Coordinates proposal submissions for approximately 80-100 proposals per year of varying volume and sponsor requirements. Direct and manage the proposal preparation process for a timely and compliant submission. Develop timelines and coordinate work assignments with faculty, department staff, and Office of Sponsored Research, as needed. Provide thorough review, oversight, and expert guidance throughout proposal submission process. Manage and monitor the actual submission, whether hardcopy or electronic. Troubleshoot errors and technical difficulties during electronic proposal submissions.
• Develops professional relationships with sponsor representatives, serving as institutional liaison when clarification is needed on application instructions and providing information as appropriate. All written correspondence with the sponsor is facilitated and reviewed by the RA3, throughout the life of the award. When the PI chooses to communicate with a sponsor’s program official, this communication is shared with the RA3 for the institutional file. The institutional file is UCSF’s auditable file. Communication with administrative counterparts at the sponsor is done either directly with the RA3 or facilitated, reviewed, documented, and signed by the RSC.
• Previews and approves submission of pre-award update information requested by sponsor representatives before issue of awards and submission. Obtain relevant application instructions; interpret and/or clarify with the sponsor as needed.
• Provides support to assigned PIs and understand their research portfolio. Ensures that faculty and departmental administrators have access to resources to identify funding sources and to successfully prepares their portions of the proposal. Join PI, post award analyst and department or division administrators in periodic meetings to review expenditure trends, answer questions, and discuss future plans for the PI’s portfolio. Meet regularly with department administrators to stay informed on departmental issues which might impact the faculty’s portfolio.
• Guides less experienced staff. Central Role (CR): Is eligible for delegated signature authority (may vary by campus). Department Role (DR): Typically works on complex proposals such as grants / contracts which require task budgets, option years, multiple investigators and multiple sub awards.
• Organizes, plans, establishes and monitors fiscal budget control of contracts and grants administration, gifts, endowments, and privately funded projects for faculty research programs. Prepares complex proposal budgets and support documents that are required by proposal guidelines. Prepares appropriate budgets in partnership with the PI, ensuring that budgeted costs are adequate, allowable, allocable, consistent and reasonable as related to the sponsor’s specifications and the needs of the department and the project. Guide PIs in writing budget justifications. Provide templates and review drafts to ensure accuracy and completeness. Provide or write compliance-related language as needed. Develop revised budgets as required by sponsors when they make budget cuts or provide additional funding. Advise PIs of implications of reducing budget versus work scope.
• Determine and document appropriate F&A (Facilities and Administration) base code and rate, project purpose, fringe benefit rates, and tuition for the project period, and escalate costs in accordance with Budget Office projections and sponsor guidelines. Determine the need for F&A rate exceptions. Research and document rate justification and submit exception request to UCOP or the EVCP, as appropriate. In collaboration with Contracts & Grants Accounting, provides consultation regarding financial administration and management for research funds in accordance with organization policy and funding agency requirements.
• Determine the need for PI Status Waivers, and/or mandatory or voluntary cost-sharing and advise the department as needed. Ensure all aspects have been addressed adequately; Determine the need for the review of conflict of interest by the Conflict-of-Interest Officer. Advise PI of the necessary training and documentation; Ensure accurate preparation of sponsor-required institutional pages/forms; prepare as needed; Respond to sponsor’s requests for Just-in-Time information (human and animal approvals, other support, budgetary details, etc.); Apply professional knowledge/experience to prepare, review and/or approve prior approval requests submitted to Federal and non-Federal sponsors; Communicate with sub-award institution PIs and administrators during proposal preparation. Follow-through to ensure timely and complete receipt of necessary compliance documentation and approvals; Obtain small business subcontracting plans by working with Procurement; Obtain and document project-specific pricing for animal care costs and from the Medical Center for hospital personnel and patient care costs; Other duties as assigned.
• Review proposal at various stages of development and at completion for appropriate and accurate content, grantsmanship, and compliance with sponsor, School and UCSF regulations. Recommend final proposal for institutional signing by the Team Manager or an RSC with appropriate certification level.
• Review award documentation for accuracy and special terms and conditions. Recommend research agreements and awards for institutional signing by the Team Manager or an RSC with appropriate certification level. Identify when terms need to be escalated to Team Manager or deferred to a team member trained in negotiation of complex awards. Interpret, inform, and educate PIs and administrators about grant and contract terms and conditions of their awards and their implications, including change in work scope versus awarded budget. Consult with team members trained in negotiation of complex awards as needed regarding UCSF’s ability to accept special terms and conditions or to include appropriate FAR clauses for government contracts during the pre-award stages.
• Collecting required compliance documentation and updating OSR databases accordingly; Maintaining appropriate approvals from applicable compliance committees; Maintaining communication with review committees to learn of new requirements; Drafting letters to sponsors in response to requests for additional justification/information; Working closely with Post Award Analysts and other parties to ensure that all information is accurately and thoroughly included on the Notice of Award so that all parties are aware of the impacts to their area of responsibility (the departments, Procurement, CGA, A/R, Property Administration, etc.); Working with CGA to ensure timely and accurate award set-up; Other duties as assigned.
• Interpret policy and guidelines; provide guidance, recommendations, instruction and facilitation for implementation of the policy and guidelines in each particular situation. Maintains a thorough understanding and knowledge of policies, guides, and regulations related to research administration, including CAS (Cost Accounting Standards), and the Uniform Guidance, the Research Policy Handbook, and UCSF processes impacting the administration of sponsored research and gift funding. Demonstrates a working knowledge of academic personnel policies, faculty appointment types, and PI eligibility criteria. Maintain appropriate approvals from applicable compliance committees.
• Utilizes internal systems such as Access, CACTAS, RAS, RIO, eProposal and others for compliance with office policy and procedures.

Qualifications

Experienced professional who knows how to apply theory and put it into practice with in-depth understanding of the professional field; independently performs the full range of responsibilities within the function; possesses broad job knowledge; analyzes problems / issues of diverse scope and determines solutions. Uses skills as a seasoned, experienced research administrator to independently develop and / or oversee research proposals, awards, and / or transactions related to contract and grant management and maintains contract and grant records in compliance with institutional research sponsor policies. Works on proposals and awards of diverse scope where analysis of data requires thorough understanding of complex regulations. Completes and approves transactions for signature by manager or other authorized institutional official. Works on complex proposals and awards that may involve multiple investigators and / or multiple sub awards. Guides less experienced staff.