Research Administration Associate

Summary

The Department of Medicine and IQuESt: The Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety is seeking a Research Administration Associate to join the team at Baylor College of Medicine and the Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, TX. As the largest center for Health Services Research in the Southwest, the mission is to improve health and well-being through innovations in health care delivery. The ideal candidate will be an enthusiastic, detail-oriented individual who is passionate about contributing to the field of health services research. Employees with CRA certification are eligible for certification pay.

Job Duties

• Provide expert guidance and high-quality customer service to faculty and research teams on post-award activities such as budget revisions, expenditure monitoring, financial reporting, and project closeout.
• Serve as the liaison between faculty, division administrators, the central finance office, and sponsors, ensuring smooth communication and resolution of any post-award issues.
• Assist and guide research administrators in the divisions, ensuring consistency in processes and compliance across the department.
• Monitor and review financial activities of sponsored research projects, including budget adjustments, cost transfers, effort reporting, and expenditures, ensuring they are in line with sponsor and institutional guidelines.
• Perform in-depth financial reviews to identify and resolve issues with grant accounts.
• Coordinate with pre-award teams to ensure a smooth transition of projects from proposal submission to active award management.
• Support and guide the submission of financial reports, progress reports, and other required post-award documents to sponsors.
• Work closely with department leadership to develop and implement policies, procedures, and best practices to improve efficiency and compliance in post-award operations.
• Conduct regular audits of award management processes to ensure adherence to all sponsor guidelines and institutional policies.
• Stay up to date with changes in research funding regulations and communicate these changes to faculty and staff.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree. Certified Research Administrator certification through the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) may substitute for the degree requirement.
• Two years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced Microsoft Excel experience
• Experience with SAP S4 Hana, Microsoft Power BI, and other financial reporting tools
• Pre/Post-award grant management experience
• Strong leadership skills and ability to gain the confidence of faculty, staff, leaders, colleagues, etc
• Ability to display a professional, positive attitude with strong interpersonal skills and communication skills required and must be able to work independently and collaboratively to meet deadlines