Research Administrator, Post Award

About the role

The Post Award Research Administrator supports faculty in proposal submission, financial management, and compliance of their research grants and contracts. This position interacts regularly with and provides high-quality customer service to faculty members conducting sponsored research.

Responsibilities

• Reviews and reconciles award expenditures, budgets, and makes adjustments, as necessary;
• Projects and forecasts future award expenditures;
• Reviews all expenditures to ensure they are allowable, allocable, and reasonable;
• Manages budget, reporting, and compliance timelines through the lifecycle of the grant or contract;
• Communicates and meets with PIs on a regular basis regarding budget and expense adjustments and revisions;
• Completes financial reports to be sent to the sponsor, as required by the award terms and conditions;
• Maintains compliance with agency and university regulations regarding reporting;
• Completes invoices for the sponsor (for certain award types only);
• Aids PIs with non-financial report submissions, as necessary;
• Coordinates and submits requests for No Cost Extensions, Carryover, budgeting requests, and other changes to the award;
• Ensures all requests are done in compliance with sponsor guidelines and university policies, and coordinates with the pre-award counterpart, as needed;
• Facilitates the approval of invoices to pay subcontractors, as needed;
• Manages effort reports and manages the quarterly effort certification process for assigned units;
• Applies federal and university rules to management of effort allocation appropriately for individuals compensated whole or in part from federal awards;
• Assists in transferring awards out of the university;
• Responsible for preparing funded projects for closeout all funded projects consistent with university process and timelines;
• Follows and adheres to defined business practices related to post-award functions;
• Works with Senior Post Award Research Administrators;
• Follows and adheres to processes and activities related to post-award functions;
• Performs post-award activities including assisting faculty/PIs in the financial, regulatory, and reporting of grant and contract awards;
• Upon award acceptance, defines account establishment parameters, including billing and reporting requirements, budget, and cost sharing obligations;
• Sets-up awards in financial system;
• Distributes award information to PIs, co-PIs, and relevant staff;
• Coordinates with relevant individuals to adjust payroll for all budgeted positions (including relative cost sharing positions);
• and Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent;
• Some experience related to grants and contracts management (generally 0-2 years);
• Knowledge of federal rules, regulations, and university policies and procedures relating to research grant and/or contract activity;
• Knowledge of university processes, systems, and offices related to and/or involved in grant and contract submission and management;
• Knowledge of financial processes and controls including the reconciliation process;
• Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer service;
• Skills in mathematics, financial management, and/or accounting, with the ability to analyze data and formulate conclusions;
• Excellent oral and written communication with fundamental, professional interpersonal skills, including skill in creating high quality written documents;
• Skilled in the use of computers with solid working knowledge of MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint);
• Demonstrated ability to learn complex electronic systems and changing technologies related to grants and contracts management;
• Ability to proactively resolve problems and issues in a timely manner;
• Understanding of and ability to apply costing rules and regulations to federally funded projects;
• Understand and apply federal and university rules to management of effort allocation for individuals compensated whole or in part from federal awards;
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects/tasks simultaneously, work under pressure and meet deadlines, work independently with minimal supervision managing a large volume of complex awards;
• Ability to effectively manage research budgets, interpret allowable costs, and other specific financial issues;
• Ability to work collaboratively with other levels of post-award specialists to solve problems, answer questions, and give guidance on post-award activities and other grants management topics on a daily basis;
• Interact and communicate with senior leadership and communicate effectively with colleagues and peers;
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to solve questions and challenges in their daily work.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field;
• Experience in Sponsored Programs Administration or related field preferred;
• Knowledge of the Banner Financial system, or demonstrated ability to learn complex electronic systems.