Sponsored Programs Administrator

About the role

This position serves as a primary coordinator of pre-award and non-financial post-award requirements for sponsored awards, ensuring compliance with Federal regulations, sponsor guidelines, and university policies. The role also involves maintaining and troubleshooting the InfoEd Electronic Research Administration system, developing training materials for stakeholders, and documenting system procedures.

Responsibilities

• Provides guidance to faculty, staff, and students on interpreting federal or non-federal sponsor regulations, guidelines, and policies during the grant proposal development and submission phase.
• Reviews government regulations, policy changes, and agency notices, disseminating information to stakeholders.
• Develops and presents training on the InfoEd Electronic Research Administration System and troubleshoots system issues to meet grant submission deadlines.
• Provides training demonstrations of the InfoEd SPIN funding opportunity database and prepares targeted funding opportunity searches as requested.
• Disseminates funding opportunities as received.
• Performs institutional compliance reviews of grant proposals for adherence to sponsor regulations, guidelines, and university policy, providing feedback for corrections if needed.
• Reviews awards for acceptance, communicates award terms to the Post-Award Office, and establishes grant award budgets in the university financial system.
• Prepares subawards if applicable and performs ongoing compliance reviews for non-financial post-award requirements.
• Participates in "kick-off" meetings with stakeholders to review grant award terms, roles, responsibilities, and deliverables.
• Manages and oversees the review process for at least one internal grant program (e.g., George F. Haddix President’s Faculty Research Fund, Health Science Strategic Investment Fund Faculty Development Grant, etc.).
• Compiles and analyzes report data for audits, surveys, accreditation, and institutional management requests related to externally sponsored submissions and awards.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 6+ years of research administration experience or closely related experience.
• Understanding of the Uniform Guidance and experience interpreting federal and non-federal regulations and guidelines.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Knowledge of the research process, including regulatory compliance.

Skills

• Effective oral and written communication skills for analyzing complex issues and preparing clear, informative materials.
• Strong interpersonal skills to interact effectively with staff, faculty, deans, and external sponsors.
• Ability to function as a team member while exercising independent and critical judgment.
• Ability to prioritize work with multiple and conflicting demands in a deadline-oriented environment.
• Ability to lead and train faculty, staff, and students.
• Flexibility to work beyond normal business hours as needed.

Qualifications

Certified Research Administrator (CRA) or Certified Pre-Award Research Administrator (CPRA) certification is encouraged.