Sr. Grants and Contracts Administrator

About the role

The University of Rochester is seeking a Co-Team Lead for the Grants and Contracts Team within the Department of Environmental Medicine. This role reports directly to the Director of Research Operations and plays a key part in advancing the department’s research mission by overseeing grants management, compliance, and strategic growth.

Responsibilities

• Oversee at least two Grants Management Specialist II positions as Co-Team Lead.
• Act as the primary liaison with research program administration, project sponsors, participating research programs, and regulatory agencies.
• Review proposed research program budgets for adherence to financial reporting regulations set by the Office of Research Accounting and Costing Standards and the Office of Research Project Administration.
• Lead research development, compliance, growth, and management for the department in collaboration with leadership.
• Develop and implement strategic plans to expand and diversify the department’s research portfolio.
• Co-lead the grants management team, setting timelines, quality standards, and ensuring compliance with university and sponsor requirements.
• Oversee risk identification and mitigation (staffing, infrastructure, timelines); direct renewals of large, complex awards; and negotiate cross-institutional agreements (subawards, consulting agreements, MTAs/DUAs, data-use, and other research contracts) in coordination with ORPA/ORACS and external partners.
• Ensure compliance with sponsor and institutional policies (e.g., NIH Public Access), coordinate with IRB and compliance offices, monitor portfolio metrics, streamline processes, and coach staff for continuous improvement.
• Serve as a liaison among faculty, funding agencies, internal offices, and external partners to facilitate communication, negotiate agreements, and clarify guidelines.
• Maintain a proposal database, provide updates to leadership on grant activity, and assist with strategic planning.
• Provide training and guidance to faculty and staff on research administration processes and compliance requirements.
• Prepare annual and final progress reports for grants in collaboration with Principal Investigators, including gathering required components, calculating effort information, and addressing budgetary matters.
• Assist faculty with completing final financial and project reports at the conclusion of a grant.
• Stay current on sponsor policies and procedures through professional development activities.
• Ensure pre- and post-award compliance with human resources, payroll, effort reporting, and visa requirements.
• Work with departmental leadership to reduce duplicative efforts, consolidate processes, streamline review, and ensure compliance with institutional policies and procedures.
• Assist with selecting and supervising the grants and contracts team, providing training, development, performance evaluation, and new hire orientation.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of relevant experience required.
• Experience with NIH grants or other regulatory agency administration, both pre- and post-award reporting and handling of federal research grants preferred.
• Knowledge of IORA (Integrated Online Research Administration) and federal grant application platforms (e.g., ASSIST) preferred.
• Practical knowledge and prior experience in managing the preparation, submission, and post-award reporting and handling of federal research grants, particularly NIH grants preferred.
• Knowledge of university policies and procedures and familiarity with personal computers and MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) preferred.
• Knowledge of and experience in HRMS, IORA, and ASSIST preferred.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including written communication.
• Organized, detail-oriented, able to work in a team environment, and able to anticipate needs, prioritize assignments, and proactively resolve issues/problems.
• Experience with database applications (e.g., Smartsheet) preferred.
• Must obtain Continuous Learning for Administrators of Sponsored Programs (CLASP) certification within 1 year of hire.

Pay

The compensation range for this role is $70,600.00 – $105,800.00 annually. Individual salaries will be set within this range based on factors including market data, education, experience, qualifications, internal equity, and other relevant considerations.