General Summary:
The Grant and Contract Administrator (GCA) supports faculty and staff within the Psychology Department with both pre- and post-award project management. The GCA role is vital to the success of sponsored research by providing daily supervision over all proposals and awards. The GCA will work closely with faculty and students to educate them about how best to achieve successful funding awards by reviewing and advising about sponsor regulations, institute procedures, and University policies.
The GCA will work with the Principal Investigators (PIs) and doctoral students to cultivate research proposals and evaluate eligibility; will submit research proposals to sponsors and negotiate acceptable award terms; will ensure timely set-up of awards; will oversee transactions related to grant/contract management; and will maintain grant/contract records in compliance with University and research sponsor policies.
The GCA will assist with preparing and submitting project proposals; preparing and submitting budgets and progress reports; processing and monitoring project expenditures; and maintaining compliance with University policies and procedures, sponsor requirements, terms and conditions, and federal regulations regarding research involving human and animal subjects. The GCA will work in collaboration with the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP) and other central administrative units; and may supervise other grants administration staff.
Examples of Duties:
- Assist Principal Investigators (PIs) and doctoral students with identifying potential extramural funding sources, responding to requests for applications, obtaining guidelines and forms, aiding PIs in completing applications and assurance documents and assisting with preparing and negotiating subcontracts; ensure that proposals meet sponsor format and submission requirements;
- Assist PIs with processing and monitoring project expenditures by obtaining necessary financial reports; prepare and submit programmatic reports; assist with budgetary forecasting and with reporting time and effort commitments;
- Monitor monthly budget reports, salary costs, supply costs, and percentage efforts on each research project to ensure that expenses do not exceed revenues and that awards are expensed with appropriate fiscal management and in a manner consistent with institutional and research sponsor policies and practices; monitor and correct any incorrect postings on specific grants per budget constraints;
- Develop and maintain records for each research project;
- Provide technical assistance to faculty and staff with contracts, budgetary compliance, processing and reporting of grants;
- Support management of documentation required for non-competing continuations, progress reports, supplements, and other award/agreement amendments;
- Assist PIs with preparing competing continuation applications and new applications; review project budgets; obtain and verify necessary approvals and, when needed, recommend changes to applications with PIs and/or department administrators; review applications for completeness;
- Serve as the primary liaison between PIs and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) and other University departments involved with grant administration, such as Procurement, Human Resources and the Office of Budget and Financial Planning (OBFP) to process financial information and ensure compliance with University policies and procedures;
- Process and submit purchase orders, personnel action forms, and other required University forms, as necessary;
- Maintain procedures for pre-award administration processes and contribute content to communicate to University business managers;
- Establish and maintain awards in PeopleSoft and utilize electronic proposal submission procedures as needed;
- Assist with establishing and documenting procedures for the pre-award administration, as needed;
- Work seamlessly with ORSP post-award team member(s) to provide excellent service to PIs and Department customers;
- Assist with other research administration tasks as required or requested.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s Degree in business, finance, or a closely related field relevant area is required and a minimum of three-five years of professional experience, preferably in sponsored programs and grant management in an academic, non-profit or equivalent setting. Demonstrated pre- and post-award financial management experience, including proposal development and post-award management, is required. Familiarity and experience with all types of award mechanisms, including grants, contracts, subcontracts and cooperative agreements is required.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Membership in professional organizations such as SRA and/or NCURA is preferred.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Proficiency with programs such as Word, Excel, Adobe, Acrobat, and PeopleSoft;
- Knowledge of program administration guidelines of both federal and non-federal funding agencies;
- Ability to understand and apply University policies and procedures, as well as the laws, rules and regulations pertaining to grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, sub-awards and subcontracts;
- Ability to work independently within the department, and to work as a team member with the ORSP and other central administrative units of the University, is essential;
- Ability to maintain accurate records and to prepare summary reports as required;
- Ability to act with discretion and judgment and maintenance of confidentiality is vital;
- Ability to plan ahead, prioritize, and work under pressure in a deadline oriented environment in which workload ebbs and flows and can require manage multiple submissions across multiple PIs in a short span of time;
- Skill in the use of electronic sponsored program services systems is requisite;
- Strong oral and written communication skills;
- Strong analytical and creative problem solving skills;
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
- Strong commitment to customer service.
Application Instructions:
Please apply online with your resume, cover letter and list of three professional references.
Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date.
Only Internal candidates in the Professional Staff Bargaining Unit will be considered during the first 7 business days of the posting. All other candidates will be considered after that period.
Salary Ranges for the appropriate Pay Grade can be found at the following link: