Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist Grants and Contracts Specialist

Job Posting Title

Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist / Grants and Contracts Specialist ----

Hiring Department

Department of Computer Science ----

Position Open To

All Applicants ----

Weekly Scheduled Hours

40 ----

FLSA Status

Exempt from FLSA ----

Earliest Start Date

Immediately ----

Position Duration

Expected to Continue ----

Location

UT MAIN CAMPUS ----

Job Details

General Notes

This position will support faculty in the Department of Computer Science within the university’s new School of Computing, which includes 3 strong departments and more than 9,000 students across all programs. This places UT among the most significant intellectual hubs for computer science, information, and statistics and data science research and education anywhere in the world. The School of Computing has a close relationship with Austin’s thriving tech culture and works at the forefront of fields spanning artificial intelligence, robotics and quantum computing; data science, statistics and scientific discovery; cybersecurity and trustworthy computing; and human-centered technology, information, and the societal impacts of computing. The Department is seeking a Grants and Contracts Coordinator or Senior Grants and Contracts Coordinator to be the research administrator for a portfolio of faculty, research grants, and funding.

Purpose

As a Grants and Contracts Specialist, you will be a key member of the Computer Science Research Administration team by managing a broad portfolio of faculty and research funding. Grants & Contracts Specialists work closely with the Department of Computer Science faculty as a subject matter expert in the full life cycle of the grant management process (pre-award, grant management, and post-award). The Computer Science Research Administration unit is a team of higher education professionals that supports teamwork, collaboration, innovation, training, and professional development while providing excellent support services through research administration.

Responsibilities

• Assist with award set-up and perform fiscal management of awards, including budgeting, spending projections, budget modifications, financial reporting, and review of expenditures. Monitor post-award activities to ensure compliance. Coordinate sub-award agreements as needed. Assist PIs with effort certification.
• Provide accounting information for purchases on research funds. Process invoices, reimbursements, vendor onboarding forms such as PIFs, and travel authorization requests for PIs, researchers, and students traveling on research funds. Assist PIs with arrangements for invited researchers and speakers. May process a high volume of documents with tight deadlines. Coordinate with event planning staff to ensure adherence to event budgets using sponsored project funds and eligibility of expenses on accounts.
• Monitor and report account balances and spending, reconcile accounts, and maintain account overviews and PI dashboards in Smartsheet. Analyze and interpret budgetary financial data related to sponsored research to advise faculty on strategic and appropriate fund use. Gather financial and non-technical report components in coordination with PI to ensure timely submission of reports and adherence to required reporting timelines.
• Provide the human resources team with assignment details for sponsor-funded student and staff positions and visitors. Process Tuition Reduction Benefits (TRBs) for graduate research assistants. Process summer salary in Workday for faculty within PI portfolio.
• Collaborate with PIs, department staff, university staff, and external stakeholders to identify and resolve pre- and post-award research administration issues through critical thinking and problem-solving strategies.
• Participate in internal and external professional development and research administrator networks to remain current with UT, local, state and federal guidelines, and regulations. Contribute to the work of the research administration team, the larger finance and administrative team, and to a positive workplace culture.

Applicants who wish to be considered for Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist level will be expected to manage a larger and more complex portfolio, be a mentor to junior team members, and contribute significantly to the work of the team.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and at least three years of related experience at the Grants and Contracts Specialist level, and at least five years of related experience at the Senior level.
• Progressively responsible experience in grants management or sponsored programs administration, preferably in a higher education, nonprofit, research, or public-sector setting.
• Successful record of managing proposal submissions and awards with competing deadlines accurately and in a timely manner.
• Working knowledge of federal grant regulations and experience applying institutional or funder compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to work as a member of a team and independently.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including the ability to explain contract, financial, and compliance requirements.
• Willingness to learn the full life cycle of the grant management process with an emphasis on providing excellent support services and professionalism.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) status
• Familiarity with external electronic research administration systems such as eRA Commons and Research.gov.
• Experience with UTRMS, DEFINE, and external agency proposal-preparation, budget development, and submissions systems.
• Experience with the full grants and contracts life cycle from proposal through close-out.
• Experience working with faculty, PIs, and/or researchers in a higher education environment.
• Experience working with large-scale, complex grant proposals and awards.
• Demonstrated involvement in a research administration community such as participation in UT’s ARA, NCURA, or other professional organizations.

Salary Range

• Grants and Contracts Specialist: $60,000+ depending on qualifications.
• Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist: $70,000+ depending on qualifications.

Working Conditions

• Typical office environment
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important   for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers:  You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers:  As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

----

Employment Eligibility