Summary

The Research Administration Associate is responsible for managing grant submissions (pre-award) and conducting financial reports and analysis (post-award) for a Basic Science department with an operational budget of approximately $25M. The department comprises around 250 personnel, including 35 faculty members. This role involves: handling deadline-driven grant submissions for agencies such as NIH, DoD, CPRIT, and various foundations; performing moderate to complex financial analysis; and preparing financial reports and presenting recommendations to faculty and management based on the findings.

This role is eligible for a hybrid work schedule.

Employees with CRA certification are eligible for certification pay.

Job Duties

Pre-Award Responsibilities

• Independently manage a grant portfolio, collaborating with investigators to prepare federal, state, and industry grants, contracts, and subcontract submissions both internally and externally. These submissions range from $50K/year to over $500K/year.
• Serve as a liaison between the Principal Investigator (PI) and the Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) to correct applications and create/execute subaward agreements.
• Gather and create necessary documents for grant submissions, including budgets, budget justifications, other support, and statements of work aligning with sponsor requirements. Communicate timelines to investigators to ensure timely submission to the central office for review and approval.
• Assist faculty in identifying funding opportunities and ensuring eligibility for grant submissions.
• Prepare and coordinate the submission of research grant applications; ensuring investigators and application comply with all guidelines, formatting, and timelines.
• Liaise with the Office of Sponsored Programs and other internal departments to submit applications and address issues.

Post-Award Responsibilities

• Contribute to annual budget preparation, accounting for costs and effort for faculty and staff on assigned grants and applicable expenses for other budgeted categories by maintaining labor distributions in the PEPT system.
• Assist with post-award grants management.
• Contribute to the preparation of budgets for annual grant reporting per sponsor guidelines.
• Manage progress reports, no-cost extensions, and any necessary revisions for awarded projects.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and institutional regulations regarding research and grant management.
• Stay updated on changes in sponsor policies and internal grant management procedures.
• Prepare outgoing and review incoming subcontracts. Track billing and invoicing on incoming and outgoing contracts.
• Submit budget requests and personal level of effort (PLOE) requests in the CPRIT CGMS system.

General

• Attend workshops on research administration for continued education and contribute to the development and continues improvement of the pre-/post-award management process.
• Work in a collaborative team environment, contributing to the department's research goals and supporting research faculty in achieving their objectives.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree. Certified Research Administrator certification through the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) may substitute for the degree requirement.
• Two years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Pre/post-award grant management experience.
• Strong leadership skills and ability to gain the confidence of faculty, staff, leaders, colleagues, etc.
• Ability to display a professional, positive attitude with strong interpersonal skills and communication skills required and must be able to work independently and collaboratively to meet deadlines.
• Highly detail-oriented, self-motivated, efficient, and strong organizational skills.
• Demonstrate a high degree of flexibility in accepting work assignments with the ability to effectively prioritize tasks, understand processes, and resolve issues.