Grants and Contracts Specialist
Colleges of Applied Health Sciences and Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Colleges of Applied Health Sciences (AHS) and Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) seek a full-time (12-month) Grants & Contracts Specialist in the Center for Health, Aging, and Disability (CHAD). This position will support the pre- and post-award financial activities involving sponsored research programs for units in the Colleges of Applied Health Sciences and Liberal Arts and Sciences that participate in shared research administration services. The Specialist is responsible for maintaining familiarity with applicable regulatory and university requirements and guidelines and developing and administering policies and procedures to ensure compliance. The specialist will collaborate with AHS and LAS college and departmental business and research administration staff, faculty, and graduate students to develop and submit high-quality grant proposals to external sponsors and provide post-award financial management.
Major Duties and Responsibilities
Pre-Award
Carefully review all relevant sponsor statements and announcements regarding proposal submissions to ensure adherence to sponsor guidelines and procedures; interpret funding announcements and submission instructions.
Develop proposal submission plans and timelines for faculty.
Act as a liaison between faculty PIs, co-PIS, investigators, collaborators, and subaward institutions to gather and develop required proposal documents and information for submission.
Coordinate proposal submissions to the sponsor with Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA)
Act as a liaison between the investigator and sponsor contacts as it pertains to instructions for submitting proposal (non-scientific inquiries only)
Development of the budget and budget justification for grant proposal submissions in consultation with PI
Complete online proposal forms and upload all proposal documents to federal sponsor agencies or assist in the finalization of submissions for faculty to upload for non-federal submissions.
Maintain records of grant submissions in online submission database.
Post-Award Financial Management
Assist faculty/PIs with the management of their funded research programs, including preparing financial forecasts. Provide advice on the financial aspects of hiring personnel and major spending decisions, such as large equipment purchases.
Monitor PI effort on sponsored projects to ensure investigators meet effort obligations on their awards.
Recommend changes in investigator effort and appointment requests as necessary to ensure compliance with effort obligations. When necessary, obtain sponsor approval for deviations from budgeted effort.
Work with appropriate HR contacts on appointments to sponsored projects.
Analyze sponsored project budgets and review expenditures to ensure allowability, integrity, and accuracy of all financial transactions. Take appropriate action to move unallowable/questionable charges to an appropriate funding source.
Assist with unit purchasing contacts as needed to review purchases on grant funds. Serve as a liaison to Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) with account setup, management, budgeting, billing, and close-out activities. Request and monitor anticipation accounts, subaward agreements, no-cost extensions, and other contract extensions as necessary.
Work with SPA to review funding terms from sponsors, set up anticipation accounts as required, and communicate the plan for effort and appointments with relevant stakeholders.
Maintain award documents in electronic repositories.
Assist with the preparation and distribution of timely financial reports to faculty and PIs, department and college administration, SPA, and/or research sponsors as necessary.
Assist with the coordination of processing with third-party entities on a sponsored research fund, for example, processing any third-party subawards, working with sponsors for amendments and/or extension, and any other related actions needed for the project.
Prepare reports and invoice supporting documentation for SPA Award Management and/or sponsors as needed.
Review and manage cost share commitments and subawards.
Assist with the completion of sponsored project close-out reviews and work with SPA to ensure completed projects are closed in a timely manner.
Assist PIs with the semi-annual expenditure confirmation process to obtain certifications on time.
Other duties related to post-award as assigned.
Training
Remain current with university and sponsoring agency policies, regulations, and procedures and ensure compliance by attending various meetings and trainings offered by Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance (SPaRC), the Office of Business and Financial Services (OBFS), and external meetings such as NCURA. Maintain active Illinois Certified Research Administration (CRA) designation.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS
Required: Bachelor's degree in business administration, accounting, finance, economics, or a field related to the position.
Demonstrated experience in professional, higher education, research, and/or government environment.
Preferred: Experience with understanding and following related federal and university regulations and policies for the conduct of sponsored research programs.
Experience with post-award financial management.
Experience managing awards with cost share and tracking commitments.
Illinois Certified Research Administration designation.
Experience with the University of Illinois accounting and reporting systems, including BANNER, Priority Software Business Accounting application, EDDIE, myResearch Portal, and various agency proposal submission systems.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Knowledge of accounting principles and sponsored research administration.
Ability to organize, prioritize, problem solve, and multi-task in a high-volume time-sensitive environment while maintaining accuracy.
Exceptional professional service skills, including; discretion in professional judgment and the ability to work independently, maintain confidentiality, and communicate effectively with others.
Proven ability to work in an integrated team.
Excellent customer service, interpersonal, and computer skills.
Extensive working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Outlook.
Commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Self-motivated with a high degree of personal initiative.
Salary and Appointment Information
This is a full-time Civil Service Grants and Contracts Associate position appointed on a twelve (12) month service basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after the closing date. We strive to provide a competitive salary, considering factors such as available market data, internal equity, candidate experience and qualifications, collective bargaining agreements, and budget constraints. The salary range for this position is $50,000 to $65,000 with the final salary offer determined through a thorough assessment of these elements.
Application Procedures and Deadline Information
Applications must be received by October 16, 2024. Apply for this position using the “Apply Now” button in the job posting at http://jobs.illinois.edu. Applications not submitted through http://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered.
For further information about this specific position, please contact AHS HR at ahs-hr@illinois.edu.
For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.
The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, visit Policy on Consideration of Sexual Misconduct in Prior Employment.
The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, COVID-19 vaccination requirement, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.
Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Requests may be submitted through the reasonable accommodations portal, or by contacting the Accessibility & Accommodations Division of the Office for Access and Equity at 217-333-0885, or by emailing accessibility@illinois.edu.
The University of Illinois must also comply with applicable federal export control laws and regulations and, as such, reserves the right to employ restricted party screening procedures for applicants.