The Department of Ophthalmology has an opening for a full-time University Staff (Research Services Senior to Principal Professional) Grants and Contracts Specialist. Reporting to the Program Manager of Research Finance and Administration, this position serves as a key resource for the administration of post-award grants and contracts and provides financial, compliance, and research administration support for the department's sponsored research portfolio.
Core responsibilities include supporting Principal Investigators (PIs) throughout the post-award lifecycle by monitoring budgets and expenditures, performing financial reconciliations and forecasting, processing effort and funding transactions, preparing sponsor invoices, coordinating subrecipient monitoring activities, maintaining award documentation, and supporting award modifications and closeout activities. The position is also responsible for ensuring compliance with sponsor requirements and institutional, federal, and state regulations while leveraging institutional systems and reporting tools to support accurate financial stewardship and decision-making.
The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented research administration professional with experience in sponsored projects administration, strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to interpret complex sponsor guidelines, financial data, and regulatory requirements. Successful candidates will demonstrate a commitment to customer service, collaboration, continuous process improvement, and sound fiscal stewardship within a complex academic medical research environment.
Key Responsibilities:
Senior Professional
Grant and Contract Administration (70%)
Work collaboratively with the Program Manager of Research Finance and Administration to provide comprehensive post-award financial administration for sponsored grants and contracts from grant setup through closeout, ensuring compliance with sponsor terms, federal regulations, and University policies.
Monitor effort reporting and conduct routine reviews of payroll and other research-related expenditures to ensure costs are accurately allocated, allowable, and appropriately recorded; initiate and process corrective actions as needed.
Review expenditures for allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and compliance with sponsor, federal, and institutional requirements.
Prepare and submit requisitions, payment vouchers, and sponsor invoices in accordance with grant and contract terms; track invoices, sponsor payments, receivables, and outstanding balances.
Monitor award budgets, projected balances, deficits, carryforward needs, rebudgeting requests, no-cost extensions, reporting deadlines, and closeout requirements, proactively identifying and communicating potential issues.
Prepare and process funding distributions, Journal Entries (JEs), Payroll Expense Transfers (PETs), and other financial transactions; reconcile subcontract and consultant invoices and resolve discrepancies.
Coordinate subrecipient monitoring activities, including processing subaward agreements and amendments, collecting risk assessment documentation, and reviewing invoices for compliance, allowability, and progress against scope of work.
Process award modifications and amendments, including funding changes, period-of-performance extensions, and revised terms and conditions, while ensuring internal systems and financial records are updated accurately.
Compliance, Reporting, and Systems (20%)
Monitor awards and projects to ensure budget compliance, accounting accuracy, appropriate expenditures and revenue activity, and adherence to sponsor, University, departmental, federal, state, foundation, and institutional requirements.
Extract, analyze, validate, and maintain proposal, award, financial, and research administration data using systems such as InfoEd, CU Data, PeopleSoft, A2E, and other institutional reporting tools.
Maintain complete, organized, and audit-ready grant records and documentation in accordance with federal, sponsor, and institutional retention requirements.
Collaboration, Communication, and Process Improvement (10%)
Support research finance leadership to advance strategic initiatives through process improvement and the implementation of AI, automation, and data-driven solutions that strengthen research administration, operational efficiency, and compliance.
Principal Professional performs all Senior Professional responsibilities with greater independence and complexity, plus the following additional duties:
Grant and Contract Administration (70%)
Perform all Senior Professional grant and contract administration duties with limited supervision, exercising independent judgment on complex financial and compliance matters; serve as a subject matter resource for Principal Investigators (PIs) and departmental research administration staff.
Assist the Program Manager with financial forecasting, budget variance analysis, and interpretation of financial activity to support faculty decision-making and research leadership planning.
Support pre-award activities as needed, including preparation of Other Support documentation, Just-in-Time (JIT) submissions, and communication of sponsor deadlines.
Compliance, Reporting, and Systems (20%)
Perform all Senior Professional compliance, reporting, and systems duties with greater depth and independence.
Independently interpret and apply federal regulations, including Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and agency-specific requirements; serve as the departmental content expert on regulatory and compliance matters for faculty, staff, and central offices.
Collaboration, Communication, and Process Improvement (10%)
Perform all Senior Professional collaboration and process improvement duties at an elevated level.
Partner with research enterprise leadership and key university stakeholders to advance strategic initiatives, implement scalable process improvements, and leverage AI, automation, and data-driven solutions to enhance research administration, operational efficiency, reporting, and compliance.
Lead the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs); mentor and provide guidance to junior staff and colleagues on research administration practices, compliance requirements, and system tools.
