Compliance Analyst- Proposals and Awards

University of Washington Medical Center•Seattle, WA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Proposals and Awards Compliance Analyst supports the University of Washington’s Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), which facilitates more than 1.8 billion annually in sponsored project awards. Reporting to a Manager within the proposals and Awards Team, this position is responsible for reviewing and submitting federal assistance proposals, negotiating award terms and conditions and ensuring institutional compliance throughout the life of the award. The role is critical to OSP’s mission of enabling timely, compliant research activity. It involves independent judgement, complex regulatory interpretation, and efficient processing of proposals and awards actions under strict deadlines. This position operates in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment requiring the ability to interpret and apply a wide range of federal, state, and University regulations to diverse proposal and award scenarios, independently evaluate compliance risks and determine appropriate institutional responses, navigate and troubleshoot multiple sponsor electronic research administration systems, communicate complex regulatory and policy requirements to faculty and departmental staff with varying levels of expertise, and manage competing deadlines, shifting workloads, and urgent requests with accuracy and attention to detail. The work demands strong analytical skills, high discretion, exceptional communication abilities, and rapid acquisition and application of new regulatory knowledge. As the central office with delegated authority for proposal submission and award acceptance, OSP plays a key role in safeguarding the University’s ability to conduct research. This position directly impacts proposal submission and award acceptance for a large portion of the University’s $1.8B annual sponsored funding portfolio, institutional compliance with federal regulations such as Uniform Guidance, conflict of interest, human subjects, and animal research requirements, timely initiation of research activity, enabling departments and PIs to meet sponsor and project deadlines, and risk mitigation, ensuring that the University only accepts terms consistent with federal and state law, University policy, and sponsor requirements. The position serves hundreds of faculty and departmental partners across all three campuses and supports institutional objectives in research excellence, compliance, and stewardship of external funding.

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in business or a related field and three or more years of experience in grant or contract administration or equivalent experience
Strong interpersonal and communication skills
Familiarity with federal electronic research administration systems
Proficiency with MS Word and Excel.
A cover letter is required for this recruitment. Your application will not be considered unless you attach a cover letter. In your cover letter, please share more about your background and skills that are most relevant to this position.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a large research-intensive educational institution.
Experience with major Federal sponsoring agencies such as NIH, NSF, DOE, DOD, and others.
Experience with Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) subawards.
A demonstrated capacity to work with and within a diverse community.

Responsibilities

Review and approve competing and non-competing proposals submitted to external sponsors.
Exercise delegated institutional signature authority for proposal submissions.
Verify compliance with federal, sponsor, and University requirements.
Communicate sponsor policies and proposal requirements to departmental administrators and faculty.
Interpret University research administration policies and apply them to specific proposal scenarios.
Navigate and troubleshoot sponsor electronic systems (e.g., NIH eRA Commons, NSF Research.gov, Grants.gov).
Ensure timely submission of proposals under strict sponsor deadlines.
Review incoming federal and federal flow-through awards for compliance with law, policy, and sponsor requirements.
Negotiate acceptable terms and conditions on behalf of the University.
Communicate federal grant management and non-fiscal compliance requirements to faculty and administrators.
Collaborate with sponsors to resolve budget, program, and administrative issues.
Coordinate with campus partners on award adjustments or required compliance steps.
Conduct initial assessments of related agreements (e.g., confidentiality agreements, data use agreements, sponsored research agreements, collaboration agreements, research services agreements).
Identify contractual needs based on facts provided by departments.
Consult with senior colleagues or managers on next steps for complex or higher-risk agreements.
Communicate guidance to campus units and direct them to appropriate OSP, CoMotion, or other institutional resources.