Grant & Contract Specialist III

University of Massachusetts Medical School•Worcester, MA

About The Position

Under the general direction of the Senior Department Administrator or designee, the Grant and Contract Specialist III performs complex administrative, financial, and pre- and post-award budgetary functions supporting departmental activities and restricted and unrestricted funds. The role requires initiative, independent judgment, and close collaboration with laboratory leadership to assess and address research program operations, personnel management, regulatory matters, quality improvement, and long-range financial planning.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, or Accounting, or equivalent experience; the posting also includes the parenthetical text “In school.”
Five to seven years of relevant job experience or equivalent, preferably in an academic environment.
Demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret financial documents, including system reports at account and summary levels.
Demonstrated research administration experience, with emphasis on pre- and post-award work.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint) or similar software.
Knowledge of enterprise financial products.
Experience and proficiency with a grants management system.
Excellent verbal and written interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with all levels of management.
Detail-oriented, analytical problem-solving skills, and excellent organizational and electronic document-management skills.
Ability to prioritize and manage multiple deadlines and continuously changing priorities with flexibility.
Strong people and relationship-management skills and ability to communicate across organizational levels.
Enthusiasm for working in a multicultural, multi-ethnic setting.
Ability to maintain extensive electronic document and email files that are department property.
Exceptional attention to detail and confidentiality; highly goal-oriented, self-motivated, and a team player.

Nice To Haves

Relevant experience in an academic environment.

Responsibilities

Lead pre-award administration, including advising administrators and principal investigators on sponsor guidelines, preparing applications and budgets, guiding faculty, managing electronic submissions, and completing required paperwork for federal and non-federal grants and contracts.
Develop and manage the division’s annual budget, analyze forecasts, report variances, recommend corrective actions, and verify funding availability for equipment, personnel, and major purchases.
Identify and implement solutions to fiscal issues and ensure compliance with federal purchasing and contracting requirements.
Coordinate deposits, electronic transfers, and cost transfers with central grant accounting and department staff.
Monitor division funding sources, revenues, expenditures, and clinical-trial funding and milestones; identify variances and assist with resolving account issues.
Represent the department at relevant administrative meetings and serve on institutional committees focused on school operations and system implementations.
Develop, lead, and train junior administrative, financial, and grants and contracts staff.
Assist in determining faculty unit space and facility needs and advise faculty and staff on compensation and benefits policies and procedures.
Monitor regulatory and compliance requirements for sponsored research, maintain detailed files and annual-renewal tracking, and inform the Senior Administrator of variances.
Analyze existing or proposed clinical trials to support management decisions, operational and financial performance, and productivity improvements.
Monitor vendor, agency, and consultant contracts, extensions, and amendments in coordination with Purchasing and legal offices, including cost-effectiveness and quality-performance monitoring.
Prepare and analyze financial reports, budgets, reconciliations, forecasts, and ad hoc reports for the Senior Administrator and principal investigators.
Work with administrators, principal investigators, and staff to resolve problems and optimize funds; finalize expenditures on expired grants and deposit checks into income and service fund accounts.
Manage post-award grants and contracts administration, including monitoring budgets, expenses, recovered overhead, sponsor guidelines, and reporting requirements.
Assist faculty in identifying potential funding opportunities and advise administrators and principal investigators about sponsor reporting requirements and budget variances.
Oversee award-budget changes and related approval paperwork, prepare reports for federal and sponsoring agencies, and assist Grant Accounting with award termination and account closeout.
Monitor operating expenses, prepare monthly budget-variance reports, oversee voluntary and mandatory cost sharing, and advise the Administrator on reconciliation actions.
Oversee divisional administrative staff fiscal functions, including procurement-card oversight, travel requests, consultant agreements, travel vouchers, purchase orders, expenditure reallocations, and other expenses.
Oversee faculty effort certification, initiate and submit payroll personnel action forms for transfers and funding changes, and audit employee payroll data for accuracy.
Provide excellent customer service and perform other duties as assigned.