Grant & Finance Associate

University of Chicago•Chicago, IL

1d•$31 - $39•Onsite

About The Position

The Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago uses the tools of economics to develop innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people in low- and middle-income countries. It was founded and is led by Nobel laureate Michael Kremer. The Weiss Fund for Research in Development Economics funds rigorous, policy-relevant research on economic development globally. Administered by DIL, the Weiss Fund runs multiple grant and fellowship cycles annually, partnering with researchers and institutions across the globe. The job performs routine pre-award and/or post-award activities relating to grant and contract proposals and funding within a department or unit. Pre-award activities include research, preparing applications, and editing proposals. Post-award activities include compliance monitoring, payment processing, and salary allocations. Performs work with guidance from others. The Associate, Grants & Finance will support the operations of the Weiss Fund for Research in Development Economics, coordinating the Fund's grant administration and financial operations. This role reports to the Weiss Fund Program Manager and works closely with DIL finance and operations leadership. The role coordinates contracting, procurement, budget management, and process documentation. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with an interest in grants and finance administration, as well as some cross-functional program management, to build expertise in a dynamic research environment.

Requirements

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through < 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree.
Experience with grant management and contract administration.
Experience with invoicing, vendor management, or budget reconciliation.
Experience providing guidance to or supporting junior staff.
Experience in a higher education or non-profit research environment.
Familiarity with university financial systems (Workday, Oracle/PeopleSoft, AURA).
Experience in cross-cultural communication or working at an international organization.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage a high-volume workload accurately and on time.
Proactive problem-solver; identifies and flags issues before they escalate.
Clear written and verbal communicator, comfortable working across teams and institutional partners.
Exercises sound judgment and handles sensitive financial and personnel information with discretion.
Comfortable working independently and supporting process improvement in a structured environment.

Responsibilities

Coordinates the contracting lifecycle for Weiss Fund awards from initial agreement through execution and closeout, processing agreements per year across a global portfolio of research institutions. In 2025, this was over 100 agreements. Actual volume fluctuates.
Serves as a liaison between the Weiss Fund and University Research Administration (URA), and contracting institutions, coordinating contract amendments, following up with non-responsive institutions, and maintaining administrative point-of-contact information to reduce delays in agreement execution.
Maintains a Master Service Agreement (MSA) tracking system for high-volume institutional partners.
Implements Weiss Fund contracting policies and procedures, ensuring all awardees have access to clear guidance from the outset of their engagement with the Fund.
Supports compliance with University and sponsor grant rules and regulations across the Weiss Fund award portfolio.
Prepares interim financial reports, closeout documentation, and assists with responses to grant audit requests.
Updates contract templates as needed, including updating reporting requirements to align with programmatic changes.
Processes AURA portal submissions, AMR requests, and no-cost extension requests.
Processes invoices and coordinates vendor payments for the Weiss Fund portfolio.
Maintains a structured vendor tracking system; coordinates with PaymentWorks and UChicago Procurement Services to support timely vendor setup and accurate disbursements.
Assists in transitioning vendors to ACH payment and helps resolve payment delays or lost checks.
Conducts monthly audits and budget reconciliations across all Weiss Fund accounts, flagging discrepancies for resolution.
Prepares budget analyses and financial reports to support Weiss Fund leadership's visibility into fund utilization and remaining balances and support financial reporting to the donor.
Ensure smooth account creation for Weiss Fund internal awards.
Coordinates Weiss Fund program activities including application eligibility review, award letter drafting, and record-keeping across grant cycles.
Supports cross-functional Weiss Fund projects in collaboration with DIL HR or Operations teams.
Works with DIL teams on shared operational tasks, systems, and processes relevant to Weiss Fund administration.
Helps set team priorities, delegate tasks and review workstreams, in coordination with the Program Manager.
Ensures accuracy and consistency through quality assurance checks and reviews.
Supports training and onboarding of new staff on Weiss Fund operational processes, systems, and procedures.
Document and maintain operational processes, policies, and manuals for the Weiss Fund.
Maintains data on platforms, as related to grants and finance on platforms including NextZen, Google Drive, Box, and the AURA portal, and leading related troubleshooting as needed.
Identifies opportunities to streamline Weiss Fund workflows.
Assists with straightforward post-award activities including account creations, regulatory and compliance monitoring, salary allocations, effort reporting, grant projections, cost allocations, cost center charges, equipment inventory, invoice preparation, grant closing process, and account closing.
Prepares summaries of grants and effort allocations for Principal Investigators, meets with them and responds to their questions. Coordinates with other departments/units/divisions regarding multi investigator grants. Serves as department contact for annual audits and agency site visits.
Performs other related work as needed.