Grants Analyst I, College of Earth, Ocean and Environment

University of Delaware•Newark, NJ

22h

About The Position

Under the general direction of the Manager, Grant Administration, the Grants Analyst I manages the pre-award and post-award administration for contracts and grants as part of a team managing the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment research expenditures of approximately $50M. Ensure accurate and efficient proposal submission and award management of contracts and grants from federal, state, and industrial sponsors. Manage the administrative functions and fiscal affairs of numerous awards and serves as advisor to Principal Investigators (PI) for financial and non-financial management of their awards. Ensure compliance with federal, state and university policies and procedures with regards to research administration. Work with specified faculty in the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment. As a member of the Finance Office, responsible for maintaining productive relationships with constituencies related to research administration in the College. Independently resolve administrative and/or procedural problems in all research categories including matters of compliance. Assist in completion of special financial management projects, to include report generation using a variety of data sources and techniques. A primary function of this position is to exercise independent judgment and discretion about matters of significance within the Research Administration realm of responsibility.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance or a related field with two years job-related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Ability to work independently, as well as the ability to work in a cross-functional, agile, collaborative team.
Skill in budget preparation and management of contracts and grants.
Ability to use advanced cost analysis techniques in spreadsheet and database management (Excel/Access).
Effective analytical and technical skills are required.
Skills to quantify and illustrate complex reports, comparisons, impacts, and/or projections.
Ability to analyze budgetary expenditures for compliance with approved budget, and policies and procedures.
Strong organizational and problem solving skills, and attention to detail.
Knowledge of 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance and OMB Circulars A-21, A-110, A- 133 and other pertinent external regulations preferred.
Ability to interpret, adapt and apply guidelines and procedures.
Experience with financial and budget planning.
Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
Ability to interact well with people of all ages and diverse backgrounds.
Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of constituents on a variety of research management topics.
A high level of independent judgment is required.
Ability to gather and analyze statistical data and generate ad-hoc reports that are meaningful and understandable to those not familiar with the data being reported.
Ability to adjust to a changing environment.
Skills to quantify and illustrate complex reports, comparisons, impacts, and/or projections.
Ability to balance and reconcile accounts.
Knowledge of standard and/or fund accounting principles, methods and applications.
Knowledge of University of Delaware’s PeopleSoft Grants and sponsor grant processing systems e.g., FastLane, CAYUSE (grants.gov), NSPIRES, etc. preferred.
Experience operating in a research intensive, higher education environment preferred.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance and OMB Circulars A-21, A-110, A- 133 and other pertinent external regulations
Knowledge of University of Delaware’s PeopleSoft Grants and sponsor grant processing systems e.g., FastLane, CAYUSE (grants.gov), NSPIRES, etc.
Experience operating in a research intensive, higher education environment

Responsibilities

Provide in-depth guidance to PI, in developing competitive proposals to secure independent funding for projects; review the solicitation information and sponsor requirements to guide the process including observation of potentially difficult clauses, match requirements, etc.; recommend budget, certifications, effort committed and match funding requests; verify accuracy prior to submission to the University Research Office.
Create, compile and review complex proposal information including budget, budget justification, and proposal documents for submission to appropriate funding agencies.
Interface with subrecipient and collaborator participants to ensure completion of subrecipient proposal inputs including budgets, effort commitments, statement of work and other sponsor and Research Office required documents.
Act as liaison between Research Office and faculty member on all award set-up issues/questions e.g., recommendations on contract/agreement terms and conditions.
Review and make suggestions for award document for restrictions, reports and anything specific to the award.
Analyze and evaluate awarded grants, contracts, and subcontracts and advise principle investigator of sponsors' requirements during the life of award to maintain consistency with terms and conditions to reduce the chance of an audit finding.
Facilitate sponsored and non-sponsored management: on a monthly basis, ensure that expenditures on budgeted grants and contracts are monitored, and that reports are prepared to maintain balanced accounts in preparation for distribution to faculty. This includes gifts, startups, enhancements, and support accounts.
Reviews financial data for legitimacy, accuracy and allowability of charges in compliance with Uniform Guidance; analyzes budgetary line items for material deviation; and provide relevant expenditure projections; advise faculty on budgetary spending.
Responsible for allocating salaries through the Labor Allocation Module for all College personnel (faculty, staff, and students) to reflect appropriate distributions according to planned budgets, faculty workload and mandatory match commitments, and coordinate all sponsored activity reporting for the College.
Anticipate and proactively resolve complex issues as they relate to all restricted and non-restricted financial or contract personnel activity in the College.
Proactively monitors reporting deadlines, cost share commitments and other award terms and conditions.
Meets with Departmental Administrators and PIs to provide expertise and leadership on administration of grants/contracts, and to resolve procedural problems.
In collaboration with the Research Office, provide expertise and leadership on grants/contracts administration to resolve procedural problems, and educate faculty/researchers on changes in sponsored research policies, and the importance of adherence for compliance as required.
Ensure compliance with university and sponsor certification requirements/ regulations and restrictions e.g., IRB, conflict of interest, effort reporting, etc.
Recommend matching funds sources and advise PI on optimal use of resources.
Act as liaison between faculty member and Research Office on all proposal matters.
Ensures proper submission of proposal information into PeopleSoft Grants, CAYUSE, Grants.gov and other sponsor sites as required.
Verify accuracy of proposal information prior to submission to Research Office for approval.
Work with Development and Alumni Relations personnel on proposal preparation and award management for proposals/awards for which they are the contact personnel, e.g., non-research sponsored gifts.
Monitor all expenditures including graduate students, summer pay for researchers, etc.
Anticipate spending, payroll obligations and analyze scenarios in changing financial scenarios.
Review and verify effort, cost share/match documentation, tuition allocations, and overhead calculations.
Update information for sponsored and non-sponsored budgets and expenses, review/update commitments related to salary commitments and outstanding purchasing orders for all purposes on faculty purpose portfolios using PS reporting tools.
Send monthly transactions to faculty and investigate/move charges questioned by PI.
Review reconciled statements for compliance in areas of unallowable charges and prepare journal voucher adjustments as needed.
Review equipment expenditures; ensure that fabrication expenses are tracked and that capitalization occurs, identify ownership per the terms of the award, prepare requests to transfer equipment when necessary.
Distribute financial reports/portfolios to faculty, and archive monthly.
Review and approve sub-contract invoices ensuring the charges are in line with the sub-contract budget/justification and the statement of work.
Meet with PI regularly (preferably monthly) to review post award activity, spending projections and future proposal submissions.
Initiate discussions with PI to determine the need for budget revisions and no-cost extensions, and request approval from sponsor.
Review and ensure timely processing of Effort Certification Reports for faculty, professionals, and students.
Initiate all correcting journal entries for errors identified.
Review, and track effort reporting via salary distributions and personnel worksheets, including sponsored, non-sponsored, and cost share for all faculty, professionals, and students.
Review and approve financial webforms for transactions such as purchase requisitions, bi-weekly pay, cost share/match funding, faculty summer salary contracts and other similar forms.
Review, approve and monitor grant expenditures and documentation to ensure they are processed in a timely manner, are consistent, are compliant with applicable laws and regulations, ensure they are allowable, allocable, and reasonable based on project, budgetary, sponsor and University guidelines.
Investigate procard charges, journal vouchers etc. that could be deemed questionable.
Coordinating with the Research Office, to assist with preparing and submitting financial reports for federal, state, and industrial sponsored projects in accordance with sponsor financial reporting specifications.
Complete close-out process ensuring all 13 sections of the Automated Closeout Report (ACR) are finalized including ensuring all expenditures are compliant and supporting documentation is provided, completion of technical, annual and other sponsor- required reports are submitted, final invoice and closeout documents for subrecipients are received, etc.
Ensure that all required documentation is provided to the University Research Office.
Assist in complying with audit requests from the Research Office, University, and outside auditing organizations.
Prepare non-student billing webforms for lab work performed for non-service centers, where applicable.
Financial management of iLab functions for faculty groups to include approving and maintaining group members, maintaining purposes, verifying and approving sequencing and or bioimaging invoicing.
In collaboration with the Business Administrators, provide stipend and tuition information for graduate students and update the student funding worksheet.
Approve and verify related forms and allocations.
Perform miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.