Grants and Contracts Associate (Pre-Award) - SPH Office of Research Services

About the position

The Grants and Contracts Associate (Pre-Award) at the University of Illinois Chicago's School of Public Health Office of Research Services plays a crucial role in supporting faculty, staff, and students in the preparation and submission of competitive research proposals. This position is responsible for coordinating the proposal submission process, ensuring compliance with university and sponsor policies, and providing expert guidance to maximize the success of public health research initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Principal Investigator and research team to build and submit comprehensive research proposals for funding.
• Read and interpret funding opportunities and sponsor guidelines, communicating requirements to the research team.
• Organize and prepare pre-award proposal documentation, including budget justification and supporting materials.
• Develop project budgets in Excel that align with project aims and timelines.
• Communicate with subrecipients to request and review pre-award documents.
• Support collaboration with community partners during proposal development.
• Collect and route documentation for Just-In-Time requests and review grant proposal content for accuracy.
• Provide educational resources to ensure compliance with human research subjects requirements.
• Maintain templates for non-technical grant documents and disseminate grant resources using productivity tools.
• Contribute content to internal and external research communications.
• Coordinate college-wide research initiatives and events to promote research development and visibility.
• Assist with the collection of data on research office metrics.
• Perform other related duties and special projects as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, accounting, finance, economics, or a related field.

Nice-to-haves

• Education and experience in public health, health sciences, public administration and policy, or non-profit management.
• Knowledge of principles and processes involved in contractual and grant monitoring procedures.
• Knowledge of computers; word processing, spreadsheets, and database management.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to negotiate and persuade; reconcile differences.
• Ability to provide technical advice and information to faculty and staff.
• Ability to perform complex tasks and prioritize multiple projects.
• Ability to motivate, develop, and direct people as they work.
• Ability to analyze data and formulate conclusions.
• Ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability to take initiative and exercise independent judgment.

Benefits

• Health, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability & AD&D insurance
• Defined benefit pension plan
• Paid leaves such as Vacation, Holiday and Sick
• Tuition waivers for employees and dependents