Grants and Contracts Specialist, Psychology Department

University of Texas at Austin•Austin, TX

56d•Onsite

About The Position

The Grants and Contracts Specialist reports directly to the Director of Department Affairs in the Department of Psychology to support research personnel on pre-award preparation and submission of grants and contracts.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in business administration, public administration, research administration, or related field.
Minimum of 3 years of experience supporting research administration, with a focus on pre-award activities such as proposal preparation, budget development, and sponsor submission.
Working knowledge of federal, state, and institutional regulations governing sponsored research (e.g., Uniform Guidance, NIH, NSF policies).
Experience using electronic research administration systems (e.g., UTRMS, Cayuse, Grants.gov, NSF Research.gov or FastLane).
Strong organizational and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines and collaborate effectively with faculty, staff, and external partners.
Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in a related field or Certified Research Administrator (CRA) credential.
Experience working in a high-volume, research-intensive academic department, preferably in the social or behavioral sciences.
Familiarity with sub-award management, including coordination with external institutions and compliance monitoring.
Proficiency in financial systems such as DEFINE, Workday, and experience with budget reconciliation and award setup.
Ability to interpret and apply complex sponsor guidelines and institutional policies.

Responsibilities

Provide support for pre-award functions as required, including tasks such as grant budgeting, grant modifications, and proposal development.
Provide comprehensive proposal development support to faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and other department researchers.
Support faculty and staff with funding searches, solicitation compliance, and related administrative needs.
Facilitate post-award functions such as NOA budgets, NCEs, credit requests, spend available requests, etc.
Collaborate with the Business Office on financial reporting and reconciliation.
Manage cost-share documentation.
Participate in monthly meetings with the Business Office to ensure smooth pre- to post-award transitions.
Process and submit non-funded agreements (DUAs, NDAs, CDCPs).
Support sub-award management and coordination with external institutions.
Assist PIs/faculty members with RPPRs, Just-In-Time documentation, and other sponsor-required reports at the institutional and federal level.
Collaborate with the Business Office on tracking incoming incremental funding.
Support PIs with monitoring and ensuring compliance with federal, state, and institutional regulations.
Coordinate with Associate Chair for Research and Operations on the development of research processes and communications with faculty stakeholders.
Triage incoming requests from investigators based on urgency and deadlines to ensure smooth, on-time proposal submission and post-award administration.
Share templates and guidance with faculty and researchers.
Disseminate updates and communications.
Maintain grant calendar and deadline tracking.
Other duties as assigned