Grants and Contracts Specialist

University of Colorado•Hybrid, CO

1d•$56,088 - $82,046•Hybrid

About The Position

The Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado Anschutz has an opening for a full-time University Staff (Research Services Senior to Principal Professional) Grants and Contracts Specialist. This position reports to the Program Manager of Research Finance and Administration and is a key resource for the administration of post-award grants and contracts. It provides financial, compliance, and research administration support for the department's sponsored research portfolio. Core responsibilities include supporting Principal Investigators (PIs) throughout the post-award lifecycle by monitoring budgets and expenditures, performing financial reconciliations and forecasting, processing effort and funding transactions, preparing sponsor invoices, coordinating subrecipient monitoring activities, maintaining award documentation, and supporting award modifications and closeout activities. The position also ensures compliance with sponsor requirements and institutional, federal, and state regulations, leveraging institutional systems and reporting tools for accurate financial stewardship and decision-making. The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented research administration professional with experience in sponsored projects administration, strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to interpret complex sponsor guidelines, financial data, and regulatory requirements. Successful candidates will demonstrate a commitment to customer service, collaboration, continuous process improvement, and sound fiscal stewardship within a complex academic medical research environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, public administration, healthcare administration, research administration, or a directly related field from an accredited institution.
A combination of education and related technical/military/paraprofessional experience may be substituted for a bachelor’s degree on a year for year basis.
Two (2) years of professional experience in finance, accounting, budgeting, business operations, grant and research administration, contract management, clinical trial finance, or a related field (for Senior Professional).
Three (3) years of professional experience in finance, accounting, budgeting, business operations, grant and research administration, contract management, clinical trial finance, or a related field (for Principal Professional).
Demonstrated ability to interpret and apply complex financial, administrative, and regulatory requirements with limited supervision (for Principal Professional).
Strong organizational skills with demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and orally.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees at all levels throughout the institution.
Outstanding customer service skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with business operations and finance/accounting administration in an academic healthcare institution.
Experience in Pre-Award and Post-Award grants and contracts administration in a research or healthcare setting.
Experience managing grant budgets, invoicing, payment tracking, revenue reconciliation, and grant closeout.
Experience preparing financial reports, budget projections, reconciliations, and spending forecasts for faculty or leadership.
Experience supporting award setup, rebudgeting, progress reports, Research Performance Progress Reports, no-cost extensions, financial reports, award modifications, and closeout processes.
Experience interpreting and applying policies from a variety of funding structures, including federal, state, foundation, industry-sponsored, institutional, and clinical trial funding.
Experience with University software applications such as EPIC, OnCore, CU Data/m-Fin, A2E, InfoEd, PeopleSoft Finance, PeopleSoft HCM, CU Marketplace, Concur Travel and Expense, Smartsheet, Power BI, MyBI, ePERS, or similar systems.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel.
Experience developing financial forecasts, budget reports, reconciliations, and financial dashboards.
Experience supporting procurement, vendor payments, travel expense reporting, journal entries, payroll expense transfers, personnel funding entries, and funding changes.
Experience in accounting, finance, grant administration, research administration, or related administrative work involving independent portfolio management and financial analysis.
Progress toward Certified Research Administrator credential or interest in pursuing certification.

Responsibilities

Provide comprehensive post-award financial administration for sponsored grants and contracts from grant setup through closeout, ensuring compliance with sponsor terms, federal regulations, and University policies.
Monitor effort reporting and conduct routine reviews of payroll and other research-related expenditures to ensure costs are accurately allocated, allowable, and appropriately recorded; initiate and process corrective actions as needed.
Review expenditures for allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and compliance with sponsor, federal, and institutional requirements.
Prepare and submit requisitions, payment vouchers, and sponsor invoices in accordance with grant and contract terms; track invoices, sponsor payments, receivables, and outstanding balances.
Monitor award budgets, projected balances, deficits, carryforward needs, rebudgeting requests, no-cost extensions, reporting deadlines, and closeout requirements, proactively identifying and communicating potential issues.
Prepare and process funding distributions, Journal Entries (JEs), Payroll Expense Transfers (PETs), and other financial transactions; reconcile subcontract and consultant invoices and resolve discrepancies.
Coordinate subrecipient monitoring activities, including processing subaward agreements and amendments, collecting risk assessment documentation, and reviewing invoices for compliance, allowability, and progress against scope of work.
Process award modifications and amendments, including funding changes, period-of-performance extensions, and revised terms and conditions, while ensuring internal systems and financial records are updated accurately.
Monitor awards and projects to ensure budget compliance, accounting accuracy, appropriate expenditures and revenue activity, and adherence to sponsor, University, departmental, federal, state, foundation, and institutional requirements.
Extract, analyze, validate, and maintain proposal, award, financial, and research administration data using systems such as InfoEd, CU Data, PeopleSoft, A2E, and other institutional reporting tools.
Maintain complete, organized, and audit-ready grant records and documentation in accordance with federal, sponsor, and institutional retention requirements.
Support research finance leadership to advance strategic initiatives through process improvement and the implementation of AI, automation, and data-driven solutions that strengthen research administration, operational efficiency, and compliance.
Perform all Senior Professional grant and contract administration duties with limited supervision, exercising independent judgment on complex financial and compliance matters; serve as a subject matter resource for Principal Investigators (PIs) and departmental research administration staff.
Assist the Program Manager with financial forecasting, budget variance analysis, and interpretation of financial activity to support faculty decision-making and research leadership planning.
Support pre-award activities as needed, including preparation of Other Support documentation, Just-in-Time (JIT) submissions, and communication of sponsor deadlines.
Perform all Senior Professional compliance, reporting, and systems duties with greater depth and independence.
Independently interpret and apply federal regulations, including Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and agency-specific requirements; serve as the departmental content expert on regulatory and compliance matters for faculty, staff, and central offices.
Perform all Senior Professional collaboration and process improvement duties at an elevated level.
Partner with research enterprise leadership and key university stakeholders to advance strategic initiatives, implement scalable process improvements, and leverage AI, automation, and data-driven solutions to enhance research administration, operational efficiency, reporting, and compliance.
Lead the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs); mentor and provide guidance to junior staff and colleagues on research administration practices, compliance requirements, and system tools.