Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist / Grants and Contracts Specialist

University of Texas at Austin

3d • $63,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin is seeking a Grants and Contracts Specialist or Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist to support faculty in the university’s new School of Computing. The role serves as a research administrator for a portfolio of faculty, research grants, and funding, and is a key member of the Computer Science Research Administration team.

The specialist works closely with faculty as a subject matter expert throughout the grant management life cycle, including pre-award, grant management, and post-award activities. The research administration team supports collaboration, innovation, training, and professional development while providing excellent support services. Senior-level candidates manage a larger and more complex portfolio, mentor junior team members, and contribute significantly to team work.

The position is based at the UT Main Campus in a typical office environment. The role is scheduled for 40 hours per week and is expected to continue. The stated salary is $63,000+ for the Grants and Contracts Specialist and $73,000+ for the Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist, depending on qualifications.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree.
• At least three years of related experience at the Grants and Contracts Specialist level; at least five years of related experience at the Senior level.
• Progressively responsible experience in grants management or sponsored programs administration, preferably in higher education, nonprofit, research, or public-sector settings.
• A record of accurately and promptly managing proposal submissions and awards with competing deadlines.
• Working knowledge of federal grant regulations and experience applying institutional or funder compliance requirements.
• Ability to work both independently and as a team member.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to explain contract, financial, and compliance requirements.
• Willingness to learn the full grant management life cycle and provide excellent support and professional service.
• Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) status.
• Familiarity with external electronic research administration systems such as eRA Commons and Research.gov.
• Experience with UTRMS, DEFINE, and external agency systems for proposal preparation, budget development, and submissions.
• Experience with the full grants and contracts life cycle from proposal through closeout.
• Experience working with faculty, PIs, or researchers in a higher education environment.
• Experience working with large-scale, complex grant proposals and awards.
• Involvement in a research administration community, such as UT’s ARA, NCURA, or another professional organization.

Responsibilities

• Assist with award setup and manage award finances, including budgets, spending projections, budget modifications, financial reports, and expenditure reviews.
• Monitor post-award activities for compliance and coordinate sub-award agreements as needed.
• Assist principal investigators with effort certification.
• Provide accounting information for purchases made with research funds.
• Process invoices, reimbursements, vendor onboarding forms, and travel authorization requests for PIs, researchers, and students using research funds.
• Assist PIs with arrangements for invited researchers and speakers; coordinate with event-planning staff to ensure event budgets and sponsored-fund expenses comply with requirements.
• Monitor and report account balances and spending; reconcile accounts; maintain account overviews and PI dashboards in Smartsheet.
• Analyze and interpret sponsored-research financial data and advise faculty on strategic and appropriate use of funds.
• Coordinate with PIs to gather financial and non-technical report components and support timely submission of reports.
• Provide assignment details for sponsor-funded student and staff positions and visitors to the human resources team.
• Process Tuition Reduction Benefits for graduate research assistants and process faculty summer salary in Workday for the PI portfolio.
• Collaborate with PIs, department and university staff, and external stakeholders to identify and resolve pre- and post-award research administration issues.
• Participate in professional development and research administrator networks to stay current on applicable UT, local, state, and federal guidelines and regulations.
• Contribute to the research administration and broader finance and administrative teams and promote a positive workplace culture.
• At the senior level, manage a larger and more complex portfolio, mentor junior team members, and make significant contributions to team work.

Benefits

• Eligibility for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level