Grants and Contracts Specialist

The University of Texas at Austin • Austin, UT

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Research Administrator/Grants and Contracts Specialist is a cooperative individual contributor responsible for managing and coordinating post-award activities for sponsored projects within the College of Education. The position provides operational, financial, and administrative support related to award management, appointments, transactions, reporting, and compliance, while serving as a key liaison among principal investigators, departments, COERA colleagues, and central university offices. Working collaboratively within the COERA Post-Award team, this role shares responsibility for supporting the College's sponsored research portfolio through a defined constituency assignment alongside a peer Research Administrator/Grants and Contracts Specialist. The position promotes accurate financial stewardship, effective communication, customer-focused service, and the timely execution of post-award processes to ensure compliance and support the success of the College's research enterprise.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and at least three years of experience in research administration or documented professional exposure.
• Strong problem-solving skills, high level of organizational skills, and attentiveness to detail.
• Able to work independently and/or in a team environment.
• Able to work well managing deadlines on a daily basis.
• Proficient use of MS Office Suite, including Excel, Word, and Outlook; and Adobe Professional, along with the ability to navigate various online portals and systems.
• Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

• More than the required amount of experience.
• Experience with the UT DEFINE accounting system, FRMS, and Workday
• Knowledge of university structure, policies, rules, and procedures.
• Familiarity with UT Austin central administrative offices including Office of Sponsored Projects, Accounts Payable, Travel, etc.

Responsibilities

• Provide highly organized and monitored central email inbox coordination, workflow information dissemination, and electronic file record organization.
• Provide direct response and management of actions related to role duties and assist with the coordinated response of those actions involving multiple people.
• Establish and maintain centralized reminder system/task list for important, sponsored project data of financial reports, subaward invoicing, and COERA Post-Award action due dates.
• Track and follow up on correspondence and pending actions submitted to OSP’s Postaward Liaison.
• Coordinate with Assistant Director of Postaward on financial data for sponsor requested financial report of expenditure utilizing a mixture of DEFINE, Workday, and other financial data sources.
• Support Assistant Director of Postaward on annual and ad hoc sponsor requested financial reporting that contains pre and post award financial data.
• Provide ad hoc projected expenditure reports to researchers as necessary for appointment and costing planning.
• Project, document, and perform budget transfers on sponsored research accounts as needed.
• Coordinate and process postaward account actions (end date adjustments, etc.) as needed.
• Process subaward invoices.
• Attend project kickoff meeting and provide guidance on subaward invoicing and other transactional allowability.
• Coordinate with Assistant Director of Postaward with OSP Postaward to rectify sponsor invoicing and/or receivables issues, as well as provide cost share, invoicing, and financial reporting guidance.
• Provide oversight for sponsored project transaction review requests through COERA.
• Guide PI in interpreting grant needs and restrictions, costing allocation considerations, and appropriate justification documentation and information gathering.
• Coordinate with appropriate COERA staff on follow-up actions and determinations.
• Coordinate with appropriate Center or Department staff for further transaction actions.
• Coordinate with Assistant Director of Postaward for the semesterly appointment process.
• Co-lead with COERA Postaward team and PI and department in appointment planning across all account types.
• Lead preparation of assigned appointment and costing allocation worksheet information.
• Collaborate with Assistant Director of Postaward review of all salary and tuition transactions for semesterly appointment auditing and effort verification.
• Serve as backup for and cross train with other COERA positions.
• Provide sponsor, university, and other regulation updates to faculty as needed.
• Attend mandatory weekly/monthly meetings for team planning and office functionality.
• Attend conferences, presentations, and related campus organizations for research administration topics in order to stay abreast of new rules and trends in research administration.

Benefits

• health insurance (premiums covered 100% for full-time benefits-eligible employees)
• retirement plans
• paid leave
• robust free training access through LinkedIn Learning
• professional conference opportunities
• an expansive employee discount program, including athletic tickets
• Free access to UT Austin's libraries and museums with a staff ID card
• Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Austin CapMetro buses with a staff ID card

What This Job Offers

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