Grants & Contracts Admin II

University of Rochester•City of Rochester, NY

9d•$61,000 - $85,400•Onsite

About The Position

As a community, the University of Rochester is defined by a deep commitment to Meliora - Ever Better. Embedded in that ideal are the values we share: equity, leadership, integrity, openness, respect, and accountability. Together, we will set the highest standards for how we treat each other to ensure our community is welcoming to all and is a place where all can thrive. The Grants and Contracts Administrator II provides independent, primarily pre-award research administration support for the Divisions of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Gastroenterology, with support to other Department of Medicine divisions as operational needs require. Working with limited direction and within established sponsor, University, and departmental requirements, the position manages a portfolio of routine to moderately complex proposals and related award actions from early planning through submission and transition to post-award management. The role reports to the Director of Research Operations and maintains collaborative, dotted-line relationships with divisional administration, division chiefs, and faculty. The administrator partners closely with finance and clinical research operations teams to ensure clear handoffs, accurate effort and budget information, timely compliance activities, and coordinated support across the research lifecycle. The position has no direct reports.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and 2 years of relevant experience required
Or equivalent combination of education and experience
Proficiency with spreadsheet analysis and ability to quickly learn new systems, programs, and / or software.
Ability to work independently, excellent interpersonal and communication skills, detail-oriented, and ability to work well in a team environment.
Shows initiative and resourcefulness in managing priorities and takes responsibility for accomplishing his/her own work required

Nice To Haves

Continuous Learning for Administrators of Sponsored Programs (CLASP) within 1 year required

Responsibilities

Manages the proposal pipeline and submission calendar for assigned faculty; identifies upcoming deadlines, required lead times, competing priorities, and timeline risks and communicates them promptly.
Advises investigators on sponsor guidelines and institutional requirements; develops submission plans and checklists for routine and moderately complex proposals, including multi-site applications, large budgets, subawards, and applications requiring special review or institutional approvals.
Coordinates and prepares proposal components, including budgets, budget justifications, IORA Funding Proposals, application forms, biosketches, Other Support, letters of support, facilities/resources information, subrecipient materials, and internal approvals.
Completes sponsor-system submissions and validations in ASSIST, eRA Commons, Grants.gov, and other sponsor portals; troubleshoots routine system issues and escalates issues that could affect submission.
Performs a final administrative review for completeness, consistency, and compliance and coordinates timely routing to central offices.
Tracks submitted proposals and coordinates just-in-time requests, revisions, responses to sponsor questions, and other post-submission actions.
Reviews notices of award and related communications to identify terms, reporting requirements, effort commitments, cost share, subaward needs, restrictions, and items requiring clarification or escalation.
Coordinates award setup documentation and supports amendments, supplements, carryforward requests, prior approvals, and no-cost extensions in partnership with investigators, divisional administration, finance, and central offices.
Maintains visibility to new awards and pending actions and facilitates a complete, timely handoff to post-award and finance partners.
Maintains tracking for active awards, progress reports, sponsor deliverables, and awards ending within 90 days; communicates required actions and deadlines to investigators and operational partners.
Coordinates administrative components of RPPRs and other federal, foundation, state, and non-federal progress reports.
Monitors administrative compliance items, including current biosketches and Other Support, public access or publication compliance, sponsor-specific requirements, effort commitments, cost share commitments, and subaward documentation.
Initiates closeout planning and confirms whether an award will close, requires a no-cost extension, expects an additional funding year or subaward amendment, or has an inaccurate end date; routes financial and final reporting items to the responsible owners.
Maintains complete, accurate, and audit-ready proposal and award records in departmental and University systems.
Documents proposed and awarded faculty and staff effort commitments and communicates changes or risks to finance and post-award partners.
Reviews pending and active commitments for potential overcommitment, salary coverage changes, cost share, sponsor salary limitations, and projects approaching end dates; escalates concerns for resolution.
Participates in periodic faculty portfolio and financial review meetings to provide proposal pipeline, award status, compliance, and effort context. The finance team retains ownership of detailed financial reconciliation, transaction processing, invoicing, receivables, and formal financial reporting.
Helps faculty and leadership understand how planned submissions and award end dates may affect future salary coverage and portfolio sustainability.
Prepares quarterly and ad hoc reports on proposal volume, submission status, award activity, upcoming deadlines, proposal turnaround time, funding outcomes when available, mentored and early-career investigator pipelines, and sponsor diversification opportunities.
Identifies workload constraints, recurring process issues, missing information, and handoff gaps; recommends practical improvements and maintains shared trackers, templates, standard work, and written procedures.
Coordinates regularly with divisional administration, finance, and clinical research operations teams to clarify ownership, resolve operational issues, and ensure research administration activities remain aligned across teams.
Serves as a knowledgeable peer resource to faculty and staff, shares process guidance and updates, and may assist with onboarding or informal education within the scope of the role. This responsibility does not include direct supervision or formal performance management.
Attends relevant University user groups, administrative meetings, and continuing education; maintains required research administration training and applies policy or system updates to assigned work.
Performs other related duties as assigned, including temporary support to other Department of Medicine divisions based on workload and operational priorities.