Grants & Contracts Specialist

University of Texas at Austin

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Grants and Contracts Specialist works within the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies as the principal manager for all grant programs, including government and private foundation funding, to support Latin American Studies and collections for the LLILAS Benson partnership.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, nonprofit management, research administration, or a related field, and three years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
Progressively responsible experience in contract administration, procurement, grants management, or sponsored programs administration, preferably in a higher education, nonprofit, research, or public-sector setting.
Working knowledge of federal grant regulations, including 2 CFR 200 and Uniform Guidance, and experience applying institutional or funder compliance requirements.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain contract, financial, and compliance requirements to non-specialist staff, faculty, and external partners.
Demonstrated experience drafting, reviewing, negotiating, tracking, and closing a range of agreement types.
Strong organizational skills and demonstrated ability to manage a high-volume portfolio of concurrent contracts, awards, deadlines, deliverables, and reporting obligations.
Proficiency with financial, contract, grants management, and standard office productivity systems.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a relevant field.
Experience with Title VI or other U.S. Department of Education grant programs.
Spanish and/or Portuguese language proficiency.
Certification in contract management, grants management, or research administration, such as CFCM, CRA, or CGMS.
Experience with international, interinstitutional, cultural, academic, or research-related agreements, particularly with Latin American institutions.
Familiarity with University of Texas at Austin contracting, procurement, sponsored-projects, financial, and compliance systems and policies.

Responsibilities

Serve as lead administrator for the full range of contracts and agreements executed by LLILAS, regardless of funding source, including inter-institutional agreements and memoranda of understanding; consulting, honoraria, and visiting-speaker agreements; vendor and procurement contracts; licensing, data-use, and digital-collections agreements; subcontracts and sub-awards; and agreements funded through gifts, endowment income, conference and program fees, fee-for-service engagements, or technical-assistance activities.
Draft, review, redline, and negotiate contract terms in coordination with University contracts, procurement, and Legal Affairs offices, ensuring alignment with University policy, funder requirements, and Institute objectives.
Manage the full contract lifecycle, including intake, drafting, negotiation, execution, amendment, monitoring, and closeout.
Maintain a master contract tracking system and calendar covering effective dates, deliverables, renewal and expiration dates, required approvals, certifications, signatures, and insurance documentation.
Advise Institute staff and faculty on appropriate agreement types, University contracting procedures, risk considerations, and documentation requirements for new partnerships and initiatives.
Monitor contract deliverables and partner reporting obligations, and coordinate invoicing and payment with LLILAS finance staff.
Manage pre-award and post-award administration of LLILAS-sponsored grants, including Tinker Foundation grants and other institutional awards.
Support proposal development, including budget preparation, subaward budgets, current and pending support, justifications, and other sponsor-required proposal components; coordinate award modifications, no-cost extensions, and closeout processes in coordination with the Office of Sponsored Projects.
Prepare, review, and route electronic proposal forms, award documents, and related approvals through the Office of Sponsored Projects and other University approval systems.
Support post-award setup, cost allocations, effort coordination, PI support for award monitoring, and monitoring of award budgets, expenditures, cost-share or matching commitments, and spending against approved award categories.
Prepare and submit required financial, programmatic, annual performance, and renewal reports.
Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, University, and funder regulations and policies, including 2 CFR 200, Uniform Guidance, and relevant U.S. Department of Education requirements.
Coordinate subrecipient monitoring, including issuance and tracking of subawards, risk assessments, consultant agreements, procurement documentation, and collection of required subrecipient reports.
Maintain organized, audit-ready records across all agreement and award types, and support internal and external audits of grant activities.
Prepare periodic summary reports on contract and grant activity, compliance deadlines, program outcomes, and renewal needs for Institute leadership.
Convene and staff grant-related faculty committees, including preparing agendas, minutes, follow-up action items, bylaws, membership rosters, and terms of service.
Coordinate selection committees for grant-related fellowships and mini-grants.
Process grant-related fellowship applications, verify eligibility, administer stipend disbursements, and monitor recipient compliance with award terms.
Maintain records for post-fellowship service obligations, where applicable.
Coordinate events, partnerships, and outreach activities required by grant or contract terms.
Manage grant-related speaker logistics, event budgets, program calendars, and partner communications.
Serve as key liaison for cross functional collaboration.
Other related functions as assigned