Grants & Contracts Specialist, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering in Cockrell School of Engineering

University of Texas at Austin

8d • Onsite

About The Position

The Grants and Contract Specialist will provide pre-award grants and contracts services to various principal investigators within the Department of Mechanical Engineering within the Cockrell School of Engineering. The Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) is a top-10 engineering school with the No. 1 program in Texas, a global leader in technology innovation and engineering education for over a century. The Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering designs and builds devices and systems that transform industries and improve lives around the world. With nearly 70 faculty members, 30 staff members, 1500 students and thousands of alumni worldwide, the Department has a supportive community aspired to solve the most pressing challenges of the 21st century through world class research, unsurpassed student education, and dedicated service to the community. The Department of Mechanical Engineering encourages staff development through supporting the research team in getting their CRA and/or attending research conferences.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in business or public administration, social sciences, or technical/scientific field.
• Three (3)years of experience in the preparation, processing, and negotiation of research grant and contract proposals.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-volume, deadline driven research office.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent time-management skills.
• Experience in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Demonstrated experience in working with in a team environment or independently.
• Ability to work with faculty, staff, and students from various backgrounds.
• Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

• More than 3 years of experience in managing research accounts in a university setting.
• Experience with account management at UT-Austin, including knowledge of DEFINE, Research Management System (RMS) and University of Texas Research Management System (UTRMS), and Financial Resource Management System (FRMS).
• Demonstratred experience with Workday, Zoom and Point Plus.
• Experience submitting grant proposals and processing contracts.
• Experience in Pre-Award Grant processing.
• Certified Research Administrator.
• Advanced experience with Excel.

Responsibilities

• Review and analyze faculty and researchers’ sponsored project proposals for compliance with sponsor, federal, state, local, and university guidelines and regulations, including drafting and renewing research agreements.
• Provides grant proposal development support, including meeting with Principal Investigators (PIs), researching the submission process, communicating with sponsors, creating detailed budgets and justifications, providing templates for administrative proposal documents, reviewing and suggesting edits when proposals do not meet criteria, and managing change requests.
• Use internal and external systems related to electronic proposal and subcontract submissions, including UT Research Management System (UTRMS), as well as external sponsor proposal systems like NSF Fastlane, CLane, Cayuse, Research.gov, and Grants.gov.
• Ensure accurate and timely submissions through the submission portals and track the status of submitted proposals.
• Prepare and coordinate subawards, modifications, and additional contractual agreements under the award that comply with the prime sponsor's requirements, including all relevant federal, state, and University policies and regulations.
• Manage subrecipient monitoring activities, such as collecting subrecipient audit reports, researching compliance information, and billing for activities.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%)
• Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options
• Generous paid vacation, sick time, and holidays
• Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan, with 7.75% employer matching funds
• Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b)
• Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses
• Robust free training access through LinkedIn Learning plus professional conference opportunities
• Tuition assistance
• Expansive employee discount program including athletic tickets
• Free access to UT Austin's libraries and museums with staff ID card
• Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Austin CapMetro buses with staff ID card

What This Job Offers

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