Grants Management Spec II

University of Rochester • City of Rochester, NY

7d • $56,500 - $79,100 • Onsite

About The Position

The Grants Management Specialist II provides grant administration and financial management support to multiple faculty members affiliated with the University of Rochester’s Center for Visual Science, and to select faculty in adjacent units. Working under the direction of the Business Administration Manager and in collaboration with faculty, research staff, departmental administrators, and central research administration offices, the specialist supports the development, submission, and administration of the Center’s sponsored research portfolio.

The position provides pre-award support as needed and post-award support for grants and contracts. Duties include coordinating proposal preparation and submission, developing and reviewing budgets, gathering required materials, monitoring deadlines, tracking award expenditures, preparing financial reports and projections, coordinating salary allocations, and supporting compliance with sponsor requirements and University policies. The specialist also helps identify budget concerns, resolve account discrepancies, and communicate financial information to faculty and the Business Administration Manager.

Additional work supports the Center’s research operations and may include invoice processing, payment and reimbursement coordination, transaction review, meeting coordination, and other administrative tasks. The role requires strong organizational, analytical, communication, and financial management skills, along with experience in research administration and grants management. The successful candidate is detail-oriented, proactive, collaborative, and able to manage competing priorities while providing accurate and responsive support to multiple faculty members.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; accounting or business administration preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• At least 2 years of relevant experience required.
• Experience administering NIH grants or other regulatory-agency grants, including pre- and post-award reporting and handling federal research grants, required.
• Experience with and knowledge of IORA and federal grant application platforms such as ASSIST required.
• CLASP certification required within 1 year.
• Willingness to meet continuous learning requirements, including regular monthly meetings, electives, and the Annual CLASP Update.
• Willingness to participate in ongoing training on sponsored-research compliance issues and attend related meetings as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

• Working knowledge, experience, and skills in research policies and grants and contracts administration.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and verbal and written communication skills.
• Familiarity with UR Financials, URGEMS, the Procure to Pay (P2P) Purchasing system, and IORA.
• Ability to monitor and produce financial reports for principal investigators and sponsors.
• Experience coordinating and managing multiple research projects.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office and Excel spreadsheets.
• Working knowledge of grant programs and systems such as ASSIST, Grants.gov, NSF, SciENcv, and Research.gov.

Responsibilities

• Provide pre-award, as-needed, and post-award grant administration support to Center faculty and selected faculty in adjacent units.
• Coordinate the development, review, submission, and renewal of sponsored research proposals with faculty, research staff, administrators, and University offices.
• Develop proposal timelines, track deadlines, and collect and prepare proposal materials, including budgets, budget justifications, facilities and resources statements, biosketches, other support documentation, and letters of support.
• Prepare and process proposals through IORA and applicable sponsor systems, ensuring submissions are accurate, complete, and compliant.
• Assist with complex proposals, renewals, supplemental funding requests, subcontract documentation, and other sponsored project submissions.
• Monitor proposal status, award timelines, reporting deadlines, and renewal requirements; maintain organized and accurate proposal and award records.
• Assist with annual progress reports, RPPRs, final reports, and other sponsor-required documentation.
• Coordinate collection and review of personnel information, effort details, other support documentation, publications, and other materials for proposals and reports.
• Maintain working knowledge of federal regulations, sponsor policies, and University procedures; coordinate with ORPA, ORACS, and other University offices on submissions, awards, and compliance.
• Identify relevant funding opportunities and share information with faculty and the Business Administration Manager as appropriate.
• Monitor grant accounts, expenditures, balances, and spending patterns to identify concerns, discrepancies, or expenses requiring review.
• Prepare financial reports, budget summaries, projections, and analyses for faculty and the Business Administration Manager.
• Assist with proposal budgets, award budget reviews, and expenditure projections over the life of sponsored projects.
• Review financial transactions for documentation, available funding, and consistency with approved budgets and sponsor requirements.
• Assist with account reconciliation and review financial information in GEMs to support accurate sponsored-project data.
• Coordinate with ORACS and other offices on financial reporting, expenditure reviews, invoicing, and account discrepancy resolution.
• Monitor subcontract expenditures, invoices, and related financial documentation.
• Review award terms, conditions, restrictions, and sponsor requirements, and communicate relevant information or concerns to faculty and the Business Administration Manager.
• Assist faculty with allowable expenses, spending restrictions, reporting requirements, and other sponsored-award financial considerations.
• Escalate significant budget variances, potential compliance concerns, and issues requiring institutional review to the Business Administration Manager and Center Director as appropriate.
• Support financial information preparation for sponsor reporting, award closeout, audits, and other financial reviews.
• Provide administrative support for the Center’s sponsored research portfolio and faculty collaborations, including grant-related meetings, communications, documentation, and follow-up.
• Assist with invoices, payments, reimbursements, and other administrative transactions related to Center research activities.
• Coordinate administrative documentation for consulting arrangements, material transfer agreements, data use agreements, and other research-related agreements with appropriate University offices.
• Assist with coordinating seminars, workshops, visitors, travel, and other Center activities as needed.
• Support compliance with University administrative policies, procedures, and documentation requirements; maintain effective working relationships with faculty, staff, collaborators, and University partners.
• Collaborate with the Business Administration Manager, departmental administrators, faculty, and administrative colleagues on grant-related work and shared initiatives.
• Assist with select departmental financial and administrative activities and provide guidance on established grant procedures, reporting requirements, IORA, and other applicable systems.
• Share grant administration knowledge with administrative colleagues and maintain current knowledge through required training and professional development.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Business Administration Manager.

What This Job Offers

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