Pre-Award Specialist

Rice University•Houston, TX

3d•Remote

About The Position

The Engineering Research Administration (ERA) Team in the School of Engineering and Computing is seeking a Pre-Award Specialist to support all phases of research proposal development and submission. This position will serve as a key administrator for pre-award activities, working closely with faculty, departmental staff, and institutional partners to ensure timely and compliant submissions of grant proposals. Success in this role requires an independent, analytical mindset, strong organizational and time management skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment. The ideal candidate will have a solid understanding of federal, state, and sponsor-specific regulations, policies, and procedures related to research administration.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree
Two or more (2+) years of related experience in proposal development, project management, and/or accounting
Demonstrated initiative and ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with faculty, research staff, and external stakeholders
Strong verbal and written communication skills and strong client service orientation and professionalism in communication across diverse audiences.
Advanced problem-solving skills and the ability to manage complex research and administrative challenges
Strong organizational and time management skills with ability to prioritize multiple projects and deadlines in fast paced environment.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office and familiarity with grant submission systems and related administrative tools
Proven critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with experience addressing complex administrative and research coordination challenge.
Understanding of budgeting principles and ability to support the preparation of financial and programmatic materials

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, finance, public administration, or a related field
Four or more years of grant-related experience, preferably in an institution of higher education
Experience supporting proposal submissions to federal, state, foundation, and other sponsors, including agencies such as NIH, NSF, DOD, DOE, DARPA, CPRIT, ARPA-H, CFF, and JDRF
Experience interpreting sponsor guidelines and supporting compliant proposal submissions
Experience with Cayuse, sponsor portals, and other research administration systems
Knowledge of budgeting principles and experience supporting the development of proposal budgets, financial plans, sponsor forms, and cost-share documentation
Experience coordinating with faculty, institutional partners, OSP, subcontractors, and external collaborators to support timely proposal submissions
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office, including drafting, organizing, editing, and formatting Word and PDF documents
Ability to develop and recommend process improvements that support research coordination, proposal development, and stakeholder engagement

Responsibilities

Organizes, facilitates, and tracks proposal development efforts and proposal preparation timelines
Understands, explains, and clarifies various sponsors' proposal requirements and review processes
Researches and writes non-technical sections of proposals
Provides comments, suggestions, and questions on the narrative section
Ensures compliance with sponsor requirements
Assists in the facilitation of faculty teams and colleagues in preparing large, complex, collaborative, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional proposals
Identifies limited submission funding opportunities, posts them to the limited submission website and listserv, and assists in coordinating limited submission competitions when necessary
Assists with training and development sessions designed for faculty, staff, postdocs, graduate students, and/or undergraduate students on topics related to the development of proposals for external grant funds
Assists in preparing ad hoc administrative projects, such as website materials, proposal archives, etc.
Supports the Principal Investigator (PI) on administrative requirements in proposal preparation, and ensures guidelines are followed for proposal formatting and submission requirements
In collaboration with the PI, develops and reviews the budget, and assists with attaining cost-share commitments and sponsor forms
Coordinates the request and review of subcontract documents
Performs the data entry into the sponsor portal and Cayuse SP record
Performs all other duties as assigned