Research Administrator II/III (Office of Research)

Office of Research•Gainesville, FL

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Research Administrator II/III position in the Office of Research is responsible for a wide range of duties related to the preparation, submission, and administration of grants and contracts. This role involves assisting faculty, postdocs, and predocs with proposal development, ensuring compliance with internal and external policies, managing award finances, and coordinating training grants. The position also includes organizing the College of Dentistry's annual Research Day poster session and assisting with special projects and audits. The incumbent must be highly organized, detail-oriented, and possess strong communication and interpersonal skills to effectively liaise with various stakeholders.

Requirements

Research Administrator II - Bachelor’s degree and two years of experience in grant and contract administration; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Research Administrator III - Bachelor’s degree and three years of experience in grant and contract administration; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Experience with federal training grants, including UF HR paperwork, xTrain appointments and xTract
Extensive knowledge and demonstrated experience with UF contract and grant administration; specifically proposal preparation (must be able to guide faculty in regard to appropriate proposal submissions and UF/State/agency policy).
Ability to assist in the preparation of a variety of budgets with regard to pre-award requirements and consideration for optimal post-award implementation.
Skilled in document construction and management (Word, Powerpoint, and Excel) and financial spreadsheets (Excel).
Working knowledge of accounting principles and cost analysis as related to contract and grant expenditures.
Knowledge of databases and reporting tools.
Understand the significance of timelines and have the ability to work well with deadlines and potentially stressful situations.
Above average organization skills, attention to detail and the ability to think critically.
Proven track record of providing exceptional customer service.
Ability to communicate effectively and diplomatically at all organizational levels, both verbally and in writing.
Ability to work effectively with diversity of faculty, staff and outside agencies.
Act as liaison for college faculty and staff, other UF departments, Sponsored Research, and funding agencies in regard to contract and grant activities.

Responsibilities

Assist faculty, postdocs, and predocs in preparing and submitting proposal documents to external and internal sponsors.
Coordinate proposal routing to ensure all appropriate approvals are received and documents are submitted in a timely fashion.
Format and complete technical and administrative proposal documents, develop project budgets, and gather required information.
Enter proposals into the UFirst database and construct proposals in agency-specific programs (e.g., grants.gov, proposal, central, Cayuse).
Understand and convey UF and agency-specific compliance requirements.
Ensure all proposal documents are complete, accurately formatted, and meet agency requirements.
Identify potential funding sources for faculty.
Advise faculty and personnel on current policies and procedures related to contract and grant activity.
Design, create, and maintain templates and spreadsheets for proposal submissions.
Negotiate budgets and terms with sponsors as needed.
Gather information for NIH “Just in Time” submissions and other agency pre-award requirements.
Manage multiple proposal submissions within short deadlines.
Act as a liaison for faculty, department staff, administrators, UF core offices, external sponsors, and participants regarding proposal submissions.
Maintain the proposal log to track all pre-award activity for the college.
Prepare quarterly reports reflecting proposals submitted and their status.
Establish new, continuing, and supplemental awards via UFirst and provide overall management of contracts and grants.
Facilitate financial management of federal, foundation, and industry grants and overhead accounts.
Review and provide monthly financial reports to principal investigators.
Provide salary projections for budget forecasting.
Meet with PIs bi-monthly to review financial status of awards, providing oversight and guidance.
Assist with oversight of grant budgets and payroll distributions.
Make recommendations for adjustments to ensure expenditures comply with federal and university regulations.
Analyze budget balances and initiate reallocation of shortfalls or other corrective actions.
Provide assistance with subcontract and sub-award agreements and follow up with required reporting and invoices.
Assist C&G in the account close-out process and final reports to the agency.
Keep timelines and assist faculty in adherence to report deadlines and other grant milestones (IRB, IACUC, training, etc.).
Monitor fiscal activity for each award.
Act as a liaison for faculty, department staff, administrators, UF core offices, external sponsors, and participants regarding award administration.
Manage the College’s NIH Institutional and individual training grants.
Complete fellowship appointments for UF HR and in eRA Commons via xTrain.
Assist principal investigators with annual progress reports via eRA Commons and xTract.
Reconcile all grant expenditures for assigned grants with University monthly financial statements and source documentation.
Review all expenditures for appropriateness and compliance with UF and sponsoring agency guidelines.
Assist department staff and Principal Investigators (PIs) with resolving expenditure issues.
Maintain paper and electronic filing systems for grant expenditures by project.
Provide assistance to department staff and lab managers with purchasing and payable procedures.
Ensure back-up documentation for all grant expenditures is in the UF system.
Liaise with department staff, PIs, UF Purchasing, and UF Disbursements.
Coordinate all aspects of the College of Dentistry’s annual Research Day poster session.
Manage the event-management platform for participant registration, abstract/poster submission, and judging workflows.
Oversee the production of the official abstract booklet for Research Day.
Assist with financial reports and college budgets.
Assist with internal audits.