Research Administrator

University of Florida•Gainesville, FL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The College of the Arts Dean’s Office seeks a Research Administrator II to guide, support, and encourage Principal Investigators (PIs), project managers, and other faculty, students, and staff in the College, working on sponsored projects. This role requires a solutions-based approach, high degree of flexibility, responsiveness, and the ability to adapt to evolving project needs, shifting timelines, and nontraditional research structures common in the arts. Approximately half of work is focused on proposal preparation and submission. The other half focuses on post award setup and administration with a high level of grants financial and administrative work focused on post-award spending, monthly reconciliations, and other forms of finance and grants administrative compliance. The University of Florida College of the Arts intends to be a transformative community, responding to and generating foundational shifts in the arts and beyond. As business and academic professionals, artists, scholars, advisors, and teachers, we, the staff of the College, embrace the complexity of our evolving human experience and seek to empower our colleagues, students, and faculty to respond to and shape that experience fearlessly through critical thinking, creativity, constructive questioning, and respectful dialogue. We seek a colleague who engages with openness and enthusiasm for the work and the mission of the college. We seek a colleague who possesses skills in designing and facilitating work that advances curiosity, respect, open intellectual discourse, and the welcome incorporation and well-being of all in an environment of complex differences. We seek a colleague who identifies as a trusted steward of resources, balancing institutional requirements and the demand for innovative solutions.

Requirements

Bachelors degree and two years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Nice To Haves

Accounting experience with grant and fiscal management.
Professional experience with accounting principles, practices, and procedures
Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, Outlook, and Teams
Understanding of the specialized priorities and values of artists, arts scholars, and arts funding agencies.
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with individuals across a range of roles, communication styles, and working approaches.
A human-centered approach to work.
Strong proposal preparation skills
Strong planning, analytic, and organizational skills
Ability to work well both independently and collaboratively in a team environment to accomplish team and college-level goals
Experience assisting with post-award financial reporting
Evidence of skill in designing and facilitating academic work that advances curiosity, respect, open intellectual discourse, and the welcome incorporation and well-being of all in an environment of complex differences.

Responsibilities

Maintain a high level of commitment to realizing the PI’s vision. This work requires adaptability, willingness to navigate evolving project directions and institutional constraints with flexibility and creativity.
Bridge gaps and develop effective collaboration mechanisms between the Division of Sponsored Programs (DSP) and the UF Foundation.
Develop and manage the transmittal of proposals to federal, state, and private funding agencies, often adjusting strategies in response to changing sponsor guidance, timelines, or project needs. Identify proposal compliance issues and work with the PI to resolve.
Conduct early fiscal review of proposal budgets particularly looking for requirements such as PO limits, contract language and terms, required quotes, and ensuring these items are budgeted correctly during proposal development. Leading PIs to adjust budgets as vision, project and possibilities shift, requiring flexibility and responsiveness throughout the proposal process.
Process the submission of awards through UFirst system.
Review grant and contract award terms and conditions and help guide faculty through successful post-award management. This includes reading and interpreting award documents to determine budget, invoicing schedule, deliverables, restrictions, planning distributions, identifying areas of concern, and other pertinent information.
As applicable, manage the coordination of funds flowing through the UF Foundation to DSP, continuing to bridge gaps and develop effective collaboration mechanisms between DSP and the UF Foundation.
Monitor Peoplesoft transaction expenditure reports and ensure that supporting documentation is accurately charged and contains appropriate justification to comply with federal, state, UF and any other relevant regulations.
Verify accounting and documentation support for all sponsored projects financial transactions including but not limited to expense reports, Pcard transactions, independent contractor payments, and MyUFMarketplace purchases.
Collaborate with Fiscal and HR teams to verify expenses are allocable, reasonable, necessary, and consistently treated.
Assist PIs and project personnel on how to efficiently and compliantly manage external funding. May sometimes initiate actions such as salary distributions.
Review and apply grant and contract regulations, policies, procedures, and relevant standards throughout the life of the award.
Manage and navigate an awards portfolio, seeking guidance when needed.
Conduct monthly PI Check-Ins
Mentor PIs to navigate sponsored project management.
Monitor balances in department and PI grants accounts and ensure use is in line with budget and anticipated expenditure.
Manage complex payroll projections across projects.
Responsible for creating monthly reconciliations of revenue and expenditures.
Follow up on issues identified during PI check-ins.
Identify faculty members’ challenges and consult with the Aso Dean of Research to make recommendations for additional support or resources.
Recommend and help implement workflow improvements as needed.
Partner with the Proposal Studio team to develop data presentations and resources that support PIs in managing their projects.