Research Analyst

University of North Texas System•Denton, TX

5d•$43,888•Onsite

About The Position

This position is responsible for supporting a variety of departmental needs related to research grant funding. These include serving as a liaison with the Grants office on pre-award matters, monitoring grant budgets, processing payroll and tuition scholarships for grant-funded personnel, and serving as a liaison to the International office for grant-related work authorization. The position serves to make department grant administration more efficient, thus helping research-active faculty and staff to be more productive.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in related field and three years of relevant experience or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
Clear, effective communication skills; e.g. emails to ask about or convey rules, regulations and procedures or ability to explain same verbally.
Interpersonal skills to maintain excellent relationships with researchers and various offices across the institution.
Time management skills, including ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines.
Attention to detail and high level of accuracy.
Prior knowledge of pre- or post-award administration regulations and procedures.
General administrative experience with budgets, purchasing, payroll, travel, and/or scheduling, with specific skills in budget planning, analysis, reconciliation, and forecasting.
Problem solving skills; being flexible and creative within regulations.
Ability to determine when decisions can be appropriately made and when they must be referred to a higher level to protect institutional integrity.
Curiosity and willingness to learn new things and manage change processes.
Ability to gather, analyze, and synthesize information from a variety of sources and prepare reports and graphical displays, as requested by the head of the unit.
Maintaining confidentiality of sensitive information.
Knowledge of safety and security precautions appropriate to work performed.

Nice To Haves

Three or more years of experience working with grants in an academic setting, including interactions with faculty, staff, and students.
Knowledge of Uniform Guidance 2 CFR Part 200 and federal funding agency guidelines (e.g. NSF, NIH).
Experience with Power BI, PeopleSoft, and grant management software such as Cayuse.

Responsibilities

Serve as liaison to Grants Contracts Administration (GCA) and COS Research Officers for pre-award budgetary matters for Chemistry departmental grants, including cost share agreements, departmental rules norms for payroll and tuition coverage, and departmental facilities costs
Monitor grant account balances to help investigators avoid over or underspending the approved budget. Work with CROs as needed to address any compliance and policy questions related to grant expenditures
Oversee and monitor a checkbook system for grant and nonsponsored project accounts to track encumbered payroll, POs, Pcard purchases, and other pending expenses that will impact available balances
Provide PIs with monthly reports for all grant and nonsponsored project accounts, showing available balances after correction for pending expenses
Process payroll for grant-funded graduate research assistants, postdocs, and hourly research staff
Process grant-funded tuition scholarships and health insurance coverage (if available) for students and research staff
Create and manage job postings for grant-funded postdoctoral scholars, hourly researchers and other research staff
Serve as departmental liaison to UNT International for work authorization needs of postdoctoral scholars, visiting scholars, and grant-funded research staff
Assist in collection of data for the required annual Space Survey. Check provided data on funding sources for accuracy