Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist / Grants and Contracts Specialist

The University of Texas at Austin•Austin, UT

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin is seeking a Grants and Contracts Specialist or Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist to serve as a research administrator for a portfolio of faculty, research grants, and funding. The role supports faculty within the university’s new School of Computing and is part of the Computer Science Research Administration team, which provides research administration services and supports collaboration, innovation, training, and professional development. The specialist works closely with faculty as a subject matter expert across the full grant-management life cycle, including pre-award, grant management, and post-award activities. The role involves fiscal and account management, compliance monitoring, reporting, processing financial and administrative documents, and advising faculty on appropriate use of sponsored funds. The senior-level role manages a larger and more complex portfolio, mentors junior team members, and contributes significantly to team work. This is a 40-hour-per-week position at the UT Main Campus in a typical office environment, with repetitive keyboard use at a workstation. The position is expected to continue, and the earliest start date is immediately. Salary is $60,000 or more for the Grants and Contracts Specialist level and $70,000 or more for the Senior level, depending on qualifications.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
At least three years of related experience at the Grants and Contracts Specialist level.
At least five years of related experience at the Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist level.
Progressively responsible experience in grants management or sponsored-programs administration, preferably in higher education, nonprofit, research, or public-sector settings.
A successful record of managing proposal submissions and awards accurately and on time while meeting competing deadlines.
Working knowledge of federal grant regulations and experience applying institutional or funder compliance requirements.
Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to explain contract, financial, and compliance requirements.
Willingness to learn the full grant-management life cycle and provide excellent support services with professionalism.
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

Certified Research Administrator (CRA) status.
Familiarity with external electronic research-administration systems such as eRA Commons and Research.gov.
Experience with UTRMS, DEFINE, and external agency proposal-preparation, budget-development, and submission systems.
Experience with the full grants and contracts life cycle from proposal through close-out.
Experience working with faculty, PIs, and/or researchers in a higher-education environment.
Experience working with large-scale, complex grant proposals and awards.
Involvement in a research-administration community, such as UT’s ARA, NCURA, or other professional organizations.

Responsibilities

Assist with award setup and manage award finances, including budgets, spending projections, budget modifications, financial reporting, and expenditure reviews.
Monitor post-award activities for compliance and coordinate sub-award agreements as needed.
Assist principal investigators (PIs) with effort certification and provide accounting information for research-fund purchases.
Process invoices, reimbursements, vendor onboarding forms such as PIFs, and travel authorization requests for PIs, researchers, and students traveling on research funds.
Assist PIs with arrangements for invited researchers and speakers; process high volumes of documents under tight deadlines when needed.
Coordinate with event-planning staff to ensure events adhere to budgets and sponsored-project expense eligibility requirements.
Monitor and report account balances and spending, reconcile accounts, and maintain account overviews and PI dashboards in Smartsheet.
Analyze and interpret sponsored-research budget data and advise faculty on strategic and appropriate use of funds.
Gather financial and non-technical report components with PIs to ensure timely submission and compliance with reporting timelines.
Provide the human resources team with assignment details for sponsor-funded student and staff positions and visitors.
Process Tuition Reduction Benefits (TRBs) for graduate research assistants.
Process faculty summer salary in Workday for the PI portfolio.
Collaborate with PIs, department and university staff, and external stakeholders to identify and resolve pre- and post-award research-administration issues.
Participate in professional development and research-administrator networks to stay current with UT, local, state, and federal guidelines and regulations.
Contribute to the research-administration team, the broader finance and administrative team, and a positive workplace culture.
At the senior level, manage a larger and more complex portfolio, mentor junior team members, and make significant contributions to team work.