Training Grant Program Administrator

University of Chicago•Chicago, IL

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Training Grant Program Administrator will manage the program-side administration of four BSD training grants: MCB, DBTG, GME, and CBI. This role involves a comprehensive understanding and experience in administering services to program participants and beneficiaries, with significant interaction with faculty, researchers, and staff for committee work and information exchange. The position requires a moderate to solid understanding of grant administration and program support within a university setting.

Requirements

College or university degree in a related field.
2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Moderate/solid understanding and experience to administer the delivery of services to program participants and/or beneficiaries.
Moderate/high levels of interactions with faculty, researchers and staff for committee work or information.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in business administration, public administration, life sciences, or a related field.
Minimum 3 years of experience administering federally sponsored programs, training grants, fellowships, or academic programs within a higher education or research environment.
Supporting NIH-funded programs, particularly institutional training grants (e.g., T32), fellowships, or other federally sponsored training initiatives.
Managing complex administrative processes such as appointments, funding changes, compliance requirements, and reporting.
Coordinating student, trainee, postdoctoral, or faculty-facing programs and activities.
Maintaining program data, generating reports, and tracking outcomes using spreadsheets, databases, or grant management systems.
Using systems such as xTRAIN, Workday, Oracle, PeopleSoft, or similar grant, and financial management platforms.
Strong program, project management, and organizational skills, to manage multiple timelines, activities, meetings, events, and competing priorities with high attention to detail.
Strong grant compliance and reporting skills, including accurate recordkeeping and support for required tracking and reporting of activities.
Strong data management and analytical skills.
Excellent collaboration skills, to build relationships and work effectively with a variety of stakeholders in a matrix environment.
Strong written and oral communication skills.
Strong financial administration skills.

Responsibilities

Solicit, nominate, confirm, and terminate trainee appointments, distributing and collecting appointment and reappointment requests from trainees and trainers.
Manage competitive calls for nominations on each program's timeline, including the shared predoctoral nomination in June across applicable programs, and prepare materials for PI, steering committee, and application-review meetings.
Process trainee appointments, including appointment letters and xTRAIN, and communicate closely with the program and the pre-award and post-award offices to anticipate upcoming charges.
Process trainee terminations, including termination notice statements, confirmation that funding sources are switched, xTRAIN updates, and stipend accuracy, communicating with the award offices about charges to be accounted for.
Onboard new training grant students each year and process terminations for students leaving the grant.
Work with the DOS team to establish initial workday positions and cost allocations for trainee appointments.
Coordinate with the Post-Award team on ongoing costing allocations, payroll transfers, and position maintenance.
Provide overview and support for predoctoral admissions and fellowship program applications, including quality control and coordination with home and source programs.
Coordinate annual one-on-one meetings between all trainees and program directors.
Track the academic progress of students committed to the training grants, along with their participation in required activities and courses.
Maintain records of trainee-required activities such as workshops and talks, trainer and trainee email lists, directory of students who have left the grant or graduated, and a list of student publications.
Gather reports from trainees, working with PIs and trainees for quality control and completeness.
Manage public access compliance in coordination with the PI.
Take on expanded responsibility for program course requirements.
Coordinate with PIs, faculty, and students on program responsibilities, and coordinate across programs where roles are shared or not embedded.
Host and coordinate recurring program meetings and events, including the Annual Trainee Welcome Meeting, Quarterly Steering Committee Meeting, Monthly Research in Progress (provides food), Monthly Practice Talk, Quarterly Trainer Lunch (orders food), Monthly Workshop, student-led planning meetings for the biennial symposium, quarterly trainee social events (orders food), and external advisory board visits.
Coordinate annual program retreats.
Distribute training grant updates to trainers, trainees, and departments.
Work with unit to maintain the training grant websites.
Submit and manage trainee and program expenses (TREs), consulting with the Director of Graduate Education.
Purchase items for trainees on the grant; utilize allowable charges for training related expenses and track spending per trainee.
Own training grant tracking and reporting, including the master spreadsheet tracking templates, under the Director of Graduate Education's oversight.
Gather and supply program information, trainer and PI biosketches, table data, and progress-report inputs to the pre-award and post-award offices.
Assist with the annual Table of Graduate/Undergraduate Assistance and Program Statistics (TGAP), which the post-award (T32) office prepares and submits to URA at closeout.
Assist with the annual Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), which the pre-award (RAO) office prepares and submits, by gathering trainee reports and program data.
Assist with the five-year training grant renewal process, which the pre-award (RAO) office prepares and submits, by supplying program materials and data.
Perform other related work as needed.