Assistant Research Administrator

Northwestern University; Illinois; On-site; USD 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwestern University seeks an administrator to support sponsored programs and research missions. You will handle pre-award and post-award tasks, prepare proposals, develop budgets, track expenditures, and ensure compliance with policies and procedures.

Responsibilities include financial transactions, HR paperwork, and data preparation for progress reports, with supervision providing direction for complex tasks. Strong organizational skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.

Responsibilities

• Pre-Award: Completes pre-award administration of grant and/or contract activities; prepares proposals; obtains approvals; develops straightforward budgets using spreadsheets; updates bio sketches; formats and uploads files to electronic platforms.
• Post-Award: Completes routine post-award administration; processes purchase orders and cost transfers; reconciles budget statements; tracks expenses via spreadsheets; monitors project balances and end dates.
• Financial: Handles day-to-day financial transactions for grants/contracts; updates spreadsheets; processes travel reimbursements; assigns card expenses; reconciles accounts; provides financial data and reports.
• Human Resources: Processes paperwork related to hiring and termination of employees.
• Compliance and Miscellaneous: Tracks and submits required compliance forms; performs other duties as assigned.

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Job description

Job Summary

Completes clerical and administrative tasks in support of unit's sponsored programs and research mission. This may include coordinating pre-award and/or post-award processes; completing internal or external forms for any/all portions (including budget) of a proposal or award; collecting, distributing and/or archiving proposal and award related documents; using spreadsheets to calculate budgets and track data and/or data analysis. Please note: Supervisor provides objectives, deadlines and specific instructions only for new, difficult and/or unusual work. Work is reviewed upon completion and only occasionally to verify technical accuracy and compliance with practice, policy and procedures. EE informs supervisor of on-going progress and/or potentially controversial matters. EE uses an advanced knowledge of skills, methods and practices and some innovation, analysis, and reasoning to choose appropriate alternatives from among pre-defined policies and procedures to complete work that includes successive steps and involves some non-routine problems and/or decisions. As time and budget allows: New "Brown Bag" - Interested in becoming an RA? Need more "How To:" sessions such as: Fill out internal and external paperwork, Create and review budget, Review sponsor guidelines, Read a solicitation, Five University Business Processes classes (HR700, HR705, HR715, HR725, HR740).

Specific Responsibilities

Complexity: Typically assists with research projects such as:

• Single Principal Investigator (PI) basic proposals, grants and/or contracts
• Components of multi-PI or multi-unit proposals, grants and/or contracts
• NIH RO1-approximately $250K/yr. over 5 yrs
• NIH R21-approximately $150K/yr. over 2 yrs
• Foundation grants
• NSF grants

Pre-Award

• Completes pre-award administration of grant and/or contract activities
• Prepares proposals
• Obtains approvals
• Develops straightforward budgets using spreadsheets
• Updates bio sketches
• Formats and uploads files to electronic platforms
• Collects and/or distributes information both internally and/or externally to/from faculty, staff, students, etc.
• Tracks proposal due dates and follows up/coordinates proposal routing as needed

Post-Award

• Completes routine post-award administration of grant and/or contract activities
• Processes purchase orders and cost transfers
• Reconciles budget statements
• Tracks expenses via spreadsheets
• Monitors project balances and end dates
• Coordinates core resource account set-up and maintenance
• Provides data needed for the preparation of interim and final financial and technical progress reports
• Processes account close-out activities

Financial

• Completes day-to-day financial transactional activities for grants and/or contracts (obtaining approvals as necessary)
• Completes day-to-day financial transactional activities for department (obtaining approvals as necessary)
• Updates spreadsheets
• Processes travel reimbursements
• Assigns P-card expenses
• Transfers expenses
• Purchases lab and/or office equipment and/or supplies, etc.
• Monitors sponsored and non-sponsored budgets
• Ensures timely payment of invoices
• Reconciles accounts
• Provides financial data, analysis and/or reports for inclusion within grant, contract and/or department budget

Human Resources

• Processes paperwork associated with hiring and termination of employees

Compliance

• Tracks, updates, processes, and submits required forms and/or reports related to compliance
• Learns about compliance related issues and activities

Miscellaneous

• Performs other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree; OR appropriate combination of education and experience

Minimum Competencies

• Organization, time management, detail oriented