Grants and Contracts Specialist, Family and Community Medicine

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Irving (TX); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

UT Southwestern, a renowned medical and research institution, seeks an experienced Grants and Contracts Manager. The role includes providing comprehensive support to researchers by managing grant proposals, developing budgets, and negotiating contracts to ensure compliance with regulations. Join a dynamic team that values innovation, collaboration, and professional growth, offering competitive benefits and opportunities for development.

Benefits

PPO medical plan, available at no cost for employee-only coverage

Paid Time Off, available day one

Retirement Programs through TRS

Tuition Reimbursement

Wellness programs

Qualifications

• 2 years of experience in business or public administration.
• Experience in contracting and managing grants required.
• Applicants lacking the degree may substitute with equivalent professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Guides researchers in proposal development and grant submissions.
• Manages grants through full lifecycle from pre-award to closeout.
• Negotiates and drafts contracts with various agencies.

Skills

Customer Service

Grant Budget Development

Negotiation

Contract Management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in business administration, public administration, or related field

Job description

WHY UT SOUTHWESTERN?

With over 75 years of excellence in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, UT Southwestern is committed to excellence, innovation, teamwork, and compassion. As a world-renowned medical and research center, we strive to provide the best possible care, resources, and benefits for our valued employees. Ranked as the number 1 hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth according to U.S. News & World Report, we invest in you with opportunities for career growth and development to align with your future goals. Our highly competitive benefits package offers healthcare, PTO and paid holidays, on-site childcare, wage, merit increases and so much more. We invite you to be a part of the UT Southwestern team where you'll discover a culture of teamwork, professionalism, and a rewarding career!

JOB SUMMARY

Provides guidance to researchers for proposal development and submission by interpreting sponsor and university announcements and guidelines on application preparation and content by reviewing proposals for completeness and adherence to guidelines and mailing out proposals in timely manner. Provides grants management support to researchers by negotiating and processing awards, interpreting award conditions, obtaining approvals for award changes, and obtaining required reports. Drafts and negotiates contracts with various agencies (state and federal government, private organizations), pharmaceutical companies, and biotechnology companies to achieve agreements satisfactory to all parties, following state laws and Board of Regents' guidelines. Provides guidance and assistance to researchers as necessary for implementation and negotiation of research contracts, including sponsored research agreements and material transfer agreements. Monitors status of contracts for completion. Must be able to work flexible schedule during grant deadlines. Experience in developing grant budgets required. Knowledge of IRB and research regulations desired. Performs other duties as assigned.

BENEFITS

UT Southwestern is proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Our benefits are designed to support your overall wellbeing, and include:

• PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage
• 100% coverage for preventive healthcare-no copay
• Paid Time Off, available day one
• Retirement Programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
• Paid Parental Leave Benefit
• Wellness programs
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Qualified Employer
• Learn more about these and other UTSW employee benefits!

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION

Required

• Education
  • Bachelor's Degree in business administration, public administration, or related field.
• Experience
  • 2 years of experience in business or public administration with emphasis on customer service in financial or contracting position.
  • Applicants without the stated degree, but with significant additional professional applicable experience may be considered in lieu of education requirement.

JOB DUTIES

Grants (pre-award, maintenance, post-award, reporting, and closeout)

• Provides funding opportunity information to potential applicants by reading newsletters and announcements, searching directories and funding files, identifying and matching sponsor with researcher, and mailing out information.
• Collaborate directly with Principal Investigators (PIs) to develop and submit grant proposals, ensuring all application components meet funder guidelines and institutional requirements through eGrants and to grants.gov.
• Maintain accurate documentation and version control throughout the proposal development process, including budget justifications, biosketches, and institutional letters of support, and other grant-related materials.
• Coordinates with Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) to route proposals through eGrants and submit to external funders via Grants.gov, ensuring timely and compliant submission aligning with sponsor-specific policies and allowable cost structures.
• Develops detailed and modular budgets for grant proposals across diverse funding mechanisms, including federal (e.g., NIH, HRSA), state, foundation, and industry contracts.
• Ensure budget compliance with sponsor guidelines, institutional policies, and project requirements while collaborating with investigators and administrative units to create accurate, transparent, and funder-aligned budget justifications.
• Track and manage incoming invoices and outgoing payments to ensure timely processing, accurate record-keeping, and adherence to budgetary and contractual obligations. Coordinate with vendors, internal departments, and accounting teams to resolve discrepancies, confirm payment status, and maintain organized financial documentation.
• Support effort reporting, no-cost extensions, and submission of financial and technical progress reports to sponsors.
• Coordinate budget revisions, carryforward requests, and other post-award actions with Sponsored Programs and sponsors.
• Monitor grant award setup and coordinate with departmental finance teams to ensure correct account creation and budget allocation.

Contracts

• Provides feedback to SPA contract specialists on subaward agreements and other grant-related contracts. Reviews and negotiates budgets and contracts to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Provides grants management support to researchers by negotiating and processing awards, interpreting award conditions, obtaining approvals for award changes, and obtaining required reports.
• Collaborate with internal departments (legal, finance, compliance) to facilitate contract review and execution.
• Track contract invoices and payments, verifying accuracy of incoming invoices and ensuring timely disbursement of funds in compliance with contract terms.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders, including finance and legal teams, to support contract negotiation, execution, and monitoring.
• Maintain organized records of executed contracts, deliverables, and payment schedules to support post-award administration and audit readiness.
• Monitor contract performance timelines, milestones, and deliverables in coordination with project teams.
• Maintain detailed records of executed agreements, amendments, payments, and correspondence for audit and reporting purposes.
• Supports revenue-in contracts, data use agreements, and educational agreements.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

SECURITY AND EEO STATEMENT Security This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code 51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information. To the extent this position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Section 113.001(2) of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the critical infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired and to continue to be employed in the position.

EEO Statement UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community. As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status.