Pre-Award Grants Specialist: Proposals & Budgets

Stony Brook University; Stony Brook (NY); On-site; USD 76,000 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine seeks a Grants & Contracts Specialist to coordinate pre-award sponsored research proposals, working with faculty, departmental administrators, and central offices to ensure timely, accurate submissions.

This on-site, full-time role requires strong organizational and analytical skills, with experience in federal and non-federal funding rules, proposal budgets, and sponsor systems such as Grants.gov and NIH ASSIST.

Qualifications

• Three (3) years of full-time experience in pre-award sponsored research administration, including preparation, coordination, and submission of federal and/or non-federal research proposals.
• Experience developing and reviewing proposal budgets, interpreting sponsor guidelines, and independently managing multiple proposals with competing deadlines.
• Working knowledge of federal grant and contract regulations (e.g. Uniform Guidance, NIH, NSF, ARPA-H, DoD, DOE) and non-federal funding requirements.
• Experience with electronic research administration and/or proposal submission systems.

Responsibilities

• Independently coordinate and manage the administrative components of federal and non-federal sponsored research proposals, ensuring compliance with sponsor guidelines, institutional policies, and submission deadlines.
• Manage multiple concurrent proposals in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment, effectively prioritizing competing requests and coordinating submission deadlines.
• Work closely with principal investigators (PIs), faculty, and departmental administrators throughout the proposal development and submission process.
• Develop and review detailed proposal budgets and budget justifications, including personnel costs, fringe benefits, indirect costs, cost sharing, subawards, and other project expenses.
• Review funding opportunity announcements and interpret sponsor requirements, eligibility criteria, budget limitations, and submission instructions.
• Coordinate the internal proposal routing and approval process through myResearch, ensuring timely completion of required documentation and institutional approvals.
• Prepare, review, and populate required administrative components in sponsor submission systems, including Grants.gov, NIH, ASSIST, NSF, Research.gov, and other federal and non-federal sponsor portals.
• Review proposal materials for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with applicable sponsor and University requirements.
• Serve as a liaison between faculty, departmental administrators, and the Office of Sponsored Programs to facilitate proposal review, resolve administrative issues, and support timely submissions.
• Provide guidance to faculty and research teams regarding sponsor requirements, University policies, proposal budgets, and institutional submission procedures.
• Coordinate Just-in-Time (JIT) requests, including collecting, reviewing, and compiling required documentation.
• Assist new faculty hires with the transfer of existing sponsored research awards and coordinate with appropriate University offices to support a smooth transition.
• Provide administrative support for post-award activities, including award modifications, no-cost extensions, budget revisions, personnel changes, and progress reports.
• Support graduate students, MD/PhD students, and postdoctoral fellows with fellowship proposal preparation and submission, including sponsor account set-up, application coordination, and compliance with institutional and sponsor requirements.
• Monitor proposal progress, identify potential administrative or compliance issues, and proactively communicate with faculty and appropriate University offices to facilitate resolution.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine seeks a Grants & Contracts Specialist to coordinate pre-award sponsored research proposals, working with faculty, departmental administrators, and central offices to ensure timely, accurate submissions.

This on-site, full-time role requires strong organizational and analytical skills, with experience in federal and non-federal funding rules, proposal budgets, and sponsor systems such as Grants.gov and NIH ASSIST.