Senior Grant and Contract Administrator

University of Arizona; Tucson (AZ); Remote; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Arizona is seeking a Senior Grant and Contract Administrator to manage the pre-award phase of grants, develop budgets, and ensure sponsor and institutional compliance. This role collaborates with principal investigators and research staff and is eligible for remote work.

Responsibilities include proposal development, advisory support to PIs, and coordination of sub-awards. Strong knowledge of budgeting, regulations, and grant submission systems is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience required.
• Eight years of relevant work experience.
• Experience preparing high-volume grant proposals preferred.
• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop and prepare grant proposals in accordance with policies.
• Advise the PI on administrative requirements for submissions.
• Develop budgets and justifications for proposals.
• Collect sub-award documents and coordinate with collaborators.
• Manage internal pre-award workflow and proposal routing.
• Assist with submissions through sponsor portals.
• Provide policy guidance on Pre-Award processes.

Skills

Stakeholder communication

Attention to detail

Faculty guidance

Budget forecasting

Uniform Guidance

Grant policies

Research.gov

ASSIST

Grants.gov

Excel expert

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Research.gov

ASSIST

Grants.gov

Job description

Senior Grant and Contract Administrator

Position Highlights

The University is seeking a Senior Grant and Contract Administrator. This position manages the pre-award phase of grants management lifecycle, handling preparation and submission of proposals and collaborates with principal investigators and other research staff to develop budgets, ensure compliance with sponsor and institutional regulations, terms and conditions. This position is eligible for remote work.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!

The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please.

Duties & Responsibilities

Proposal Development

• Works directly with faculty members, research staff, administrators, and others in the preparation of proposals in accordance with the university and sponsor policies, guidelines and criteria.
• Advises the PI on administrative requirements in preparing proposal submissions.
• Develops budget proposals and associated justifications.
• Confers with PI and Pre-award support staff at collaborating institutions to secure necessary sub-awards documents for proposals.
• Manages internal Sponsored Projects proposal routing, review and approval process.
• Assists with submission of proposal packages through external sponsor's grant management portals.
• Ensures central pre-award workflow system is updated to enable team management to reassign and adjust workloads as needed.

Pre-Award Compliance

• Reviews grant proposals involving CALES faculty to ensure all applications meet exact agency and university regulations prior to submission.
• Coordinates and reviews certain proposal elements (biosketches and facilities & resources) for consistency, accuracy, and completeness.
• Reviews proposals for consistency with sponsor guidelines on budget, format, font size and page limits excluding narrative content (obtain and review sponsor guidelines).

Advisory

• Provides policy and procedure interpretation to academic departments on all areas of Pre-Award, including interpretation of regulations and guidelines of funding with complex and broad guidelines for spending.
• Contributes information and ideas as part of a cross functional team.

Improvement

• Plans, arranges and participates in workshops and seminars for Faculty and Staff to promote participation in the proposal process.
• Collaborates with team on annual CALES (College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences) pre-award strategic plan.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs)

• Ability to effectively communicate with multiple stakeholders.
• High attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple complex submissions under strict deadlines.
• Ability to guide and advise faculty on proposal requirements while translating complex sponsor guidelines into actionable steps.
• Strong proficiency in budget creation, forecasting, and understanding cost principles (e.g., Uniform Guidance).
• Knowledge of policies and procedures of various funding agencies.
• Knowledge of major grant submission systems (Research.gov, ASSIST, Grants.gov).
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office software; expert knowledge of Excel.

This job posting reflects the general nature and level of work expected of the selected candidate(s). It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The institution reserves the right to amend or update this description as organizational priorities and institutional needs evolve.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience required.
• Eight (8) years of relevant work experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience preparing and submitting high volume, high value grant proposals.
• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) professional certification.
• Experience with UAccess Research and Financials.

Employment Details

FLSA Exempt

Full Time/Part Time Full Time

Number of Hours Worked per Week 40

Job FTE 1.0

Work Calendar Fiscal

Job Category Research

Benefits Eligible Yes - Full Benefits

Rate of Pay DOE

Compensation Type salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE)

Grade 10

Grade Range represents a full range of career compensation growth over time. The university offers compensation growth opportunities within its career architecture. To learn more about compensation, please review our Applicant Compensation Guide and our Total Rewards Calculator.

Career Stream and Level PC4

Job Family Grant & Contract Admin

Job Function Research

Type of criminal background check required: Name-based criminal background check (non-security sensitive)

Number of Vacancies 1

Target Hire Date 11/9/2026

Open Date 10/22/2026

Open Until Filled Yes

Documents Needed to Apply

Resume and Cover Letter

Contact Information for Candidates

Anna Bounds, Grant and Contract Manager II
[e-mail]

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