Senior Grant and Contract Administrator

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA; Tucson (AZ); On-site; USD 75,540 - 98,201; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision insurance

Paid vacation and sick leave

Tuition reduction for employees and family

Retirement plans

Job summary

The UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA is seeking a Senior Grant and Contract Administrator to manage the pre-award phase of the grants management lifecycle. This role involves collaborating with principal investigators to develop budgets and ensure compliance with regulations.

Benefits include health insurance, retirement plans, and tuition reduction for employees and their families. Applicants must have a Bachelor's degree and 8 years of experience in a relevant field.

Qualifications

• 8 years of relevant work experience or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Experience with high volume grant proposals preferred.
• Professional certification (CRA) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage pre-award phase of grants management lifecycle.
• Develop and submit proposals in compliance with regulations.
• Advises principal investigators on administrative requirements.

Skills

Effective communication

Attention to detail

Budget creation and forecasting

Knowledge of grant submission systems

Microsoft Office proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Research.gov

ASSIST

Grants.gov

Job description

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.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, 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.

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 pre‑award strategic plan.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• 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.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience required.
• Minimum of 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.
• Professional certification preferred, CRA.
• Experience with UAccess Research and Financials preferred.

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.

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 $75,540 - $98,201

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

Grade 10

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)

Target Hire Date 8/1/2026

Rate of Pay Field represents the University of Arizona’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. The University considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, and internal equity.

Grade Range represent 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.

Notice of Availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report: In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), each year the University of Arizona releases an Annual Security Report (ASR) for each of the University’s campuses. These reports disclose information including Clery crime statistics for the previous three calendar years and policies, procedures, and programs the University uses to keep students and employees safe, including how to report crimes or other emergencies and resources for crime victims. As a campus with residential housing facilities, the Main Campus ASR also includes a combined Annual Fire Safety report with information on fire statistics and fire safety systems, policies, and procedures. Paper copies of the Reports can be obtained by contacting the University Compliance Office at [e-mail].