Senior Grants Administrator, Pre-Award - Office of Sponsored Programs (Remote Eligible)

University of Virginia; Charlottesville (VA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Virginia Office of Sponsored Programs is seeking a Senior Grants Administrator to join the Faculty Proposal Services team in Charlottesville, VA. The role offers on-site, hybrid or fully remote work options under UVA’s guidelines.

You will partner with faculty PIs to navigate proposal preparation, budgets, and compliance, delivering high-touch service and meticulous attention to deadlines.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; five years of grant and contract experience.
• CRA certification preferred.
• Experience with pre-award activities and proposal preparation.
• Familiarity with state, university and sponsor guidelines.

Responsibilities

• High-Touch Customer Service: serve as a primary, dedicated pre-award partner, delivering consultative, highly responsive customer service to faculty and unit administrators.
• Proposal Management: manage end-to-end grant submission process, review FOAs/RFAs/PAs, construct proposal checklists and submission timelines, ensure administrative milestones are met.
• Document Compilation & Review: assist faculty with biosketches, current and pending, facilities and resources, letters of support, and subaward packages.
• Budget Creation: prepare, draft, and revise detailed proposal budgets and justifications in alignment with sponsor guidelines and fiscal standards.
• Portal Submissions: complete forms and upload finalized proposal packages into sponsor systems and UVA’s eRA system.
• Subject Matter Expertise: act as SME on research administration and ensure compliance with state, Federal and University rules and policies.
• Compliance Review: review proposals to ensure compliance with University, State, and Sponsor guidelines.
• Post-Submission & Lifecycle Assistance: facilitate JIT documentation, PI transfers, pre-award spending approvals, RPPRs or non-competing continuations.
• This is a restricted position with a planned term of 2yr; continuation contingent upon funding and performance.

Skills

Grant administration

Pre-award experience

Budgeting

Customer service

Education

Bachelor's degree

CRA Certification

Tools

eRA system

Job description

The University of Virginia Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) seeks a Senior Grants Administrator to join the Faculty Proposal Services team. Faculty Proposal Services operates as a shared service within central Pre-Award, providing dedicated, expert proposal preparation support to units/Schools at UVA. This position provides an option to work on-site, hybrid or fully remote, following the University's remote work guidelines.

Reporting to the Associate Director of Pre-Award, the Senior Grants Administrator works directly with faculty PIs to navigate the proposal preparation process, including the compilation of proposal documents and budgets as well as the review of compliance requirements. As a shared service model, delivering outstanding customer service, proactive communication, and meticulous attention to deadline-driven requirements is vital.

OSP's mission is to provide leadership in research administration, support the research endeavors of University faculty, ensure the responsible stewardship of research funding, and oversee the submission of proposals and the negotiation and acceptance of awards by the University according to State, University and sponsor regulations.

Senior Grants Administrator Responsibilities

• High-Touch Customer Service: Serve as a primary, dedicated pre-award partner, delivering consultative, highly responsive customer service to faculty and unit administrators.
• Proposal Management: Manage the end-to-end grant submission process. Review complex Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs/RFAs/PAs), construct customized proposal checklists and submission timelines, and ensure all administrative milestones are met.
• Document Compilation & Review: Assist faculty with compiling, formatting, and reviewing administrative proposal components (e.g., biosketches, current and pending support, facilities and resources, letters of support, and subaward packages).
• Budget Creation: Prepare, draft, and revise detailed proposal budgets and justifications in full alignment with sponsor guidelines, institutional policies, and fiscal standards.
• Portal Submissions: Complete administrative forms and upload finalized proposal packages into sponsor systems and UVA’s eRA system.
• Subject Matter Expertise: Serve as a subject matter expert on research administration, ensuring compliance with state, Federal and University rules, regulations, policies and practices (such as FAR, Uniform Guidance, sponsor guidelines, etc.) and provide guidance to staff and faculty in understanding applicable policies and obligations.
• Compliance Review: Review proposals to ensure compliance with University, State, and Sponsor guidelines.
• Post-Submission & Lifecycle Assistance: Facilitate pre-award post-submission requests, including Just-In-Time (JIT) documentation, PI transfers, pre-award spending approvals, and standard Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) or non-competing continuations.

In addition to the above job responsibilities, other duties may be assigned.

This is a restricted position with a planned term of 2yr, after which time continuation of employment will be contingent upon funding availability and satisfactory performance.

Minimum Requirements

Education: Bachelor's degree required. Four additional years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of degree.

Experience: Five years of grant and contract experience.

Physical Demands: This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience: At least 5 (five) years relevant experience supporting pre-award grants and contracts in a higher education research administration environment.

Licensure: Certified Research Administrator (CRA) certification or similar.

Anticipated salary will be commensurate with education and experience. This is an exempt-level, benefited position. For more information on the benefits at UVA, visit hr.virginia.edu/benefits. This position is located in Charlottesville, VA, and provides an option to work on-site, hybrid or fully remote, following the University's remote work guidelines.

For more information about UVA and the Charlottesville community please see http://www.virginia.edu/life/charlottesville and https://embarkcva.com/.

This position will not be able to provide consideration for candidates who require sponsorship at this time. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.

Application review will begin after September 8.

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.