Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist / Grants and Contracts Specialist

The University of Texas at Austin; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Texas at Austin is seeking a Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist to support the Department of Computer Science in the School of Computing. You will manage a broad portfolio, handle pre-award, grant management, and post-award tasks, and collaborate with faculty and staff to ensure compliance and successful funding outcomes.

This role emphasizes mentorship, complex portfolio management, and proactive problem solving in a dynamic university environment on UT's main Austin

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and at least three years of related experience at the Grants and Contracts Specialist level, and at least five years of related experience at the Senior level.
• Progressively responsible experience in grants management or sponsored programs administration, preferably in a higher education, nonprofit, research, or public-sector setting.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including the ability to explain contract, financial, and compliance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Assist with award set-up and perform fiscal management of awards, including budgeting, spending projections, budget modifications, financial reporting, and review of expenditures. Monitor post-award activities to ensure compliance. Coordinate sub-award agreements as needed. Assist PIs with effort certification.
• Provide accounting information for purchases on research funds. Process invoices, reimbursements, vendor onboarding forms such as PIFs, and travel authorization requests for PIs, researchers, and students traveling on research funds. Assist PIs with arrangements for invited researchers and speakers. May process a high volume of documents with tight deadlines. Coordinate with event planning staff to ensure adherence to event budgets using sponsored project funds and eligibility of expenses on accounts.
• Monitor and report account balances and spending, reconcile accounts, and maintain account overviews and PI dashboards in Smartsheet. Analyze and interpret budgetary financial data related to sponsored research to advise faculty on strategic and appropriate fund use. Gather financial and non-technical report components in coordination with PI to ensure timely submission of reports and adherence to required reporting timelines.
• Provide the human resources team with assignment details for sponsor-funded student and staff positions and visitors. Process Tuition Reduction Benefits (TRBs) for graduate research assistants. Process summer salary in Workday for faculty within PI portfolio.
• Collaborate with PIs, department staff, university staff, and external stakeholders to identify and resolve pre- and post-award research administration issues through critical thinking and problem-solving strategies.
• Participate in internal and external professional development and research administrator networks to remain current with UT, local, state and federal guidelines, and regulations. Contribute to the work of the research administration team, the larger finance and administrative team, and to a positive workplace culture.

Skills

Communication

Teamwork

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Smartsheet

Workday

UTRMS

eRACommons

Research.gov

Job description

Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist / Grants and Contracts Specialist

Hiring Department: Department of Computer Science

Position Open To: All Applicants

Weekly Scheduled Hours: 40

FLSA Status: Exempt from FLSA

Earliest Start Date: Immediately

Position Duration: Expected to Continue

Location: UT MAIN CAMPUS

Job Details: General Notes This position will support faculty in the Department of Computer Science within the university's new School of Computing, which includes 3 strong departments and more than 9,000 students across all programs. This places UT among the most significant intellectual hubs for computer science, information, and statistics and data science research and education anywhere in the world. The School of Computing has a close relationship with Austin's thriving tech culture and works at the forefront of fields spanning artificial intelligence, robotics and quantum computing; data science, statistics and scientific discovery; cybersecurity and trustworthy computing; and human-centered technology, information, and the societal impacts of computing. The Department is seeking a Grants and Contracts Coordinator or Senior Grants and Contracts Coordinator to be the research administrator for a portfolio of faculty, research grants, and funding.

Purpose

As a Grants and Contracts Specialist, you will be a key member of the Computer Science Research Administration team by managing a broad portfolio of faculty and research funding. Grants & Contracts Specialists work closely with the Department of Computer Science faculty as a subject matter expert in the full life cycle of the grant management process (pre-award, grant management, and post-award). The Computer Science Research Administration unit is a team of higher education professionals that supports teamwork, collaboration, innovation, training, and professional development while providing excellent support services through research administration.

Responsibilities

• Assist with award set-up and perform fiscal management of awards, including budgeting, spending projections, budget modifications, financial reporting, and review of expenditures. Monitor post-award activities to ensure compliance. Coordinate sub-award agreements as needed. Assist PIs with effort certification.
• Provide accounting information for purchases on research funds. Process invoices, reimbursements, vendor onboarding forms such as PIFs, and travel authorization requests for PIs, researchers, and students traveling on research funds. Assist PIs with arrangements for invited researchers and speakers. May process a high volume of documents with tight deadlines. Coordinate with event planning staff to ensure adherence to event budgets using sponsored project funds and eligibility of expenses on accounts.
• Monitor and report account balances and spending, reconcile accounts, and maintain account overviews and PI dashboards in Smartsheet. Analyze and interpret budgetary financial data related to sponsored research to advise faculty on strategic and appropriate fund use. Gather financial and non-technical report components in coordination with PI to ensure timely submission of reports and adherence to required reporting timelines.
• Provide the human resources team with assignment details for sponsor-funded student and staff positions and visitors. Process Tuition Reduction Benefits (TRBs) for graduate research assistants. Process summer salary in Workday for faculty within PI portfolio.
• Collaborate with PIs, department staff, university staff, and external stakeholders to identify and resolve pre- and post-award research administration issues through critical thinking and problem-solving strategies.
• Participate in internal and external professional development and research administrator networks to remain current with UT, local, state and federal guidelines, and regulations. Contribute to the work of the research administration team, the larger finance and administrative team, and to a positive workplace culture.

Applicants who wish to be considered for Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist level will be expected to manage a larger and more complex portfolio, be a mentor to junior team members, and contribute significantly to the work of the team.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and at least three years of related experience at the Grants and Contracts Specialist level, and at least five years of related experience at the Senior level.
• Progressively responsible experience in grants management or sponsored programs administration, preferably in a higher education, nonprofit, research, or public-sector setting.
• Successful record of managing proposal submissions and awards with competing deadlines accurately and in a timely manner.
• Working knowledge of federal grant regulations and experience applying institutional or funder compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to work as a member of a team and independently.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including the ability to explain contract, financial, and compliance requirements.
• Willingness to learn the full life cycle of the grant management process with an emphasis on providing excellent support services and professionalism.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) status
• Familiarity with external electronic research administration systems such as eRACommons and Research.gov.
• Experience with UTRMS, DEFINE, and external agency proposal-preparation, budget development, and submissions systems.
• Experience with the full grants and contracts life cycle from proposal through close-out.
• Experience working with faculty, PIs, and/or researchers in a higher education environment.
• Experience working with large-scale, complex grant proposals and awards.
• Demonstrated involvement in a research administration community such as participation in UT's ARA, NCURA, or other professional organizations.

Salary Range

• Grants and Contracts Specialist: $60,000+ depending on qualifications.
• Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist: $70,000+ depending on qualifications.

Working Conditions

• Typical office environment
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Employment Eligibility

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I‑9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university's company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E‑Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

Compliance

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP‑3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.