Senior Pre-Award Research Admin Lead (Hybrid)

University-of-North-Carolina-At-Chapel-Hil; Chapel Hill (NC); Hybrid; USD 77,000 - 94,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Professional development

Job summary

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeks a Senior Research Administration Specialist (Pre-Award Focus). You will lead the development and submission of complex sponsored proposals, partnering with faculty and research teams to turn ideas into competitive funding opportunities.

The role combines expert pre-award work with mentorship and strategic planning. Ideal candidates bring deep pre-award experience, strong project management skills, and the ability to guide multi-investigator

Qualifications

• Experience in pre-award research administration, including proposal development, budgeting, and sponsor compliance.
• Ability to interpret and apply federal, state, and private sponsor guidelines.
• Experience developing complex proposal budgets with personnel forecasting, cost-sharing, and multi-year projections.
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex projects with deadlines, deliverables, and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience coordinating multi-investigator and multi-institutional proposals.
• Ability to develop and implement project plans, timelines, and tracking tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for proposal materials.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with faculty, staff, and external partners.
• Experience mentoring peers or junior staff and promoting best practices in research administration.
• Proficiency in Excel and related tools; comfortable with RAMSeS, Cayuse, PeopleSoft, and Infoporte.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and submission of complex sponsored research proposals.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in proposal development, sponsor guidelines, and research administration processes.
• Independently manage a portfolio of highly complex proposals across units.
• Mentor and train research administration staff; promote process improvements.
• Coordinate timelines, deliverables, and communications among PIs, teams, and central offices.
• Provide limited post-award support including award setup and compliance guidance.

Skills

Research Administration

Pre-award experience

Project Management

Leadership & Mentorship

Budgeting & Planning

Communication & Collaboration

Stakeholder Management

Process Improvement

Team coordination

Autonomy

Time management

Mentoring staff

Education

Masters degree

Bachelors degree

Tools

RAMSeS

Cayuse

PeopleSoft

Infoporte

Microsoft Excel

Job description

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeks a Senior Research Administration Specialist (Pre-Award Focus). You will lead the development and submission of complex sponsored proposals, partnering with faculty and research teams to turn ideas into competitive funding opportunities.

The role combines expert pre-award work with mentorship and strategic planning. Ideal candidates bring deep pre-award experience, strong project management skills, and the ability to guide multi-investigator