Sponsored Projects Splst,Sr

The University of New Mexico; Albuquerque, Northern (NM, KY); Hybrid; USD 43,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of New Mexico’s Office of Sponsored Projects seeks a Sr. Sponsored Projects Specialist to review proposals, approve budgets, and process awards for the research community.

You will ensure compliance with sponsor policies and university guidelines and support accurate, timely submissions. The role emphasizes customer service, professional communication, and reliable data management while interacting with sponsors, administrators, and principal investigators.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree; at least 1 year of related experience.
• Experience interpreting policies and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Review proposals and budgets for compliance with sponsor policies and regulations.
• Endorse completed proposals and submit to extramural sponsors.
• Review new awards and modifications for compliance with policies and regulations.
• Prepare, process, and finalize award set-up.
• Navigate electronic research portals to process actions.
• Coordinate with compliance offices to ensure PI meets minimum requirements.
• Provide high level customer service and assist as liaison with agencies and investigators.
• Support continuous improvement and accurate record-keeping.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Enterprise research portals

Job description

Sponsored Projects Splst,Sr

Join our Team!
The University of New Mexico’s Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) is looking for a motivated, detail-oriented self-starter for the role of Sr. Sponsored Projects Specialist, to join our team of professionals. OSP is a core office of the University, serving the Main and Branch Campus research communities. OSP provides administration, management, and oversight of the world class extramural sponsored research projects being conducted at our R1 Carnegie-designated University.
We provide an exciting, multifaceted, and fast-paced work environment that emphasizes customer service, professionalism, and growth. As one of the top employers of the state, UNM is a great place to work and offers great benefits including: medical, dental and vision insurance; flexible spending accounts; discounts on events; generous leave allowances; holiday paid time off; tuition remission and competitive retirement plans.
What we’re seeking!
This staff position supports one or more functional areas. The function of the Sr. Sponsored Projects Specialist position is to provide sponsored projects knowledge and professional skills to the research community. This position will provide internal proposal review, approval and submission processing to external funding agencies. This position will also provide award acceptance and set-up processing of sponsored research grants and contracts in the form of new awards as well as amendments to existing awards. To be successful in this position, the candidate must be knowledgeable of regulatory compliance both internally through UNM policies, but also familiar with external polices including but not limited to state/federal agencies, OMB Uniform Guidance, and Federal Acquisition Regulations.
The selected candidate will have the ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills, problem recognition and problem-solving ability, independent analysis and judgement, strong attention to detail, and keen organizational skills. A strong candidate will demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate with a variety of stakeholders in a positive tone using clear and concise messaging (in both oral and written communication), while balancing compliance with customer service. The candidate will be able to demonstrate their ability to utilize an enterprise-wide system as a resourceful tool to access historical information and maintain accurate, detailed records. The candidate will be responsible for assuring quality control within the assigned duties as well as within our systems.
Key responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

• Review proposals and budgets for compliance with sponsor policies, University policy, State and Federal regulations, including but not limited to 2CFR 200 Uniform Guidance.
• Endorse completed proposals and submit to extramural sponsors.
• Review new awards and modifications to agreements for compliance with University policy, State and Federal regulations, including but not limited to 2CFR 200 Uniform Guidance.
• Prepare, process, and finalize award set-up.
• Demonstrate the ability to navigate and utilize various electronic research portals to process actions.
• Maintain knowledge of and interpret applicable policies, regulations and procedures from the University, State and Federal government, granting agencies, and various private foundations and industries.
• Effectively communicate with and serve as a liaison between sponsoring agencies, University administration, and Principal Investigators to resolve internal policy, solicitation or award-related concerns and issues.
• Coordinate with compliance offices (e.g. Export Control (EC), Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI), Internal Review Board (IRB)) to ensure PI meets the minimum requirements for sponsored project actions.
• Review and negotiate sponsored agreements with federal, state and private industry sponsors.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of processes to maximize and streamline for efficiency and effectiveness.
• Provide the highest level of customer service; and
• Complete other duties or special projects as assigned.

During the probationary period, new employees are trained on-site in the Office of Sponsored Projects. After the probationary period is complete, and new employees have successfully demonstrated completion of workload actions according to standard operating procedures and maintained consistency in production volume, the option to enter into hybrid or remote arrangements in coordination with OSP Management may be available.

See the Position Description for additional information.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree; at least 1 year of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.

Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and comfortable working in computer database systems.
• Excellent customer service and strong sense of professionalism
• Strong verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.
• Self-motivated and resourceful with the ability to work autonomously with a significant degree of organization and interpersonalskills to work efficiently with a wide range of constituents and as a member of a team.
• Skilled in time management and ability to use good business judgement.

Additional Requirements

Flexible work options may be permitted. Requires on-site onboarding during initial training with opportunity for hybrid and local remote options.

Campus

Main - Albuquerque, NM

Department

Sponsored Projects - Main - Branch (798H2)

Employment Type

Staff

Staff Type

Regular - Full-Time

Pay

Monthly: $3,882.67 -$6,238.27 Depending on Education and Experience. (salary range non-negotiable)

Benefits Eligible

This is a benefits eligible position. The University of New Mexico provides a comprehensive package of benefits including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. In addition, UNM offers educational benefits through the tuition remission and dependent education programs. See the Benefits home page for more information.

ERB Statement

As a condition of employment, eligible employees working greater than .25 FTE as determined by the New Mexico Education Retirement Act must make mandatory retirement contributions. For more information, review the Benefits Eligibility at a Glance grid.

Background Check Required

Yes

For Best Consideration Date

9/22/2026

Eligible for Hiring Incentive

No

Eligible for Remote Work

Yes

Eligible for Remote Work Statement

At the discretion of management, the selected candidate may have the opportunity to work hybrid or remote after demonstrating they can work effectively work independently.

Positions posted with a Staff Type of Regular or Term are eligible for the Veteran Preference Program. See the Veteran Preference Program webpage for additional details.

The University of New Mexico is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.

The University of New Mexico requires all regular staff positions successfully pass a pre-employment background check. This may include, but is not limited to, a criminal history background check, New Mexico Department of Health fingerprint screening, New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department fingerprint screening, verification of education credentials, and/or verification of prior employment. For more information about background checks, visit https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3280.html. Refer to https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3200.html for a definition of Regular Staff.