Subrecipient and Post-Award Specialist

American University; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

American University is seeking a Subrecipient & Post-Award Specialist to provide specialized post-award administration for subawards and related third-party agreements. You will ensure compliance with sponsor requirements, federal regulations, and AU policies, coordinating with Procurement, Legal, and Risk to maintain audit-ready records.

Under the guidance of the Senior Manager of Grants & Contracts, you will manage subrecipient risk, monitoring, and documentation while supporting audits and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent required.
• 2–4 years of contract/subaward administration experience.
• Ability to apply sponsor requirements to contracts and compliance.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills with attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

Responsibilities

• Administer grant-related third-party agreements for which AU is issuing party.
• Create, execute, and manage subawards and subaward amendments.
• Draft and administer grant-related PSAs and Sponsored Consulting Agreements.
• Maintain supplier contracts and records in AU systems.
• Ensure flow-down of sponsor terms and institutional policies.
• Process modifications, extensions, and closeouts for grant-related agreements.
• Serve as ORSA point of contact for contractual matters.
• Coordinate with faculty, Procurement, Legal, Risk, and others to resolve issues.
• Maintain audit-ready institutional records for all agreements.
• Identify high-risk issues and escalate for review.

Skills

Organizational skills

Time management

Communication skills

Independent work

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Workday

Cayuse

Job description

American University is a student-centered research institutionlocated in Washington, DC, with highly-ranked schools and colleges,internationally-renowned faculty, and a reputation for creatingmeaningful change in the world. Learn more about American University.

Department:

SO000016

Time Type:

Full time

Job Type:

Regular

FLSA Status:

Exempt

Work Modality:

Hybrid 02 (On Campus 2 days/Week)

Union:

SEIU Local 500 - Provost & Enrollment Division

This position is part of a collective bargaining unit representedby SEIU Local 500 - Provost & Enrollment Division. That meansthe terms and conditions of your employment are governedbyuniversity policy (including the Staff Personnel Policies Manual)and any collective bargaining agreement entered into betweenAmerican University and SEIU Local 500 - Provost & Enrollment Division.

Job Description:

Summary:

This position provides specialized post-award administrativesupport for the institutional management of subawards and othergrant-related third-party agreements associated with a designatedsubset of externally funded research, education, service, training,and other sponsored programs. This includes subawards, SponsoredConsulting Agreements, and grant-related Professional ServicesAgreements (PSAs) for which American University is the issuingparty.

The Subrecipient & Post-Award Specialist serves as theinstitutional authority for the preparation, coordination, andongoing administration of these agreements within AmericanUniversity’s systems of record, including responsibility forenforcing contractual compliance and institutional subrecipientmonitoring requirements.

Operating under the functional guidance of and reporting to adesignated Senior Manager of Grants & Contracts, theSubrecipient & Post-Award Specialist ensures that allgrant-related third-party agreements comply with sponsorrequirements, federal regulations, and AU policies and are preparedand routed for institutional review and execution by designatedAuthorized Organizational Representatives (AORs). The role works inclose partnership with Procurement and Legal to ensure contractualintegrity, regulatory flow-down, institutional alignment, andaudit-ready subrecipient records across all grant-fundedthird-party agreements.

Essential Functions:

1.) Grant-Related Third-Party Agreement Administration

• Serves as the institutional authority for the creation,execution, and ongoing administration of a designated set ofgrant-related third-party agreements for which American Universityis the issuing party, including subawards, Sponsored ConsultingAgreements, and grant-related Professional Services Agreements(PSAs).
• Creates, executes, and administers subawards and subawardamendments in accordance with sponsor requirements, federalregulations, and AU policies.
• Creates, executes, and administers grant-related ProfessionalServices Agreements (PSAs) and Sponsored Consulting Agreementsassociated with externally funded projects.
• Establishes and maintains supplier contracts and relatedrecords for all grant-related third-party agreements in AU’ssystems of record.
• Ensures appropriate flow-down of sponsor terms, regulatoryrequirements, and institutional policies into all grant-relatedthird-party agreements.
• Processes modifications, extensions, and closeout actions forall grant-related third-party agreements.
• Serves as the primary ORSA point of contact for contractual andadministrative matters related to grant-funded third-partyagreements.
• Coordinates with faculty, unit administrators, Procurement,Legal, Risk, and other offices to resolve contractual orsystem-related issues.
• Maintains accurate, complete, and audit-ready institutionalrecords for all grant-related third-party agreements.
• Identifies nonstandard, complex, or high-risk third-partyagreement issues and escalates them to the Senior Manager forinstitutional review and resolution.

2.) Subrecipient Risk Management & Compliance Review

• Leads institutional subrecipient risk management and compliancereview functions in accordance with federal regulations, sponsorrequirements, and AU policies.
• Implements and enforces institutional subrecipient monitoringrequirements under Uniform Guidance and sponsor policies.
• Conducts subrecipient risk assessments and supports risk-basedclassification and monitoring levels.
• Tracks required subrecipient certifications, auditdocumentation, and compliance attestations.
• Maintains institutional records related to subrecipient riskdeterminations and monitoring activities.
• Coordinates follow-up on missing, late, or noncompliantsubrecipient documentation and escalates concerns asappropriate.
• Supports audits, sponsor reviews, and internal monitoringactivities related to subrecipient compliance.
• Collaborates with Senior Managers, faculty, unitadministrators, and central offices to resolve subrecipientcompliance issues.

3.) Outreach, Training & Professional Development

• Participates in research administration training programs forthe University community. This includes attending quarterly grantroundtable meetings and department meetings and participating inthe University Research Administrator Certification Trainingprogram. Remains up-to-date with all University, federal and funderfinancial and budgetary guidelines related to externally fundedgrants and contracts.

4.) Additional Duties

• Additional responsibilities as assigned or requested by theVice Provost for Research and Innovation, Director of SponsoredAwards, or Associate Director of Sponsored Awards.

Competencies:

• Serving Customers.
• Making Accurate Judgments and Decisions.
• Acquiring and Analyzing Information.
• Supporting Coworkers.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

• Full-time.
• 35 hours per week.

Salary Range:

• $70,000.00 - $75,000.00 annually.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• 2 - 4 years of relevant experience in contract administration,subaward administration, procurement, or a closely related field,with demonstrated responsibility for post-award or third-partyagreement functions in a professional environment, includingfamiliarity with contract terms, modifications, and closeoutprocesses.
• Demonstrated ability to apply institutional policies andsponsor requirements to real-world contract and compliancescenarios with a high degree of accuracy and attention todetail.
• Evidence of strong organizational and time management skills,including the ability to manage multiple concurrent actions, trackstatus, meet deadlines, and maintain audit-readydocumentation.
• Strong technical aptitude, including the ability to work withdata, contracts, and system records in a highly regulatedenvironment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, includingthe ability to communicate effectively with faculty,administrators, Procurement, Legal, and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently with minimalsupervision while collaborating effectively with cross-functionalteams across the institution.

Preferred Education and Experience:

• Master's degree.
• Experience in higher education.
• 3 - 5 years of relevant experience in sponsored researchadministration, contract administration, subaward administration,procurement, or a closely related field, with demonstratedresponsibility for post-award or third-party agreement functions ina research or higher education environment.
• Demonstrated experience in the preparation, administration, orcoordination of subawards, third-party agreements, or grant-relatedcontracts, including familiarity with contract terms,modifications, and closeout processes.
• Working knowledge of governing regulations related to sponsoredprojects and subawards, including OMB Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200)and, as applicable, the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).
• Experience working with enterprise systems related to sponsoredresearch, procurement, or finance (e.g., Workday, Cayuse, orcomparable platforms) and the ability to reconcile and maintainaccurate records across multiple systems.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications:

• Knowledge of academic institutions and the federal governmentenvironment.
• Exhibits special aptitude for critical and analytical thought,project conceptualization and examination of compliance, legal, andresearch issues.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain collegial and collaborativeworking relationships with faculty and staff; ability to relate tofaculty member’s projects and research interests on a professionallevel.

Other Duties:

• Please note this job description is not designed to cover orcontain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties orresponsibilities that are required of the employee for this job.Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time withor without notice.

Benefits

AU offers a competitive benefits package. Click here to learn about American University's unique benefitoptions .

Other Details

• Hiring offers for this position are contingent on successfulcompletion of a background check.
• Employees in staff positions at American University mustdeliver their services to the university from either the Districtof Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at theuniversity.
• Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover orcontain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties orresponsibilities that are required of the employee for this job.Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any timewith or without notice.
• American University is an E-Verify employer.

Current American University Employees

American University current employees must apply through theiremployee Workday account. If you are a current employee at AmericanUniversity, please log into Workday and select the Find Jobs reportwhich will take you to our internal career listings.

Contact Us

For more information or assistance with the American Universitycareers site, email [e-mail].

American University is an equal opportunity, affirmative actioninstitution that operates in compliance with applicable laws andregulations. The university does not discriminate on the basis ofrace, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy),age, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, personalappearance, gender identity and expression, familyresponsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, veteranstatus, an individual’s genetic information or any other basesunder federal or local laws (collectively "Protected Bases") in itsprograms and activities.