Research Administrator Senior​/Research Administrator Intermediate

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.

The Department of Materials Science & Engineering seeks a Research Administrator Senior. This position may be filled at the Intermediate level depending on the selected candidate's qualifications, experience, and departmental needs. Candidates who meet the Intermediate-level qualifications are encouraged to apply; training and professional development will be provided.

• Assisting departmental faculty in development, preparation and submission of grant and contract proposals.
• Managing the submission for complex research grant proposals to private and federal funding agencies. This includes processing all proposal paperwork including budgets, justification, current and pending, etc., working with partners to collect relevant information and ensuring submission and approval of proposals within set deadlines.
• Monitoring all proposals to meet agency and University guidelines, published timetables and deadlines.
• Facilitating the preparation of indirect cost (IDC) waiver requests.
• Coordinating cost-share requests.

• Reconciling sponsored research projects using M-Reports, M-Pathways, eReconciliation and other reporting tools to ensure appropriate use of funds.
• Meeting regularly with faculty to review award contracts, consulting with financial and administrative management of projects, and offering analysis, guidance on best practices relating to post-award management.
• Setting up new awards including sub-project requests, subcontracts, unfunded agreements, and hardship requests.
• Reviewing, encumbering, and monitoring financial transactions for appropriateness and allowability.
• Supervising the processing of invoices and monitoring of budgets.
• Ensuring compliance with sponsor terms, University policies/procedures and federal regulations.
• Researching, analyzing, and resolving sponsored project issues.
• Preparing financial status reports and sponsor reports as needed.
• Compiling financial information to process transactions (i.e., budget allocations, appointment changes and journal entries).
• Reviewing and approving travel and expense reports made on faculty-led accounts.
• Tracking GSRA, faculty and staff appointment changes on sponsored projects.

• Senior Level: Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting or business administration and 5-7 years of research administration or grants/contracts experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Intermediate Level: Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting or business administration and 3-5 years of research administration or grants/contracts experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Candidates must have excellent oral and written communication skills, attention to detail, strong interpersonal skills, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently as well as effectively in teams; must be able to work comfortably with individuals at all levels.
• The ability to read, interpret and communicate School, University, and Sponsor guidelines and policies.
• Must reliably manage responsibilities and time effectively while providing exceptional customer service in a fast-paced environment where there are often multiple, conflicting priorities.
• Be a highly dependable team player with a positive attitude, seeking to be an integral part of the Department's success.
• Have the ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced, multi-tasking environment with the ability to maintain and respect confidentiality.
• Mastery of Excel and the ability to adapt to changing technology are essential.
• Candidates will need to exhibit sound judgment, follow-through and the willingness to meet high work standards.

• Open to learning new things.
• Demonstrated experience with multi-project financial review and analysis, with the ability to track and project financial activity and commitments. Knowledge of U-M financial…