Post-Award Specialist

Post‑Award Specialist – University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Department: Immunology and Microbiology

Position #:

Job Summary: This position serves as a post‑award specialist providing day‑to‑day management and oversight of a diverse portfolio of sponsored projects for faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. The role ensures accurate financial stewardship from award setup through closeout, monitoring expenditures and cost share, reconciling accounts, supporting payroll distribution and cost transfers, and coordinating timely reporting and deliverables in accordance with sponsor terms, departmental, School of Medicine, and University policies.

The incumbent proactively guides on allowability and compliance, develops funding projections and spend plans, identifies risks or issues requiring resolution, and serves as a key customer‑service resource by translating sponsor requirements into clear recommendations and maintaining audit‑ready documentation.

• Oversee sponsored projects through completion, including federal and non‑federal projects.
• Ensure compliance with federal guidelines, sponsor rules, state regulations and University fiscal policies.
• Schedule meetings with faculty to provide funding forecasts and discuss business decisions.
• Reconcile direct and indirect costs, ensuring proper posting to project speedtype before close‑out.
• Process journal entries with the Finance Office and Office of Grants & Contracts.
• Monitor outstanding ePERs, perform PETs to correct effort reporting, and ensure accurate effort on projects.
• Contact sponsors regarding re‑budgeting requests, carry‑forward requests, special permission requests and guideline clarifications.
• Maintain subcontract activities for faculty, including initiation, invoicing tracking and payments.
• Reconcile Federal Financial Reports and Final Expenditure Reports to the general ledger before OGC submission and coordinate close‑out.
• Monitor regulatory changes and recommend updates to departmental post‑award procedures.
• Support the Director of Finance & Administration to evaluate future funding needs using projections and historical trends.

• Monitor payroll funding distributions and salary charges monthly; adjust funding and job codes to align with budgets and commitments.
• Coordinate with the Pre‑Award team on personnel effort reporting to ensure accurate, timely, compliant submissions.
• Process PETs and funding distribution updates for assigned speed‑types to address revised budgets, late awards, overages, surpluses and payroll‑related adjustments.

Hybrid – eligible for a hybrid schedule of days per week on campus and as needed for in‑person meetings.

• Medical, dental and additional insurance (disability, life, vision) and retirement 401(a) plan with 10% employer contribution.
• Paid time off accruals; vacation days 22/year, sick days 15/year, holiday days 10/year.
• Tuition benefit and access to the CU Advantage program.
• ECO Pass for reduced rate RTD bus and light rail service.

• Minimum Qualifications
  • Bachelor’s degree in a related field (public health, public administration, nursing, finance, etc.) and 1 year of professional experience in post‑award management.
  • Substitution: a combination of education and related experience may be substituted on a year‑for‑year basis.
• Preferred Qualifications
  • Intermediate to advanced computer skills, especially in Microsoft Excel.
  • Experience with sponsored programs accounting and managing T32 training grants.
  • Experience in an academic medical/research setting or higher education institution.
• Knowledge,
  
  Skills and Abilities
  
  
  • Effective written and oral communication.
  • Ability to establish and maintain relationships across the institution.
  • Outstanding customer service skills.
  • Thorough understanding of University fiscal policy and state and federal rules.
  • Ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize with competing deadlines.
  • Problem‑solving using independent judgment and critical thinking.
  • Strong organizational and detail orientation.
  • Teamwork and interpersonal communication.
  • Knowledge of standard accounting policies and…