Administrative Officer , Department of Chemistry

About Berkeley

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging makes it a special place for students, faculty, and staff, who are among the most talented and accomplished anywhere, including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and Mac Arthur Fellows. Since our founding in 1868, we have been an engine for innovation - driving intellectual, economic, and social progress that benefits California, the U.S., and beyond.

Together, we change the world.

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging makes it a special place for students, faculty, and staff, who are among the most talented and accomplished anywhere, including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and Mac Arthur Fellows. Since our founding in 1868, we have been an engine for innovation - driving intellectual, economic, and social progress that benefits California, the U.S., and beyond.

Together, we change the world. At Berkeley, the best careers are built on a foundation of continuous learning and growth. We actively support professional development by providing all full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours of paid time per year and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups. We invite applicants who are inspired by our Principles of Community and who are eager to be part of our exciting Strategic Plan, which charts Berkeley's next era of excellence.

Learn more about some of our accomplishments at Points of Pride.

UC Berkeley was rated the number one public university in the US for 2026, with the Department of Chemistry rated the best program for chemistry in the world in 2023. Since 1946, UC Berkeley has won 19 Nobel Prizes for Chemistry, our most recent was awarded in 2025. The Department of Chemistry is seeking a new Faculty Support Administrator to support our top-rated research.

Our faculty address major scientific and technological challenges facing the world. Join us in our mission to advance society through education and research.

The Administrative Officer performs administrative services and manages the full general operations of one or more large, complex laboratories. This position carries out complex financial planning, management of contracts and grants, and research support functions. The Administrative Officer manages Professors' research funds with multi-million dollar annual funding from a variety of federal, state, and private sources, supporting the UC Berkeley administrative and financial needs of a broad range of research.

The First Review Date for this job is:
July 28, 2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

• Financial/Extramural Management - 30%:
  Liaison to the College of Chemistry and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) business services support units. Formulate annual operating budgets including spending projections. Audit and analyze financial reports and forecast expenses to ensure Principal Investigator (P.I.) meets financial obligations of the research group. Integrate UCB and LBNL reports to create current and accurate comprehensive financial picture to ensure fiscal integrity.
  
  Anticipate and resolve operational, fiscal or other discrepancies. Work with both UCB and LBNL relevant personnel at the facility and in the central support offices to provide overall support to this function. Oversee the post-award administration of grants, contracts, and agreements. Ensure the terms and conditions of all awards are met and manage funds in compliance with university, LBNL, DOE, federal, and state policies and regulations.
  
  Confer with Sponsored Project Office (SPO), UCB and LBNL service units on terms and conditions of awards, budget augmentation, project period, and award extension. Ensure financial integrity of research funds by regularly reviewing expenditures and comparing to budget and ensuring funds are not in overdraft. Advise research unit and P.I. on how funds can be used optimally. Analyze expenses, develop cost projections, and provide financial tracking to fulfill reporting requirements to agencies.
  
  This includes reviewing of blanket purchase orders and comparing tracking worksheets to general ledger postings. Develop, implement, and maintain internal group operating policies and procedures for operation of research, and to comply with federal, state, private grant agency rules and regulations. Allocate resource levels according to project funding. Review all grant assignments of resources and equipment.
• Contract and Grant Development, Preparation and Reporting - 25%:
  Facilitate the pre-proposal preparation process compliance with UCB, LBNL, and agency announcements,…