Contracts and Grants Specialist

IRSAY FAMILY RESEARCH INSTITUT (UA-IRSY-IUBLA)

The Irsay Institute is an interdisciplinary socio-medical sciences research institute dedicated to supporting faculty research. One goal of the Irsay Institute is to bring together university and statewide expertise around mental health and stigma issues and to look for ways to create sustainable change through networking with others and developing policy recommendations.

• Responsible for managing and overseeing grant proposal development services within the Irsay Institute for Sociomedical Sciences Research.
• Collaborates closely with project managers, principal investigators (PIs), the Office of Research Administration, the Office of Research Development, and outside entities to ensure successful grant implementation and financial management.
• Identifies funding, reviews and interprets agency guidelines, and supports proposal coordination and development, proposal writing and editing, and the submission of proposals for grants and contracts, in partnership with PIs.
• Ensures compliance with grant regulations and assist in the preparation of grant reports.
• Provides support for post-award grant management services.
• Becomes familiar with the current research activities within the Irsay to facilitate searches for funding opportunities.
• Identifies and analyzes funding opportunities from federal agencies, foundations, and other sponsors (e.g., Federal Register, National Institute of Health (NIH) Guide, program guidelines), including limited submission opportunities.
• Works closely with the Office of Research Administration (ORA) and Office of Research Development to keep the Institute abreast of internal university deadlines, policies, and procedures.
• Assists faculty and staff with documentation and administrative requirements for pending and funded projects.
• Counsels, directs, and assists faculty and staff in matters related to the preparation and submission of proposals and contracts.
• Establish timelines, coordinates proposal components, and manages the full proposal lifecycle from concept to submission.
• Develops proposal budgets and budget justifications in compliance with university, federal, and agency guidelines.
• Organizes and leads proposal development activities, including convening collaborators and facilitating team meetings.
• Provides strategic guidance on positioning proposals relative to sponsor priorities and program criteria.
• Edits and reviews proposals for clarity, consistency, compliance, and competitiveness.
• Coordinates proposal routing and submission through institutional systems in collaboration with the Office of Research Administration.
• Prepares complex proposal components including subawards, subcontract budgets, and small business plans.
• Coordinates with collaborating institutions, private foundations, and internal and external partners to support proposal development and funding acquisition.
• Provides targeted support for large, interdisciplinary, or strategic proposals, including facilitating multi-institutional collaboration.
• Ensures adherence to institutional policies, federal regulations, and sponsor guidelines throughout the grant lifecycle.
• Initiates internal documents including Kuali Coeus (KC) proposal documents, salary transfers, and general accounting adjustments related to grant activities.
• Tracks proposal status, internal approvals, and compliance requirements; initiates actions to resolve issues as needed.
• Provides backup support for post-award functions, including monitoring progress report deadlines and submissions.
• Provides financial monitoring and analysis of contracts and grants and partners with Principal Investigator(s) to ensure expenses are being paid according to contract.
• Performs post-award accounting of more complex grants; interprets regulations and guidelines of program funding for standard grants and prepares reports for grant agencies.
• Evaluates contract compliance and advises others on contractual rights and obligations.
• Analyzes awards to determine reporting requirements and sends reports/invoices.
• Prepares requests to ORA for amendments to contract terms or contract extensions.
• Analyzes and determines cash needs for cost-reimbursable grants to the various agencies and cash management.
• Closes out awards as appropriate.
• Provides policy and procedure interpretation to various stakeholders.
• Ensures compliance with sponsor terms, university policies/procedures, and federal/state regulations.
• Performs database entry and…