Grants And Contracts Administrator; Homebased

Position: Grants And Contracts Administrator (Homebased)
Job Title:

Grants and Contracts Administrator

Job Description

The Grants and Contracts Administrator supports complex, large-scale scientific research by coordinating the full lifecycle of sponsored projects, from proposal development through post-award financial management and closeout. This role partners closely with principal investigators and scientific teams to ensure that grant proposals are accurate, compliant, and competitive, and that awarded funds are managed responsibly across multi-million-dollar, multi-site portfolios. The position offers the opportunity to work on high-impact research in areas such as HIV and oncology within a sophisticated, mission-driven research environment.

Responsibilities

+ Prepare and assemble complete proposal packages for complex, multi-million-dollar NIH and other federal grant submissions, ensuring accuracy across budgets, salary data, biosketches, facilities statements, and all required administrative components.

+ Construct detailed proposal budgets and budget justifications, validating salary calculations, fringe benefit rates, escalation assumptions, and indirect cost applications across numerous fund codes when applicable.

+ Coordinate with principal investigators and scientific teams to gather scientific aims, resource needs, and personnel effort commitments, ensuring alignment with sponsor guidelines and institutional policies.

+ Manage 5-7 concurrent proposal submissions in a high-volume environment, meeting tight deadlines while maintaining data integrity and attention to detail.

+ Route proposals through institutional systems (such as SPS/ORA/ORS), ensuring compliance with internal review processes, sponsor requirements, and federal regulations.

+ Interpret and apply sponsor-specific requirements for agencies such as NIH, the Department of Defense, foundations, and subcontracting institutions to ensure compliant and competitive submissions.

+ Monitor proposal progress and deadlines, advising principal investigators on required approvals, protocol submissions, and administrative dependencies.

+ Oversee the full financial lifecycle of an assigned portfolio of grants and contracts, including large, multi-project NIH awards and complex subrecipient arrangements.

+ Reconcile monthly financial statements across multiple fund codes, identifying variances, resolving discrepancies, and preparing cost adjustments or transfers as needed.

+ Monitor spending patterns for personnel, equipment, travel, supplies, and service contracts to ensure expenditures align with sponsor-approved budgets and project timelines.

+ Approve and track procurement activity, ensuring correct allocation of expenses and timely clearing of obligations and encumbrances.

+ Prepare and submit rebudgeting requests, carry forward justifications, and other sponsor-required financial actions in accordance with institutional and sponsor policies.

+ Manage subrecipient agreements by establishing reporting requirements, monitoring invoice accuracy, and ensuring compliance with institutional and federal standards.

+ Advise principal investigators on fiscal performance by providing projections, burn rate analyses, and recommendations to maintain compliance and avoid overdrafts.

+ Coordinate project closeout activities, ensuring that all expenditures, subrecipient invoices, reports, and financial reconciliations meet sponsor and institutional deadlines.

+ Manage a dynamic portfolio that may range from approximately 10 smaller studies to 1-3 larger, highly complex studies at any given time.

+ Consistently meet pre-award deadlines without sacrificing data integrity and ensure efficient, accurate closeout of grant financials in the post-award phase.

Essential Skills

+ At least 2 years of experience in research administration at an academic research institution, with exposure to pre-award and/or post-award responsibilities.

+ Strong knowledge of federal regulations and sponsor stipulations related to research grants, particularly for agencies such as NIH and the Department of Defense.

+ Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite for document preparation, data analysis, and communication.

+ Experience using SAP or similar budgeting and financial management systems.

+ Familiarity with SPS or comparable sponsored projects systems for pre-award data tracking and proposal routing.

+ Demonstrated ability to manage multiple, concurrent deadlines in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.

+ Strong analytical skills for budget development, financial reconciliation, and variance analysis.

+ Excellent attention to detail and commitment to maintaining data integrity across complex funding portfolios.

+ Effective written and verbal communication skills for collaborating with faculty, scientists, and administrative stakeholders.

+ Ability to interpret and apply sponsor guidelines, institutional policies, and federal regulations to proposals and award management.

+ Proven ability to work independently while also contributing to a collaborative, team-oriented…