Senior Research Administrator - Post-Award Finance & Compliance

Responsibilities

The Senior Research Administrator - Post-Award Finance & Compliance provides the financial compliance backbone of the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), managing the technical accounting, budgetary, and providing support to the Executive Director, Research Administration and PIs on all stewardship functions of the award portfolio from setup through closeout. This role owns Oracle award and budget administration, subaward financial processing, effort and labor cost distribution, cost transfers (OTPS reclasses), purchase order monitoring, and account closeout, ensuring the institution's sponsored funds are accurately recorded, compliant with sponsor and federal requirements (including 2 CFR 200 / Uniform Guidance), and audit-ready at all times.

This role sits under the Executive Director of Research Administration, providing the dedicated financial stewardship and control lane of the OSP operating model. The incumbent partners closely with Research Accounting, Finance, and Legal on official financial reporting, drawdowns, and accounting entries, while retaining day-to-day ownership of award financial administration within OSP. The role also leans on cross-functional colleagues (e.g., Research Administration Coordinator and the Program Manager for Tech Transfer and Post Award) as needed to complete portfolio work.

The incumbent is expected to advise the Executive Director, Research Administration in the building of institutional SOPs and documentation for post-award financial processes, demonstrate adherence to them, and support the Executive Director in maturing OSP's financial control environment as the department grows from a lean, foundational team into a fully resourced research administration function.

Award Financial Setup & Oracle Administration:

* Provide the necessary information to the Research Administration Coordinator for the set up and maintenance of newly awarded projects in Oracle, including award, contract, and D-project account creation, ensuring accurate budget, sponsor, extending award dates and budgets as needed, and account structure per NYBC naming conventions.

* Oversee the Research Administration Coordinator to process budget increases and decreases in Oracle Contracts and Awards modules, including revising budget memos, updating planning resources, and creating baselines.

* Set up new vendors in Oracle and coordinate award naming structure changes as needed.

* Support the Program Manager, Tech Transfer and Post Award to oversee due diligence of sub-awardees is conducted, reviewed by the Executive Director, Research Administration (who will coordinate with legal and Finance), and properly documented in shared folders.

* Maintain accurate, current award and financial data across Oracle and other tracking systems in support of portfolio visibility and leadership reporting.

Subaward Financial Administration:

* Prepare and process subaward agreement and amendment packages (FDP templates and attachments), coordinating with Legal, the subrecipient, and Purchase Order (PO) issuance.

* Track subaward budget periods, funding increments, no-cost extensions, carryover, and deobligations, and ensure agreements and amendments are named, filed, and tracked per OSP protocol.

* Monitor subrecipient invoices and financial reporting against subaward terms, escalating risk or compliance issues as needed.

Post-Award Stewardship, Reclassification & Cost Transfers:

* Prepare and process OTPS (other-than-personal-service) reclass forms, obtaining account owner approval and following through with accounting to completion, with clear, audit-ready justifications for any cost transfer.

* Coordinate effort and labor distribution/reclass processes each payroll cycle, including overage account updates in the award module, PaaS coordination, and preparation of labor distribution memos.

* Process unobligated balance transfers and other Oracle reclasses, ensuring appropriate support documentation and approvals are on file.

* Monitor purchase orders (PO) for sponsored accounts, and manage commitment changes, cancellations, and related budget actions.

Reporting, Invoicing & Closeout:

* Support preparation and submission of cost-reimbursable invoices in accordance with sponsor and award requirements.

* Support RPPR (Research Performance Progress Report) initiation and coordination with PIs and Research Accounting.

* Coordinate award and D-account closeout activities, including PI confirmation, wrap-up communications, and milestone/FFS closeout documentation.

* Assist with reconciliation of award budgets and expenditures, and support preparation of financial and progress reports as needed.

Compliance, Documentation & Cross-Functional Coordination:

* Partner with Research Accounting on official financial reporting, drawdowns, and accounting entries, maintaining clear written boundaries between OSP financial stewardship and Research Accounting's institutional reporting role.

* Support development, documentation, and version…