Unit Research Administrator

Job Description

Hiring Salary: $60,000 to $65,000 annually

The University of South Florida College of Education serves a community of over 2,200 students and 130 faculty members dedicated to advancing high-quality education through excellence in research, teaching, and learning. Accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and fully approved by the Florida Department of Education, the college offers innovative teacher training and collaborative graduate programs aimed at developing educational leaders.

In partnership with school districts across the Tampa Bay region, the college is committed to extending proven educational initiatives and exploring new approaches to preparing lifelong learners. Whether pursuing initial teaching certification or advancing professional development through graduate studies, the college provides comprehensive resources and support to help students achieve their educational and career goals.

This position acts as a primary contact between Principal Investigators and Sponsored Research on the identification, development, review, submission and subsequent administration of grants and contracts. This position supports researchers by preparing budget projections, developing materials for compliance analysis, and advising the researchers concerning the review of the proposals by Sponsored Research. This position requires the knowledge of federal sponsor agency guidelines and regulations (NSF, NIH, NEH, etc.),

OMB Uniform Guidance, and private sponsor agency (private foundation, corporate) guidelines. In addition, this position must interpret and apply varied Federal, State, and University policies and regulations through the entire proposal and contract process. After awards are made the position provides guidance to researchers on administrative steps such as setting up accounts, reconciling the projects on a regular basis, reviewing and approving invoices and financial reports prepared by Sponsored Research, preparing expenditure transfers and override requests with supporting justification, and reviewing the final reconciliation of the projects prepared by Sponsored Research.

Duties/Responsibilities:

Post Award Management: Responsible for the oversight and support to Principal Investigators, project staff, and COEDU administration in the following areas of post‑award management. Awards underwrite accounts properly assessing risk; prepares and oversees award setup; develops and modifies as necessary sub‑recipient agreements; processes all financial transactions including payroll distribution monitoring and cost transfers; work with department Chair/staff on resource commitments to confirm available funds for hiring projected personnel funded by grants/contracts.

Coordinate with department staff on preparing hiring documents and processing of grant paid tuition payments; monitors effort reporting process; identifying and tracks cost sharing and matching requirements and documentation; assists with obtaining sponsor approvals for non‑budgeted financial transactions or changes; preparation of monthly ledgers and reconciliation reports; annual and award financial closeouts; assists with responses to audits and post‑project requests.

Reconciles projects, research initiative accounts, start‑up, retention, and carry‑forward accounts on a monthly basis, prepares documents.

Proposal Development and Pre‑Award: Works closely with faculty in the development of proposals while ensuring compliance with applicable sponsor, University Sponsored Research, Foundation and College of Education regulations, guidelines and processes. Provides technical assistance to facilitate the development of grant proposals and assists faculty with submitting proposals to various agencies. Assists in critical review, writing, and editing of research proposal. Calculates budgets and ensures inclusion of all appropriate and required elements including direct and indirect costs, cost share, program income, etc.

Assists in developing budget justifications, review of sub‑recipient budgets and justifications, and ensures…