Depart Grant Administrator II-III

General Summary: 

The Departmental Grant Administrator (DGA) is a three-level series that supports the Institute for Community Inclusion and the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development.  This series will provide routine oversight and management of the research grant portfolios of multiple Principal Investigators (PI’s) by researching, preparing, and monitoring externally funded grants, contracts and cooperative agreements. The Departmental Grant Administrator will be responsible for account maintenance; processing personnel actions; forecasting, expenditure reporting, as well as account allocations; and maintaining grant records in compliance with university and research sponsor policies. The incumbents will work closely with each PI on all aspects of the administration of his/her research project, including provision of analysis and modifications and assisting with special projects, when needed. The Departmental Grant Administrator will work in collaboration with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) and other central administrative units at the University; and may supervise other grants administration staff. 

Organizational Levels:  The organizational levels currently open in this series include:

• Departmental Grant Administrator II.  The DGA II is the second-level professional job in this series.

• Departmental Grant Administrator III.  The DGA III is the third-level professional job in this series.

Examples of Duties: 

• Provide technical assistance to Principal Investigators (PI’s) by preparing and ensuring completeness of funding proposals; review project budgets, obtain and verify necessary approvals, and when appropriate, recommend changes to applications with input from higher level department/grant administrators;
• Support PI’s in the processing of non-competing continuations, progress reports, supplements and other award/ agreement amendments;
• Create purchase orders, process invoices and travel expense reports, and submit personal action forms;
• Monitor monthly budget reports, salary costs, supply costs, and staff and/or faculty effort on each research project to ensure that expenses do not exceed revenues and awards are expensed with appropriate fiscal management and in a manner consistent with University and research sponsor policies and practices; utilize software applications for projecting future expenses;
• Maintain familiarity of sponsor terms and conditions specific to Administrator’s grant portfolio;
• Provide technical assistance to PI’s with contract administration, budgetary compliance, and reporting of grants;
• Assist the ORSP Billing, Accounts Receivable and Financial Analysis team within the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) with outreach to sponsors regarding invoicing and outstanding payments, as needed;
• Assist higher level Grant Administrators with collecting information and documentation for external or internal auditors in their examination of active and terminated projects;
• Liaise as necessary with ORSP pre-award, post-award and compliance staff, or other central university departments;
•  Assist with other research administration tasks as required or requested;
• In conjunction with PI’s, prepare budgets and budget justifications for sponsored program proposals.
• Develop and maintain accurate records for each research project and prepare project summary reports for the Director of Finance, ORSP and the Director and/or Associate Dean;
• Assist in the orientation and training of new grant administrators;
• Assist with ORSP and departmental training for PI’s and faculty;
• Provide guidance to junior grant administrators during proposal submission process;
• Liaise with external grant managers on subcontracts and grant applications and renewals;
• Exhibit understanding of sub-recipient monitoring requirements;
• Maintain familiarity with applicable federal regulations, policies, guidelines, latest applications and amendments;
• Attend campus meetings (e.g. Finance & Advisory Committee) as appropriate.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

 Distinguishing Characteristics between Departmental Grant Administrator II and III :   

• Orient and train new grant administrators and provide guidance to level I and II staff;
• Responsible for upholding sponsor requirements, procedures and acknowledging areas of interest; detect areas where new regulations need to be understood and interpreted;
• Ensure all applicable federal regulations, policies, guidelines, latest applications and amendments are upheld;
• Oversee collection and dissemination of materials requested by external or internal auditors, through ORSP, in their examination of active and terminated projects;
• Assist in the development and implementation of departmental policies and procedures and participate in initiatives to improve departmental processes related to the conduct of sponsored programs;
• May provide assistance and consultation on job development and other human resources management for staff on the grant;
• Coordinate specialized training activities along with ORSP staff related to sponsored programs;
• Represent the PI and the Director of Finance at meetings with other units of the university concerning research administration functions.

Qualifications: 

Qualifications for Level II :   

Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in business, finance or a similar area relevant to grant administration, and three-five years of professional experience in sponsored programs in an academic, non-profit or equivalent setting is required.  Demonstrated financial management experience required.  Experience with proposal submission and RFPs, as well as post-award functions involving several types of award mechanisms, including grants, contracts, sub-contracts and cooperative agreements required.  Membership in professional organizations, such as Society of Research Administrators (SRA) and/or National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) preferred.  Certified Research Administrator (CRA) is preferred.  Familiarity with: human-subject compliance, intellectual property, conflict of interest, procurement, property management, environmental health and safety, and human resources is preferred. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities for the Level II Position:

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite especially Excel and proficiency with PeopleSoft or a similar robust financial accounting system;
• Working knowledge of OMB Uniform Guidance for institutions of higher education or non-profit organizations;
• Working knowledge of and experience meeting audit requests; 
• Ability to understand and apply university policies and procedures, as well as the laws, rules and regulations pertaining to grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, sub-recipients;
• Ability to work independently within the department and with other central administrative units of the university;
• Ability to obtain information from the enterprise database system and to understand sponsored program financial reports and related documents;
• Ability to maintain accurate records and to prepare summary reports;
• Ability to act with discretion and judgment and maintenance of confidentiality is vital;
• Ability to be flexible and highly organized;
• Effective analytical and creative problem solving skills, with the ability to prioritize and work under pressure in a deadline oriented environment;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
• Strong commitment to customer service. 
• Skill in the use of electronic sponsored program services systems is requisite (e.g. NSF Fastlane, Grants.gov, eCommons);

• Ability to exercise independent judgment especially during proposal submission process and in response to audit requests;
• Ability to develop project workflow and timeline documents;

Qualifications for Level III :

Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in business, finance or a similar area relevant to grant administration, Master’s Degree in research administration, business, finance or similar area preferred, and five-seven years of professional experience in sponsored programs in an academic, non-profit or equivalent setting is required.  Demonstrated post-award financial management experience with all types of award mechanisms, including grants, contract, subcontracts and cooperative agreements required.  Demonstrated knowledge of program administration guidelines of both Federal and non-Federal funding agencies is required.  International contracting experience preferred.  Additional expertise in: human-subject compliance, intellectual property, conflict of interest and sub-contract procurement preferred.  Working knowledge of additional federal agency regulations beyond OMB Uniform Guidance, including PHS Grants Policy Statement and FAR preferred. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for the Level III position include those listed above for the Level II, as well as the following:

• Advanced skill in the use of electronic sponsored program services systems is requisite (e.g. NSF Fastlane, Grants.gov, eCommons);

• Ability to and experience with managing, supervising and retaining research administration staff;

Application Instructions: 

Please apply online with your resume, cover letter and list of three professional references.

Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date. 

Only Internal candidates in the Professional Staff Bargaining Unit will be considered during the first 10 business days of the posting.  All other candidates will be considered after that period. 

Salary Ranges for the appropriate Pay Grade can be found at the following link: 

Grade: 32              

Salary Ranges

This is an exempt union position. This is a grant funded position with a current end date TBD, subject to renewal contingent on funding and university needs.

All official salary offers must be approved by Human Resources.

UMass Boston requires all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and to confirm proof of their vaccination status. Exemptions from the vaccine requirement will be permitted only for qualifying religious or medical reasons.