Lead, Research Administration (Sponsor Specialist)

Provide direct support and serve as a liaison to departments regarding pre and post award grant development for Baylor researchers. Requires extensive knowledge of grant application programs and processes favored by BCM investigators, acquired through education or experience.  This role will work in the central Office of Research supporting Baylor College of Medicine departments and centers.

This position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule.

Employees with CRA certification are eligible for certification pay.

Job Duties

• Provide grant program expertise, financial expertise, and guidance related to sponsored research and educational grant application development for faculty, postdocs and graduate students pursuing independent funding.
• Coordinate directly with Faculty needing assistance and support to develop individual and multi-program proposals, including assistance with grant proposal application systems such as Assist, Fastlane, Research.gov, grants.gov, CPRIT, and ProposalCentral.
• Provide budget preparation assistance to assure correct faculty effort/salary calculations, SSO categorical breakdown, subcontract calculations and indirect cost calculations. This may require coordination with subcontracting organizations for their institutional data and forms for the application.
• Serve as grants liaison between faculty, Baylor College of Medicine, national and international institutions, and/or federal/private funding agencies.
• Review and analyze IRB protocols for relevance to pending applications and advise applicants of IRB renewals, personal training and certifications required prior to application submission.
• Consult with faculty or learners regarding funding opportunities, eligibility, and application requirements for sponsored funding. Opportunities can range from simple fellowship grants to highly complex multi-program grants, training awards and contracts.
• Review and assist applicants or departments in preparing, entering, and certifying summary data in the College’s electronic Biomedical Research and Assurance Information Network (BRAIN).
• Help prepare applications for internal funding of grants, pilot projects and institutionally supported priority programs.
• Review faculty-staff communication, and quality of the submission process.
• Make recommendations for process revisions and lead the development and continuous improvement of the pre-award grants management process.
• Active participant and presenter in SPOKE and SPO and related workshops to extend and enhance application expertise among research faculty and learners.
• Ensure compliance with all guidelines.
• Communicates with a wide range of researchers both basic and clinical that will require assistance in grant preparation. Will have a primary influence on junior investigators and learners that have not previously conceived and executed an independent application to an external awarding agency.
• Train staff within departments that do not have dedicated grants support. Requires extensive knowledge of grant application programs and processes favored by BCM investigators, acquired through education or experience.
• Leadership and Experience: Provides experience and leadership to the grants preparation process resulting in better applications and more awards. Works to achieve functional and operational excellence in assistance to underserved departments and centers resulting in increased awards and funded research programs.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.  Certified Research Administrator certification through the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) may substitute for the degree requirement.
• Six years of relevant experience.

Job Specific Criteria

• Requires extensive knowledge of grant award programs, administrative programs and institutional policies governing the management of grant and contract awards.

Baylor College of Medicine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Equal Access Employer.

 17625

SN