Pre-Award Administrator

Summary

Position Title

Pre-Award Administrator

Department

Research and Sponsored Programs 

Status

Full Time/Exempt

Position Summary

Reporting to the Associate Vice President of Research and Sponsored Projects, the Pre-Award Administrator provides specialized support for activities related to the full lifecycle of sponsored program administration with particular emphasis on the pre-award functions. Position provides direct support to Principal Investigators seeking funding through a variety of federal agencies and non-federal organizations. Areas of responsibility include proactive identification of funding sources, proposal development, routing, and submission, contract negotiation, sub-award issuance, and non-financial post-award administration.

Essential Job Duties

This position requires a well-organized individual who can multi-task, is resourceful, and who has excellent oral and written communication skills. Experience with budgeting and account management is necessary. A strong understanding of Research Administration is essential to a successful experience.

• Support of Faculty Grant Seeking:
  Plans, maintains, and tracks annual funding opportunities and reporting deadlines. Meets one-on-one with faculty or with academic departments to help identify funding opportunities and develop grant seeking plans. Researches funding opportunities and helps faculty use Jacksonville University’s Pivot funding opportunities database. Assists faculty with proposal development, including narratives, budgets, and required attachments and forms. Reviews and edits eligible proposals for grammar, punctuation, clarity, and responsiveness to funding opportunity. Provides a final review of completed proposals before they are forwarded to the AVP for signature/submission. Assists faculty with meeting funder reporting requirements and helps request modifications (such as no-cost extensions) of faculty grants. Formally communicates with sponsors, pass-through entities and subrecipients for proposal submissions, report submissions, prior approval requests and amendments/revisions via phone, email, and electronic research administration portals. Reviews the terms and conditions of agreements and subawards; recommends acceptance or modifications and liaises with JU General Counsel; working closely with the Post-Award Analyst, monitors awards and subrecipients for compliance with university, state, federal, and sponsor requirements.
• Collaborations with JU Colleagues and Institutional Partner Faculty/Administrators:
  Consults with the Controller’s Office as needed regarding proposals and forwards reviewed proposals to the Controller once submitted. Helps facilitate communication between faculty and their collaborators at other institutions around the development of proposals, including interactions with sponsored research or grants colleagues. Works with faculty to develop necessary documentation for grant-funded collaborations.
• Tracking and reporting of external grant activity:
  Helps maintain office data information systems by contributing and regularly updating ORSP Worklog regarding faculty proposals in progress, submissions, and awards. Maintains information about faculty consultations. Writes summaries of faculty grant awards as requested for use on the Grants Office website and Marketing/Communications and university leaders.
• Internal Grant Programs:
  Manages the portfolio of internal grant offerings. Develops annual calendar, posts RFPs, tracks applications and awards, including those for faculty conference travel.
• Monitoring and Ongoing Learning about Grant Requirements:
  Monitors funding opportunities for faculty research grants. Provides links or content for JU website and Provost’s newsletters related to funding opportunities and workshops for grant seekers. Attends funding agency webinars and professional conferences (CLASP, NCURA, or others) to remain current on federal and private funding regulations. Communicates federal or private policy changes to faculty.
• Other Writing, Copyediting, and Proofreading:
  Writes selected ORSP correspondence or reporting as requested. Copyedits or proofreads ORSP/University proposals, reports, and correspondence as requested to ensure they are free of errors. Proofreads budgets for faculty and institutional grants as requested to check calculations and alignment of Jacksonville University’s grant budgets and budgets for submission Assists in the development of policies, procedures, and methods to handle unusual or complex situations.
  Oversees the pre-award portions of the ORSP web site and other outreach to the JU research community, including campus, departmental, and one-on-one training related to ORSP policies and procedures.
• Other duties as assigned.

Prerequisites Required for Position

Minimum Education Requirement

• Bachelor’s degree minimum, Masters preferred, in English or Communications with a writing emphasis. Will consider other degrees, especially those in disciplines related to STEM. Education, experience, or certification relevant to research administration highly desirable.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior university experience in the management of research projects and funding is required.
• Advanced knowledge of pre-award functions typical of a PUI highly desirable.
• Impeccable written and oral communication skills with strong attention to detail.
• Strong understanding and application of OMB’s Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200.
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite software, especially Word and Excel.
• Knowledge of PIVOT funding database helpful.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving and communication skills.
• Must be highly proactive, with ability to distinguish between high and low priority tasks.
• Able to work efficiently under occasional tight time constraints and occasional shifting priorities.
• Professional and friendly demeanor, sense of humor, integrity, and tact.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with absolute discretion.
• Strong leadership, facilitation, presentation, and planning skills. Works independently and as a team member; exercises logic, discretion, professionalism, and good judgement.
• Ability to work effectively and with flexibility in the face of shifting deadlines and priorities.
• Flexibility for occasional overnight travel for professional development/conferences.
• Willingness to learn and pursue university-funded training on federal and private grants, grant policies, and pre-award grant administration, and to learn university information systems and tools.

Important Note

This is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and/or skills required for this position. The University reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs. The candidate must be a resident of Florida at the time of hire.  Relocation costs will be considered. 

To Apply

To be considered for this position, eligible applicants must submit a cover letter, a resume, and a completed Staff Employment Application with salary expectations to ORSP@JU.EDU. 

Please do not submit letters of reference or any other documentation until formally requested. Final candidates may be required to submit writing samples. Significant experience with pre-award functions and research administration an absolute must.