Job Details

Research Administrator

Research Administrators (RAs) play a vital role in the sponsored project life cycle, ensuring that research proposals adhere to sponsor guidelines and are successfully submitted. The RA supports faculty, center directors, and staff throughout the pre-award stage of sponsored projects, including proposal preparation and submission, just-in-time requests, and compliance. The RA will manage a portfolio of faculty post-award and payroll sourcing activities with minimal supervision/oversight for the research-intensive School of Public Health. May manage grants for Research Centers.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the oversight and day-to-day management of research administration.
• Performs pre-award job duties in response to specific proposal guidelines and terms and conditions for more complex proposals, such as program projects, ARPA-H, DOD, DOE applications.
• Works with faculty in proposal preparation and submission.
• Manages budgeting, analysis, justifications for proposals; gathers information for protocols and non-technical proposal components as needed.
• Acts as liaison between the Faculty, and Department Administrators (DAs).
• Stays current on federal and university developments regarding research administration and complex regulations.
• Coordinates the submission, works with PI to prepare budget, obtain pricing quotes from other departments.
• Compiles and ensures accurate regulatory compliance of necessary data collected from various sources. Works with Principal Investigator to compile and submit the entire grant according to established agency/university guidelines.
• Prepares and reviews all agency forms for submission.
• Enters grant budgeting documents online, as needed.
• Obtains PI and institutional signatures for proposal submissions.
• Initiates subaward setup through SUBS system (new process/system). Uploads pre-award documents and hands it off to Post-award to enter fund number.
• Coordinates with the Post-award unit and OSRS to ensure timely implementation of contracts and subcontracts by examining and supplying the necessary requirements in the SUBS system.
• Serves as responsible for the oversight and day-to-day management of research administration.
• Implements and maintains procedures to ensure efficient workflow; responsible for the proper training of staff.

Award Management

• Manages reviews of more complex notice of award (NOA), including sponsor award documents, to SPA and PI, noting any special terms and conditions as well as committed effort.
• Tracks and maintains online database of grants submitted, awarded, rejected, etc.
• Monitors and works with PI to submit annual agency reports (e.g., Research Performance Progress Reports/RPPRs).
• Teams with the Post-Award unit on revised budgets.
• Oversees and coordinates the proper transfer of PI grants and contracts into WashU.

Research Compliance

• Coordinates the necessary support with internal and external requests for complex grant-related information (i.e. current biosketches, trainee information, and human/animal protocol approvals, other support).

Research Reporting

• Provides analysis of online database of grants submitted, awarded, rejected, etc. metrics and funding trends.

Grant Closeout

• Serves as responsible for closure of complex sponsored projects accounts.
• Submits final progress report and invention statement (if applicable) to the appropriate agency.
• Follows up with PI and facilitates submission of delinquent final technical, outcomes, patent, and property reports.

Post Award

• Manages and monitors complex sponsored projects budgets and ensures appropriate and timely expenditures and reconciliation of funds.
• Identifies and assigns payroll to appropriate sources and enter directly into Workday, with PI approval.
• Documents and confirms with PI all salary sourcing for project personnel, including research faculty, postdocs, staff and students.
• Notifies DA and/or initiates payroll accounting adjustments when cost transfers are needed to reflect retroactive changes.
• Approves purchasing documents and provides guidance to purchasing staff on appropriate expenditures according to specific grant policies.
• Manages subawards, including, receiving the subaward invoice, reviewing and forwarding to PI for approval.
• Checks for accuracy and provides complex troubleshooting error resolutions/solutions for fund profile setups and financial reports.
• Creates, addresses, and processes correspondence of moderate complexity with granting agencies (i.e. inquiries, carry forward requests, change in effort requests, prior approvals, no cost extensions, equipment purchase, and budget reallocation requests).
• Serves as internal liaison and grant content representative with SPA to ensure that all funds are set up in a timely manner; prepares any necessary project advances, no-cost extensions, and ensures that funds are carried forward as appropriate.
• Ensures that human and animal study protocols are associated with the applicable proposal or award.
• Obtains documentation on participation of foreign nationals on research projects.
• Coordinates the necessary support with internal and external requests for grant-related information (i.e. audit inquiries, effort distribution, trainee information, and human/animal protocol approvals).
• Stays in communication with the leadership on pre- and post-award activities to ensure the highest level of customer service to faculty.
• Tracks and maintains online database of grants submitted, awarded, rejected, etc.
• Prepares monthly financial reports on complex research accounts and distribute/discuss with PIs and senior leadership.
• Assists DA in reconciling funds and monitoring spending levels, overdrafts, and cost sharing commitments. Processes budget adjustments on expense categories as needed.
• Obtains signatures and forwards grant/contract financial status reports to PI and senior leadership.
• Works with PIs to provide fund management and make any necessary budgetary changes.
• Oversees and coordinates the proper transfer of PI grants and contracts from WashU to new institutions or new departments.
• May prepare and submit invoices according to final executed contract, track receipt of checks from sponsor and ensure they are deposited in correct fund.

Research Center Grants

• Manages Cores and Subcores, program income, bridge/seed and institutional funds. Provides monthly financial reports to the Program Director and Core/Subcore Directors. Serves as financial resource for the entire Center.
• Performs data gathering, analysis and report on Center major equipment inventories, maintenance and replacement, along with annual financial and strategic planning.
• Designs and implements reporting database for Cores/Subcores to track services for billing purposes. Performs data gathering, analysis and reports for the Cores/Subcores and forecasts anticipated annual expenses and program income.
• Prepares, sends, and monitors invoices for services performed by the Cores. In addition, reconciles the service funds each month.
• Assists in the preparation of all financial and summary information, including investigators, grants, publications and Core use, for the Director/Associate Director meetings, annual progress report and renewal.
• Performs role as liaison for Program Director in communicating policies and procedures to Center Investigators, Core/Subcore Directors, Administrators and Staff in daily operations directly related to the research associated with the Center.
• Distributes, monitors, tracks and reports on performance survey results provided by Center Investigators who have utilized the Centers' Core/Subcore services.
• Participates in all Center-related meetings and symposiums. Assists senior leadership with special projects as requested.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions: Job Location/Working Conditions

• Normal office environment.

Physical Effort

• Typically sitting at desk or table.
• Repetitive wrist, hand or finger movement.
• Ability to move to on and off-campus locations

Equipment

• Office equipment.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of