Overview
Join to apply for the Departmental Grant Administrator II role at UMass Boston.
General Summary: The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) and School for Global Inclusion and Social Development (SGISD) “Departmental Grant Administrator” job family (levels 1–3) are the core department/school-based administrators responsible for working directly with staff and faculty on grant development and preparation, and with day-to-day financial oversight of all funded awards. Our schools’ external research activities are coordinated within portfolios, typically organized by Principal Investigators (PIs).
The Departmental Grant Administrator (DGA) is a three-level series that supports proposal development, award management and compliance oversight throughout the grant lifecycle. This series provides department-level administrative and operational management of externally funded award portfolios of PIs. The DGA is responsible for proposal development and award management including application development, account setup and monitoring, personnel and non-personnel transactions including personnel appointments and procurement; budget management, spending plan development, account tracking, financial reports and award modifications while maintaining award records in compliance with university and sponsor policies as well as applicable federal, state and local policies. Incumbents work closely with each PI on all aspects of administration of their proposals and awards, including portfolio analysis and assisting with special projects and programmatic coordination. Departmental Grant Administrators work under the supervision of the SGISD Director of Finance and in collaboration with ORSP and other central university units, and may supervise other department grant administration staff.
The position currently open in this series is:
Departmental Grant Administrator II. The DGA II is the second, early career level professional job in this series.
Examples of Duties
* Grant preparation coordination, support and management: Provide technical assistance to PIs by preparing and ensuring completeness of proposals submitted to external sponsors; work collaboratively to prepare/review project budgets and budget justifications with PIs. When appropriate, recommend changes to applications with input from higher level department/grant administrators. Ensure proposals are entered and routed in a timely manner.
* Support PIs in processing non-competing continuations, progress reports, supplements and other award/agreement amendments.
* Work closely with department financial staff to ensure appropriate and timely expenditures of all personnel and non-personnel costs; run monthly reports of all grants in portfolio and reconcile; identify and react to variances as necessary.
* Liaise as necessary with ORSP pre-award, post-award and compliance staff, and other central university departments (Human Resources, UPST, Controller).
* Assist with collecting information and documentation for external or internal auditors in their examination of active and terminated projects.
* Understand sub-recipient monitoring requirements. Maintain familiarity with applicable federal regulations, policies, guidelines, latest applications and amendments. Ensure all are upheld.
* Liaise with external grant managers on subcontracts and grant applications and renewals.
* Make approved purchases and manage the expenditure reallocation and reporting of professional credit card, maintain records of all expenditures and uploading to reporting system in compliance with procurement guidelines.
* Assist the ORSP post award team in Billing, Accounts Receivable and Financial Analysis regarding invoicing and outstanding payments with sponsors.
* Assist with other departmental or central research administration tasks as required or requested.
Departmental Grant Administrator II Specific duties
* Same as above with more consistency and independence; be responsible for additional volume and higher complexity of proposals, awards and portfolios.
* Assist in the orientation and training of new grant administrators.
* Provide guidance to junior grant administrators during the proposal submission process.
* At the request of the Director of Finance, review funding announcements and provide guidance on eligibility and sponsor requirements to investigators.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in business, finance, or a similar area relevant to grant administration from an accredited institution and 3–5 years of related experience. Professional experience in complex financial settings required. Experience in sponsored programs in an academic, research or equivalent setting is preferred.
* Proven experience in a complex finance setting is required, with a preference for experience with federal and nonfederal funding opportunities, proposal submissions as well as post-award functions involving several types of award mechanisms, including grants.
* Demonstrated budgeting and financial management with mechanisms such as contracts, sub-contracts and cooperative agreements required.
* Membership in professional organizations, such as SRA and/or NCURA preferred.
* Familiarity with human-subject compliance, intellectual property, conflict of interest, procurement, property management, environmental health and safety, and human resources is preferred. Working knowledge of additional federal agency regulations beyond OMB Uniform Guidance, including PHS Grants Policy Statement and FAR preferred.
* International contracting experience preferred.
* Certified Research Administrator (CRA) preferred.
* Working knowledge of OMB Uniform Guidance for institutions of higher education or non-profit organizations is preferred.
* Ability to exercise discretion and maintain confidentiality; highly organized, flexible.
* Effective analytical and creative problem-solving skills, with the ability to prioritize and work under deadline pressure.
* Strong interpersonal and communication skills; commitment to customer service.
* Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (especially Excel) and with PeopleSoft or similar financial accounting system.
* Ability to develop project workflow and timeline documents; work independently within the department and with central administrative units.
* Ability to exercise independent judgment during proposal submission and in response to audit requests.
* Ability to understand and apply university policies and procedures, as well as laws and regulations pertaining to grants, contracts, and sub-recipients.
* Ability to obtain information from enterprise database systems and to understand sponsored program financial reports and related documents.
* Ability to maintain accurate records and to prepare summary reports.
* Skill in the use of electronic sponsored program services systems (e.g., Grants.gov, eRA Commons, Kuali, NSF Fastlane) is preferred.
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 Range: Grade 32. This is an exempt union position. This is a grant funded position with a current end date of Sep 30, 2025, subject to renewal contingent on funding and university needs. All official salary offers must be approved by Human Resources.
UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact HRDirect@umb.edu or 617-287-5150.
Departments: None
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