Grants and Contracts Administrator

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in North Carolina.

📋 Description

• Collaborate within the School of Medicine Shared Research Administration Resource Group to oversee a designated portfolio of intricate grants and contracts.

• Support departmental faculty/Principal Investigators (PIs) in the development, preparation, and submission of grant and contract proposals.

• Ensure that applications and contracts adhere to agency and university guidelines, timelines, and deadlines.

• Enter and route proposals for review in a timely manner.

• Develop budgets and budget justifications, ensuring accuracy and consistency.

• Prepare and submit grants and contracts through the pre-award process in accordance with sponsor and Duke regulations.

• Provide guidance to faculty/PIs on administrative requirements for proposal submissions.

• Assist with internal cost assessments, budget formulation, and sponsor negotiations.

• Prepare, coordinate, and review proposal components, including biosketches, justifications, and facilities and resources.

• Verify financial information and applicable overhead rates.

• Review sponsored projects in the Sponsored Projects System for compliance and institutional signatures.

• Manage assigned projects and financial project portfolios.

• Monitor fiscal performance, identify issues, and advise on necessary budget adjustments and revisions.

• Track proposal status and research protection protocol requirements and deadlines.

• Oversee budget, reporting, and compliance timelines throughout the lifecycle of grants or contracts.

• Establish financial and reporting requirements for sub-recipients and coordinate sub-agreements with ORA.

• Reconcile monthly budget reports and submit cost transfers and corrections.

• Prepare requests for budget modifications or re-budgeting of funded projects.

• Reconcile and close sub-recipient cost objects and obtain sponsor-required reports.

• Maintain financial records in accordance with institutional retention guidelines.

• Monitor patient care expense charging and manage overdrafts.

• Ensure accurate recording of project revenue and closure of funded projects.

• Develop project management plans for faculty/PIs or senior grants administrators review.

• Make necessary cost-sharing adjustments.

• Establish and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for tracking and handling sponsor payments.

• Interpret departmental policies and procedures and issue operating instructions.

• Submit reports to grants and contracts leadership upon request.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor's degree; a bachelor's or master's degree in a directly related field requires no prior experience.

• Successful completion of Financial Services Introduction to R3, Introduction to Duke GL, Introduction to Accounting, Sponsored Research Reporting, Research Administration at Duke, Basic Compliance, Duke Human Research Training, Budget Development and Negotiation Training, and Industry Funded Clinical Research—Process for Contracts within the first six months of employment.

• Successful completion of the Research Administration Academy (RAA); employees lacking RAA training must complete it within 12 months of their start date.

• Maintain certification(s) by fulfilling continuing education requirements.

• Ability to analyze data and draw conclusions.

• Capability to learn evolving technologies related to grants and contracts management.

• Strong proficiency in MS Office Suite (Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint).

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to interact with all organizational levels.

• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects/tasks concurrently.

• Competence in creating verbal and written reports.

• Knowledge of federal regulations governing research grant and/or contract activities.

• Familiarity with Duke University policies and procedures regarding grant and contract activities.

• Understanding of Duke University processes, systems, and offices related to grant and contract submission and management.

• Ability to apply federal and university rules to the management of effort allocation for individuals compensated from federal awards.

• Capability to apply costing rules and regulations to federally funded projects.

• Experience with or ability to perform required functions in SPS, R3, grants.duke, and SES.

• Understanding of financial processes and controls, including reconciliation.

• Advanced tier requires 3 years of relevant experience (2 years for qualifying internal employees).

• Senior tier requires 6 years of relevant experience (5 years for qualifying internal employees; CRA certification may reduce this to 5 years).

• Lead tier requires 3 years of relevant experience (2 years for qualifying internal employees).

🏝️ Benefits

• Comprehensive medical and dental care programs.

• Generous retirement benefits.

• Family-friendly and cultural programs.