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POSITION SUMMARY:

Under the general direction of the Department Administrator, or designee, the Grant and Contract Specialist is responsible for performing diversified and complex administrative, financial, and pre and post-award budgetary functions in support of departmental activities, to include both responsibilities for both restricted and unrestricted departmental funds.

This is an open-rank posting for Grant and Contract Specialist level I and II. Candidates will be hired into the level commensurate with their experience.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Grant & Contract Specialist I:

• Monitor post-award activities to insure adherence to sponsor guidelines and all reporting requirements are met. Inform Administrator on budget variances
• Assist with any changes to award budgets and submit necessary paperwork for approval of such actions.
• Set up and maintain computerized accounting system for the accurate management of funds
• Compile financial data for use in forecasting and analysis.
• Assist in the preparation of reports for presentation to federal and sponsoring agencies
• Prepare data for financial reports, budgets, budget and research fund reconciliations, forecasting, analysis, and ad-hoc reports for Administrators and PI”s as needed
• Review terms and conditions of new awards for issues involving allowable costs, re-budgeting and reporting requirements, confidentiality clauses, faculty time and effort monitoring, cost sharing, equipment justification, and ensure compatibility with sponsoring agencies regulations and university policies and procedures
• Monitor contracts, extensions, and amendments with outside vendors, private agencies, and consultants in conjunction with Purchasing and legal offices. Inform Administrator on variances
• Manage all phases of post-award grants and contracts administration, to include monitoring budgets, expenses, and recovered overhead. Advise Administrator of reporting requirements
• Assist faculty in finding possible funding opportunities
• Assist and participate with Grant Accounting in award termination process to close-out accounts. Notify Administrator of final status
• Monitor Departmental voluntary and mandatory cost sharing
• Provide research and administrative support for special projects; assist in the preparation of data for projects and studies such as updating procedure manuals or analyzing activities compiles statistics
• Process consultant agreements, travel vouchers, purchase orders, reallocation of expenditures, and other expenses
• Participate in the preparation and certification of the annual space and effort documentation
• Participate in the preparation of the Departmental annual operating budget submission
• Provide assistance in the management of all pre-award administration, to include, but not limited to, advising Administrator and PI of sponsor guidelines, participation in application assembly, budget preparation, faculty guidance, e-submission processes, UMass Chan required paperwork, etc. and other administrative requirements for the submission of all federal and non-federal grants and contracts
• Perform other duties as required.

Grant & Contract Specialist II:

Duties noted above plus:

• Provide assistance in the management of all pre-award administration, to include, but not limited to, advising Administrator and PI of sponsor guidelines, participation in application assembly, budget preparation, faculty guidance, e-submission processes, UMMS required paperwork, etc. and other administrative requirements for the submission of all federal and non-federal grants and contracts
• Monitor regulatory and compliance requirements for all sponsored research activity, keeping detailed files and a tracking mechanism for annual renewals. Inform Administrator of variances
• Assist in analytical studies of existing or proposed clinical trials to provide the economic basis for management decisions to improve operational/financial performance and to realize productivity improvements
• Monitor all clinical trial funding sources by tracking revenue and expenditure activity and monitoring of trial milestones, identify variances and assist in resolving account variances
• Monitor contracts, extensions, and amendments with outside vendors, private agencies, and consultants in conjunction with Purchasing and legal offices; monitor the contracts for cost effectiveness and quality performance standards
• Prepare data for financial reports, budgets, budget and research fund reconciliations, forecasting, analysis, and ad-hoc reports for Administrators and PI”s as needed. Perform analysis of data as required
• Work with the Administrator, principal investigators, and staff to resolve problems and to optimize the use of funds as required; finalize all expenditure activity of expired grants; deposit checks to any income and service fund accounts
• Manage all phases of post-award grants and contracts administration, to include monitoring budgets, expenses, and recovered overhead. Advise Administrator and PI of reporting requirements
• Coordinate pre-award submission activity for the department
• Monitor post-award activities to insure adherence to sponsor guidelines and all reporting requirements are met. Inform Administrator and PI on budget variances
• Oversee changes to award budgets and the submission of the necessary paperwork for approval of such actions
• Prepare reports for federal and sponsoring agencies
• Assist and participate with Grant Accounting in award termination process to close-out accounts. Notify Administrator and PI of final status
• Monitor operating expenses, prepare monthly variance-to-budget reports, Departmental voluntary and mandatory cost sharing, and advise the Administrator on reconciliation actions
• Responsible for the process of initiating and submitting payroll personnel action forms related to transfers, funding changes etc. Audit the accuracy of employee payroll data
• Oversee the processing of consultant agreements, travel vouchers, purchase orders, reallocation of expenditures, and other expenses
• May act as an external liaison

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Grant & Contract Specialist I:

• Bachelors degree in Business Administration, Finance, or Accounting, or equivalent experience
• 1 year of relevant job experience, or equivalent, preferably in an academic environment.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret financial documents, such as system reports, at both account and summary levels
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access and, PowerPoint), or similar software applications
• Excellent interpersonal skills (verbal and written) needed to present and communicate effectively with all levels of management.

Grant & Contract Specialist II:

• Requirements noted for GCS I plus:
• 3 years of relevant job experience, or equivalent, preferably in an academic environment.
• Knowledge of enterprise financial products

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