University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Looking for Research Administration Specialist-Mechanical Science and Engineering Full Time

Research Administration Specialist

Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering

Grainger College of Engineering

University of Illinois

The Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering seeks qualified candidates to fill the Research Administration Specialist position.  The position supports the pre- and post-award functions for externally funded sponsored research projects by assuming a role in the development and submission of proposals, and in the financial management of awards funded by federal and non-federal sponsors. The Specialist is responsible for maintaining familiarity with federal solicitations, changing federal regulations and guidelines, and University policy associated with research administration in order to support the effective management of research programs.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

Pre-Award
* Provide support to faculty and principal investigators in the preparation and submission of routine proposals to various federal and non-federal sponsors. This includes reviewing and interpreting sponsor regulations and guidelines, as well as University policies and procedures for submission and ensuring all requirements are met. Prepare proposal application packages for appropriate submission systems, budgets and budget justifications, current and pending support, and other proposal documentation as required.
* Serve as a liaison to Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) and assist them with requests related to proposal submission and award negotiations as necessary. Follow up on pending agreements and work with SPA to ensure they are finalized, and funded project accounts are established in a timely manner.

Post-Award
* Assist faculty and principal investigators with the management of their funded research programs, projects and accounts, including the preparation of financial forecasts as necessary. Advise faculty on the financial aspects of hiring personnel and major spending decisions, such as large equipment purchases, as necessary.
* Assist with the management of personnel budgets and expenditures by reviewing and approving proposed appointments in the My.Appointments application and by redistributing appointments of principal investigators and research staff in response to changes in research efforts.
* Maintain various reports and spreadsheets to effectively manage sponsored project funds.
* Analyze sponsored project budgets and review actual expenditures to ensure allowability, integrity and accuracy of all financial transactions. This includes designing and running simple and complex queries in the Decision Support Data Warehouse as necessary and reviewing/analyzing the results and supporting transactional details. Take appropriate action to move unallowable or questionable charges to an appropriate funding source.
* Monitor investigator effort on sponsored projects for assigned faculty to ensure investigators meet their effort obligations on their awards. Recommend changes in investigator effort and appointment requests as necessary to ensure compliance with effort obligations. When necessary, obtain sponsor approval for deviations from budgeted effort.
* Serve as a liaison to SPA Award Management and assist them in account set up, management, budgeting, billing, and close out activities as necessary. Prepare reports for SPA Award Management and/or the sponsor as necessary.
* Complete sponsored project close-out reviews and work with SPA Award Management to ensure completed projects are closed in a timely manner.
* Request and monitor anticipation accounts, subaward agreements, no-cost extension, and other contract modifications as necessary.
* Assist with the semi-annual expenditure confirmation process to obtain certifications in a timely manner.

Other Research Administration Duties
* Assist the department purchasing and payables functions by the review and pre-approval of purchasing transactions and travel requests with possible compliance issues, and the review and approval of Chrome River system transactions.
* Participate in campus research administration community through attendance at meetings and trainings offered by Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance (SPaRC), the Office of Business and Financial Services (OBFS), as well as those offered at the College level, and serve on various committees to enhance and improve research administration efforts.
* Assist with the maintenance of the Activity Reporting System (ARS) for assigned faculty. Update ARS as necessary and in accordance with the department allocation policy and discussion with faculty to ensure faculty teaching, research, public service, cost-sharing and other efforts are correctly reflected in ARS and cost-sharing effort obligations are met.
* Assist with the completion of Reports of Sponsored Research Activities and their reconciliation to faculty Biographical Data Forms (BDFs).
* Assist with the maintenance the chart of accounts, requesting Banner account segments when necessary, and adding new accounts to the My.Chart application.
* Other duties as assigned.

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, finance, economics or a field related to the position.
• Two years of professional work experience in business, finance, or a related field.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience in a business, academic, research or government environment, at an institution of higher education
• Illinois Certified Research Administrator designation

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to organize and manage diverse activities in a time sensitive environment
• Ability and willingness to learn
• Ability to manage priorities and be proactive in resolving issues
• Ability to work with database, spreadsheet, word processing and electronic communication programs
• Ability to complete tasks accurately and pay attention to detail
• Excellent customer service and interpersonal skills

Appointment Information
This is a 100% full-time Civil Service Grants and Contracts Associate position,
appointed on a 12-month basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible. Salary is commensurate with experience.  The minimum salary is $50,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications. Hybrid work
options may be available for this position.

For more information on Civil Service classifications, please visit the SUCSS
web site at https://www.sucss.illinois.gov/pages/classspec/default.aspx.

Application Procedures & Deadline
Information
Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (CST) on January 3rd, 2024. Apply
for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this
posting. In order to be considered as a transfer candidate, you must apply for
this position. Please include a cover letter, resume/CV, and names/contact
information for three professional references.  Applications not submitted
through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. For further
information about this specific position, please contact Hannah Dorsey at
[email protected].  For questions regarding the application process,
please contact 217-333-2137.

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Requests may be submitted through the reasonable accommodations portal, or by contacting the Accessibility & Accommodations Division of the Office for Access and Equity at 217-333-0885, or by emailing [email protected].

Requisition ID: 1021983

Job Category: Administrative

Apply at: https://jobs.illinois.edu