at University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois, United States
Job Description
Grants and Contract Assistant, Specialist, or CoordinatorPrairie Research Institute
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Sponsorship for work authorization is not available for this position.
PRI is seeking to hire either a Grants and Contracts Assistant, Specialist, or Coordinator (dependent upon experience)to provide expertise and facilitates operations for the Prairie Research Institute's (PRI's) Grants and Contracts office.
The Prairie Research Institute (PRI), a research and service institute of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign centrally located between Chicago, St. Louis, and Indianapolis, houses five large scientific surveys covering a wide range of expertise including biology, water resources, climate, geology, sustainable technology, and archaeology. PRI's mission is to provide objective, integrated scientific research and service that allow citizens and decision-makers to make choices that ensure sustainable economic development, enduring environmental quality, and cultural resource preservation for the people, businesses, and governments of Illinois. Learn more at go.illinois.edu/PRIjobs .
Illinois is a world leader in research, teaching, and public engagement. We serve the state, the nation, and the world by creating knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and addressing critical societal needs through the transfer and application of knowledge. Illinois is the place where we embrace difference. We embrace it because we value it. Illinois is especially interested in candidates who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the Illinois community.
Why Work at the Prairie Research Institute?
Highlights of Employee Benefits
Grants and Contracts Assistant : Entry level position, responsible for assisting in monitoring assigned grant and contract financial activity to ensure compliance with grant guidance and regulations. This person will provide assistance to Principal Investigators in creating budgets and spending plans for assigned grant submissions.
Duties & Responsibilities:
Grant Oversight
- Develop and provide financial plans and reports associated with the administration of grants and contracts. This includes expenditure reports and forecasts requested by Principal Investigators.
- Provide analysis and support to professional staff in grant preparation and management. Collect, maintain, and prepare data necessary for such analyses.
- Take actions necessary for the accurate administration of grants and contracts, including monitoring application status, tracking award processes, establishing sub-awards, confirming expenditures, creating journal vouchers, performing employee labor distributions, and reconciling accounts.
- Facilitate the grant proposal process, including pre-award, post-award, and sub-award requirements.
- Assure the administrative requirements associated with federal appropriations, cost sharing, matching funds, and unit administered grants, etc. are attained.
- Utilize grant submission and tracking programs including Grants.gov, NSF Fastlane, PRIDE proposals, and other sponsor E-systems. Provide interpretations of travel regulations, Banner coding, and other policies and procedures that pertain to grants.
- Review invoices and statements, verifying information, ensuring funds are available and fiscal activity complies with policy and procedures.
- Keep abreast of developments in this discipline.
- Perform other duties as needed in order to further the mission and goals of PRI.
Education/Experience: Required: Bachelor's degree in accounting, business administration, finance, or a related field. Experience: None required, per Class Specifications. Preferred: University grants management experience.
Training, Licenses, Certifications: None required. Preferred: University of Illinois Certified Research Administrators (Illini CRA)
Knowledge Requirements: Required: Knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles used for determining allowability, reasonableness, and allocation of costs applicable to grants, contracts, or other agreements. Organizational skills in working with diverse types of business information. Excellent skills in using software and database applications for accounting and general financial tracking. Effective communication, personal relations, collaboration, organizational, teamwork, and leadership skills. Demonstrated ability to perform effectively in a diverse and fast-paced work environment consisting of multiple and changing priorities with stringent deadlines, under minimal supervision. Attention to detail, sound judgment, and strong conflict resolution skills. Proficiency in commonly-employed software and databases. Ability to maintain confidentiality.
Grants and Contracts Specialist - Perform pre- and post-award administrative duties related to sponsored projects, with special emphasis on maintaining the data necessary for compliance with institutional policies and procedures, state and/or federal laws, and contractual obligations. Coordinates with PRI principal investigators (PIs).
Duties & Responsibilities
Grant Oversight
• Provide post-award fiscal administration for an assigned subset of PRI researchers.
• Monitor and approve all grant expenditures to assure they are allowable, allocable, appropriate, and reasonable.
• Reconcile and verify expenditures monthly, accurately reflecting obligations.
• Complete corrective journal vouchers entries and labor redistributions to maintain integrity of program expenses.
• Provide monthly and ad hoc reports of expenditures and projections to the PI, review statements, and develop spend plans.
• Process invoices from sub-award agencies, review expenditures for allowability, and provide backup to prime agency.
• Assure expenditure confirmations are reviewed and approved by PIs semi-annually.
• Provide documentation for internal and external audits.
• Provide interpretation of agency, university, and institute policies and procedures. Collaborate with the funding agency, internal and external auditors, campus Sponsored Programs Administration Pre- and Post-Award offices, campus Government Costing, Survey Directors, other sponsored research coordinators and the PI.
• Serve as a PRI liaison to field station (remote location) administrators, assisting with any and all aspects of the post-award process.
Proposal Coordination
• Oversee pre-award (proposal) processing for an assigned subset of PRI researchers.
• Manage the submission of unfunded agreements to the Sponsored Programs Administration Pre-Award office.
• Provide interpretation of agency, university, and institute policies and procedures.
• Document proposal submission information in PRI's internal systems.
Grant Set up and Close-out
• Oversee the setup process for new awards.
• Lead the closeout process for the grants held by a subset of the PRI researchers.
Other
• Maintain own sponsored research skills through continued training.
• Keep abreast of developments in this discipline.
• Perform other duties as needed in order to further the mission and goals of PRI.
Position requirements and Qualifications :
Education/Experience: Required: Bachelor's degree in business administration, accounting, finance, economics or a field related to the position. Three (3) years of relevant grant and contract administration experience within a research university setting. Demonstrated experience working with Principal Investigators, funding agencies, and the Sponsored Programs Administration. Preferred: University of Illinois Certified Research Administrator (Illini CRA)
Knowledge Requirements: Working knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles used for determining allowability, reasonableness, and allocation of costs applicable to grants, contracts, or other agreements. Organizational skills in working with diverse types of business information. Excellent skills in using software and database applications for accounting and general financial tracking. Effective communication, personal relations, collaboration, organizational, teamwork, and leadership skills. Demonstrated ability to perform effectively in a diverse and fast-paced work environment consisting of multiple and changing priorities with stringent deadlines, under minimal supervision. Attention to detail, sound judgment, and strong conflict resolution skills. Proficiency in commonly-employed software and databases. Ability to maintain confidentiality.
Grants and Contracts Coordinator: Independently perform pre- and post-award administrative duties related to sponsored projects, with special emphasis on maintaining the data necessary for compliance with institutional policies and procedures, state and/or federal laws, and contractual obligations. This person will independently manage a portfolio of PRI principal investigators (PIs).
Duties & Responsibilities
Grant Oversight
• Provide post-award fiscal administration for an increased multidisciplinary subset of PRI researchers.
• Monitor and approve all grant expenditures to assure they are allowable, allocable, appropriate, and reasonable.
• Scrutinize, reconcile, and verify contract expenditures for allowability, requesting additional approvals as required by the sponsor, working closely with SPA Post-Award to provide required backup documentation.
• Verify the accuracy of obligations for each grant fund.
• Manage electronic grant information document storage.
• Complete corrective journal vouchers entries and labor redistributions to maintain integrity of program expenses.
• Prepare and manage reconciled fund statements for monthly distribution.
• Provide additional adhoc reports of expenditures and projections to the PI, review statements, and develop spend plans.
• Process invoices from subaward agencies, review expenditures for allowability, and provide backup to prime agency.
• Ensure the timely processing and payment of submitted invoices throughout the project period.
• Review expenditures and cost share commitments for accuracy and coordinate change implementation for errors.
• Provide documentation for internal and external audits as requested.
• Provide interpretation of agency, university, and institute policies and procedures.
• Collaborate with the funding agency, internal and external auditors, campus Sponsored Programs Administration Pre- and Post-Award offices, campus Government Costing, Survey Directors, other sponsored research coordinators and the PI.
• Serve as a PRI liaison to field station (remote location) administrators, assisting with any and all aspects of the post-award process.
• Coordinate expenditure confirmations semi-annually by the required deadline.
Proposal Coordination
• Oversee pre-award (proposal) processing for an increased multidisciplinary subset of PRI researchers.
• Assist PRI researchers with complex collaborative proposals, developing multi-year/multi-organizational budgets, acting as the liaison to subaward agencies to gather the necessary documentation required by the sponsor and the SPA Pre-Award office.
• Work with a team of researchers in cooperation with the Office of Proposal Development on complex, high dollar proposals; developing budgets and budget justifications, determining cost share availability, and completion of sponsor forms.
• Manage the submission of unfunded agreements to the Sponsored Programs Administration Pre-Award office.
• Provide interpretation of sponsor/agency, university, and institute policies and procedures.
• Monitor and manage proposal submission and PRI's PRIDE proposal tracking system.
• Create and maintain electronic files of all grant submissions
• Assist in the development and review of new University and PRI electronic proposal submission processes. Provide communications and assistance with new processes.
Grant Set up and Close-out
• Oversee the setup process for new awards.
• Lead the closeout process for the grants held by a subset of the PRI researchers.
Training/Process Implementation
• Add new fund information to PRI's internal systems and databases.
• Provide cost share details to PRI Fiscal Services and campus Sponsored Programs Administration Post-Award. Review, update, and clear cost share errors in ARS.
• Expand and maintain knowledge of evolving UIUC and PRI systems for tracking and approving expenditure transactions.
• Collaborate with the full Pre-Post-Award team to establish and implement policies and procedures pertinent to PRI.
• Review and test new PRI systems and processes. Serve as a member of PRI focus groups s.
• Assist PRI researchers and coworkers with new processes, as needed.
• Maintain own sponsored research skills through continued education and training.
Other
• Participate in SPaRC'Ed training, events, and quarterly meetings.
• Perform other related duties as required.
Position requirements and Qualifications : Education/Experience: Bachelor's degree in accounting, business administration, finance, or a related field . A minimum of 5 years of relevant grant and contract administration experience within a research university setting. Experience working with Principal Investigators, funding agencies, and the Sponsored Programs Administration developing complex budgets, interpreting federal and non-federal guidelines in the development and submission of proposals. Proficient use of the University of Illinois accounting and reporting systems, including Banner, Eddie, myResearch, myProposals, My-UI-Financials, and various agency proposal submission systems. Experience interpreting and complying with University, Federal and State statues, regulations, and polices. Current affiliation with the University of Illinois.
Training, Licenses, Certifications: University of Illinois Certified Research Administrator (CRA) certification or currently enrolled in the SPaRC'Ed program.
Knowledge Requirements: Advanced knowledge of grants management adhering to the University of Illinois Sponsored Programs Administration and Institute policies and procedures. Advanced knowledge of accounting techniques, principles, and practices including generally accepted accounting principles used for determining allowability, reasonableness, and allocation of costs applicable to grants, contracts, or other agreements. Knowledge of procedures used in the preparation of proposals and project accounting including new account set-up and closing, daily accounting procedures, budgeting and re-budgeting processes. Effective communication, personal relations, organizational, and leadership skills. Demonstrated ability to perform effectively in a diverse and fast-paced work environment consisting of multiple and changing priorities with stringent deadlines, under minimal supervision. Ability to complete tasks accurately with an acute attention to detail. Ability to identify and implement required actions, provide technical advice and information to researchers and staff in area of expertise, working with minimal supervision. Attention to detail, sound judgment, and strong conflict resolution skills. Proficiency in commonly-employed software and databases. Ability to maintain confidentiality.
Environmental Demands: The work of this position takes place in an office setting. The work is sedentary and involves sitting for extended periods of time working at a computer, using a keyboard and mouse, and using repetitive hand motions for data entry.
Appointment Information: This is a full-time Civil Service position. The budgeted amount for the Grants and Contracts Assistant position is $56,000 to $60,000. The budgeted amount for the Grants and Contracts Specialist is $61,000 to $70,000. The budgeted amount for the Grants and Contracts Coordinator position is $71,000 to $78,000. The salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience, while also considering internal equity. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the full range for a position.
Benefits: The University of Illinois offers a wide variety of benefits https://www.hr.uillinois.edu/benefits, including paid leave https://www.hr.uillinois.edu/leave and holidays https://www.hr.uillinois.edu/leave/holidays
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 March 12, 2025. 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. Application materials must include a 1) cover letter that clearly outlines your qualifications and experience as it relates to this position, 2) a CV or resume, and 3) names and contact information (including email addresses) for three professional references. Incomplete applications will not be considered. For further information about this specific position, please contact. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. For further information about this specific position, please contact Megan Weeks, mkweeks@illinois.edu. 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. Accommodations may also be requested on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, or religion. 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 accessibility@illinois.edu .
Requisition ID: 1027973
Job Category: Professional and Administrative
Apply at: https://jobs.illinois.edu
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