Pre-Award Grant Specialist

The Pre-Award Grant Specialist assists with all aspects of pre-award research administration and compliance. Duties include preparing and processing grant submissions, answering questions and inquires related to research and sponsored programs, maintaining official documentation on grants and their associate contracts, and preparing monthly reports on research activity. This is an advanced level position, and the work demands high-quality performance on assigned projects with minimal oversight by the Assistant Director of Budget, Finance, and Operations and the Associate Dean of Research.

Proposal and Budget Development

* Researches and assists with identification of potential sources of funding; analyzes requests for proposals to determine programmatic, compliance and operations requirements to submit competitive grant applicants; summarizes opportunities and makes recommendations, strategies, challenges, and resources needed for successful proposal development and implementation.

* Establishes and maintains effective relationships with faculty, staff, students, to obtain information to complete proposal development assignments.

* Make recommendations on program design, proposal format/editorial style, and proposal budgets that ensure competitiveness and accuracy/compliance of grant submissions. This includes developing proposal outline/checklist; crafting parts of the proposal; working with faculty to develop/revise budget for compliance with fiscal policies and federal regulations, etc.

* Assists with the development of budgets and/or analyze & review budgets developed by faculty and make recommendations to ensure budgets maximize advantages to the university, yet afford a competitive edge; ensure budgeted items are clearly aligned with and appropriate for each proposal's score and activities; ensure that the budget is compliant with UT, federal, and sponsor fiscal policies; ensure that budgeted personnel costs are appropriate; ensure that the correct F&A rate has been applied and calculated; ensure accuracy in all project budgets.

* Review and as needed escalate questions related to proposal submission that could cause stumbling blocks to award acceptance or project implementation.

* Identify potential problems related to: UT policies, personnel policies, indirect cost recoveries/allocations, conflicts of interest, human subjects research, intellectual properties, OMB, and other funder regulations.

* Ensures proposal guidelines are followed and all written work meets or exceed established quality and ethical standards.

* Coordinate and assist with the process of securing internal approvals for all proposals and ensuring timeliness of approvals and accuracy of all records.

* Create and manage a calendar and database to track potential funding opportunities, proposal requirements, the status of funding requested and received, deadlines, and reporting requirements.

* Notify senior research leadership of changing state, federal, and private foundation grant standards and proposal guidelines.

* Collaborates with post-award personnel to coordinate the sponsored project relate functions.

Pre-Proposal Planning and Submission

* Works directly with principal investigators and/or research staff to prepare/route/submit funding proposals to sponsors and serves as the primary contact/liaison for the department with internal and external partners to promote and support research services within CSW.

* Critically evaluates proposal solicitations to identify proposal components and compliance requirements; establishes deadlines to ensure compliance with the Office of Sponsored Programs/Office of Research policies and procedures for proposal submissions.

* With the Associate Dean of Research's input, develop and maintain knowledge of faculty areas of expertise and related experience in order to develop/implement grant funding strategies for CSW Research.

* Organize meetings with appropriate colleagues to gather information necessary to fully understand a project or program for which funding is being sought.

* Provides faculty with proposal support such as editing grant narratives.

* Works closely with faculty in developing and transforming ideas into grant proposals.

* Assists with developing budgets and justifications that align with the needs of the projects and complies with federal regulations; initiates electronic applicants in the UT Office of Research web-based proposal submission portal and uploads relevant document to complete grant applications.

* Review grants for adherence to guidelines and completes applications with appropriate UT information.

* Provide policy guidance and assistance with all aspects of proposal development, administrative forms, sponsor requirements and representations, and compliance requirements.

* Advise and assist faculty in assembling grant proposals for submission to UT Office of Research from the proposal stage to the project being awarded.

* Works collaboratively with faculty, research staff and the Office of Sponsored Programs/Office of Research to facilitate the proposal approval and submission process.

* Works with faculty and staff at collaborating institutions to facilitate grant submissions that include subcontracting entities.

* Works with the appropriate UT offices to route and obtain contract approval, review MOUs and sub-recipient agreements to ensure appropriate language is used and compliance is maintained.

* Review and process all protocols related to human subject's research (IRB).

* Submits proposals for funding, letters of interest, and manages the collection of all required documentation in accordance with each funding organizations' preferences following each organization's/funders' guidelines.

Other Duties

* Assists Assistant Director of Budget, Finance, and Operations as needed on a variety of ad hoc projects and tasks.

* Attend departmental, college, and/or university meetings to obtain the latest information regarding finance or research related matters.