Hub Research Administrator
About the Opportunity
About Research Enterprise Services (NU-RES) Hub
Northeastern University's Research Enterprise Services (NU-RES) Hub
seeks to hire talented, experienced, agile research administrators
dedicated to supporting investigators secure and manage their
extramurally funded sponsored activities. NU-RES provides
leadership and expertise to faculty, investigators, and
administrators, supporting the research and sponsored programs
portfolios of the University and its affiliated research
institutes.
The Hub, a shared administrative and business service unit
operating within Northeastern's central sponsored programs office
(NU-RES), assists faculty and research investigators across the
University's global research network by providing department-level
administrative support. The Hub serves as a critical
researcher-NU-RES interface and directly supports faculty
throughout the proposal-award life cycle. Team members of the Hub
provide direct assistance to faculty and research investigators;
cross-function support to Hub and NU-RES team members; and work
closely with all units reporting to the Senior Vice Provost for
Research.
Job Summary
Reporting to the Associate Director, Research Finance, the Research
Administrator position is a unique, central-level position
providing college- and department-level research administration
services to Principal Investigators while collaborating with the
central research finance office. As such, the Research
Administrator serves as a subject-matter expert, pivoting between
multiple college and departmental units and liaising across
multiple departments to maximize efficiencies and ensure holistic
support to Principal Investigators. This position collaborates
significantly with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including
faculty, college administrators, internal and external research
administrators, and finance personnel. Exceptional
service-mindedness and the ability to perform with tact, diplomacy,
and discretion are essential.
Northeastern University, a dynamic, innovative, and entrepreneurial
university with a diverse, complex, and growing award portfolio, is
hiring and developing personnel who enjoy working in a
high-performing culture that rewards excellence. In addition,
Northeastern is a global university, and NU-RES supports its team
working remotely. Remote locations and work schedules are
determined based on operational needs and consultation with NU-RES
team members, consistent with University policies and
guidelines.
Responsibilities include scheduling and attending routine meetings
with Principal Investigators (PIs) to review account activities and
projections; assisting with proposal and budget preparations;
reviewing proposals for completeness and compliance with sponsor
specifications; processing non-financial, financial, and
effort-related transactions; reviewing expenditures for compliance;
monitoring account balances; providing monthly or ad hoc financial
reports to PIs and departments; coordinating cost-share; requesting
award extensions; supporting financial reporting and award closeout
activities; and participating in and providing training to faculty,
staff, or others on best practices related to post-award financial
research administration.
To learn more about Northeastern's unique academic environment and
generous benefits, please see
http://www.northeastern.edu/hrm/.
Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities
Pre-Award Administration (20%)
- Identify proposal opportunities and work with faculty to
develop proposal budgets.
Coordinate subaward proposals and prepare applications.
Review proposals to federal, state, and local government
agencies, private foundations, and industry/corporate organizations
to ensure compliance with applicable regulations, University
policies, and program solicitations, including specific terms and
conditions related to cooperative agreements, Other Transaction
Authority (OTA) agreements, and Federal Acquisition Regulation
(FAR)-based contracts.
Award Management (30%)
- Provide overall financial management of a complex and growing
portfolio comprised of grants, contracts, and cooperative
agreements from a variety of federal and non-federal sponsor
types.
- Monitor account balances, term dates, and activities.
- Collaborate with central NU-RES offices to prepare and submit
requests for prior approvals, scope-of-work or PI/key personnel
changes, award extensions, post-award budget revisions, and
child/related funds.
- Schedule and attend quarterly, or more frequent as needed,
meetings with PIs to review accounts, including balances, activity,
projections, and terminations/closeouts.
- Coordinate with the subaward team on subrecipient setup,
monitoring, and invoicing.
- Assist with submission of progress reports.
- Coordinate with Research Finance, Research Administration, or
other units to address issues or questions relating to account
setup, activity, reporting, closeout, and audit activities.
- Perform college- and department-level reconciliations of
accounts.
Transactional (30%)
- Monitor and approve transactions, including reviewing for
appropriate backup and business purpose documentation in Concur,
Workday, email, or other platforms.
- Review and approve subrecipient invoices within the Workday
financial system.
- Prepare and submit cost transfer forms or other required
documentation to support transactional activities.
- Collaborate with PIs and colleges to identify extra
compensation availability and planning needs.
- Prepare, submit, and track extra compensation requests.
Reporting & Analysis (10%)
- Run and distribute monthly account activity reports to
PIs.
- Perform financial analysis on accounts, identify burn rates and
projections, and communicate burn rates and projections to PIs and
departments.
- Coordinate with department administrators and Research Finance
on effort allocations, changes, and reporting.
Training & Support (5%)
- Seek and attend training and meetings focused on federal
regulations, research administration, and other relevant areas to
maintain fluency in areas specific to the role.
- Provide training and presentations, attend meetings and
workshops, and communicate new policies and regulations relevant to
research administration.
- Participate in cross-training initiatives or workgroups as a
subject matter expert or end-user to promote well-rounded
perspectives, seamless transitions, processes, and adequate
internal controls of research administration.
Other (5%)
- Routinely participate in ongoing professional development
activities with a focus on continuous professional growth.
- Complete ad hoc or miscellaneous projects as needed or
assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor's degree or 4-6 years of relevant work
experience.
- Research administration experience.
- Financial analysis experience, with familiarity with Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Uniform Guidance, or other
regulations.
- Advanced Microsoft Office Suite skills, including Word, Excel,
and PowerPoint.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with
exceptional attention to detail.
- Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills.
- Service-mindedness with proven customer service skills.
- Ability to independently learn and utilize a variety of
systems, applications, and resources.
- Demonstrated ability to interact with tact and diplomacy with
constituents at all levels of an organization.
- Ability to create and deliver presentations and training for
diverse audiences through virtual or in-person platforms, public
speaking engagements, or recorded sessions.
- Ability to work effectively both independently and in a
team-oriented environment.
- Flexibility and agility to pivot between central and
non-central roles, projects, and tasks to meet deadlines.
- Resourcefulness and willingness to support organizational and
operational changes as part of ongoing process improvement
initiatives.
- Ability to work effectively with varying levels of
ambiguity.
- Ability to create and maintain a culture of service,
accountability, and timeliness.
- Ability and willingness to keep abreast of federal and sponsor
regulations and train others on applying those regulations.
- Commitment to compliance, stewardship, and continuous
improvement.
Preferred
- Certified Research Administrator (CRA) or Certified Financial
Research Administrator (CFRA).
- Currently holds, or is eligible to obtain, a security
clearance.
Required Documents
Position Type
Research
Additional Information
Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work
experience, education and skills when extending an offer.
Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit
eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid
time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as
well as commuting & transportation. Visit
https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for
more information.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive
consideration for employment without regard to race, religion,
color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability
status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable
law.
Compensation Grade/Pay Type:
108S
Expected Hiring Range:
$60,315.00 - $85,192.50
With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend
on several factors, which may include your education, experience,
location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay
comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role.
Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to
change.
To apply, visit https://northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/careers/job/Boston-MA-Main-Campus/Hub-Research-Administrator_R141950
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