"Pre-Awards Coordinator"

Job Description

Assists researchers in identifying potential funding opportunities from federal, state, and private entities; read and interpret the guidelines from funding agencies to ensure the proposal meets all requirements; develop detailed and accurate budgets for projects; gets all necessary internal approvals for the proposals; and manages the submission process through various electronic portals and systems used by funding agencies.

Responsibilities:

• Research and disseminate funding opportunities aligned with Coppin's mission, faculty expertise, and community-engaged scholarship.
• Provide individualized support to faculty and graduate students in developing competitive proposals, including guidance on sponsor guidelines, formatting, and required documentation.
• Assist with the preparation of key proposal components such as biosketches, current and pending support, facilities and resources, and compliance forms.
• Maintain a library of funding alerts, templates, boilerplate text, and examples of successful submissions.
• Coordinate and manage the full proposal life cycle, from concept to submission, ensuring adherence to deadlines and sponsor requirements.
• Partner with principal investigators, department chairs, and SGSR leadership to develop accurate budgets, budget justifications, and administrative sections.
• Route proposals through internal review and approval systems for institutional endorsement.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and private sponsor guidelines, including conflict-of-interest and research integrity policies.
• Serve as a resource for interpreting sponsor and institutional policies related to proposal preparation and submission.
• Maintain accurate records of submissions and outcomes; prepare summary reports for SGSR leadership and institutional stakeholders.
• Monitor sponsor announcements and regulatory updates to keep faculty and staff informed.
• Organize and lead workshops, webinars, and consultants on grant writing, budget development, and funding trends.
• Contribute to newsletters and SGSR communications highlighting funding opportunities and successes.
• Support strategic initiatives to increase transdisciplinary proposals and external partnerships.

Minimum Qualifications:

EDUCATION

Bachelor's degree.

EXPERIENCE

At least one (1) year experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Federal and sponsor policy: Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200, agency rules (NIH, NSF, DoD, DOE, HRSA, ED), and basic FAR concepts for contracts.
• Research compliance: COI/COC, IRB/IACUC/IBC, export controls (ITAR/EAR), data sharing/open science (e.g., NIH DMS), human data privacy (HIPAA/FERPA basics).
• Cost principles & budgeting: Allowable/allocable/reasonable/consistent costs, F&A rates, MTDC/TDC bases, participant support, cost share/match, effort commitments & caps (e.g., NIH).
• Subawards & collaborations: Subrecipient vs. contractor determination, risk assessment, required documents/flow-downs, IP/data rights basics.
• Institutional processes: Internal routing/approvals, signature authority, space/commitment management, departmental norms.
• Budget development: Multi-year personnel/fringe, escalation assumptions, equipment vs. fabrication, tuition/GA support, travel, consultants/subawards.
• Proposal assembly: Sponsor portals (Grants.gov/eRA Commons/ASSIST, Research.gov/NSF, others), formatting, page-limit compliance, QC checks.
• Systems & tools: Kuali or Workday Grants (or Cayuse), COi systems, SAM/UEI management; strong Excel (formulas, pivot tables), Word, Adobe, Teams/SharePoint.
• Document controls: Versioning, naming conventions, audit-ready files; PDF integrity and accessibility basics.
• Policy interpretation & guidance for Pis; translating complex rules into clear, actionable steps.
• Stakeholder communication (faculty, department admins, OSP, HR, IT, finance); professional email and concise brief writing.
• Project management: Backward timelines, internal deadlines, traffic control for multi-Pl submissions; risk identification and mitigation.
• Writing/editing: Budget justifications, facilities/resources, biosketch/current & pending support forms; checklists/SOPs.
• Precision under deadline: Maintain accuracy with multiple concurrent submissions.
• Analytical judgment: Spot eligibility gaps, unallowable costs, and compliance triggers early; propose alternatives.
• Collaboration & service orientation: Coach faculty; escalate issues appropriately; maintain collegial relationships.
• Discretion & ethics: Handle sensitive data; uphold research integrity.
• Continuous improvement: Build templates, playbooks, and training; capture lessons learned.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certification(s): Certified Research Administrator (CRA) or Certified Financial Research Administrator (CFRA).
• Familiarity with institutional research infrastructure modernization tools (e.g., Kuali, Workday Grants, Power Bl).
• Experience in Office of Sponsored Programs and Research with federal sponsors (NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD, USDA) and foundations (e.g., Gates, Casey, Mellon).

Additional Job Information:

Contractual employees are eligible for limited benefits. Please see the link below to view the benefits that Coppin State University has to offer.

https://www.coppin.edu/benefits

Coppin State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability status or veteran status. View the EEOC Know Your Rights poster for more information regarding your rights under the law.

If you experience difficulties utilizing the online application system or you require reasonable accommodations during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact Human Resources at AskHR@coppin.edu. Please note that only inquiries regarding a request for reasonable accommodation or system issues will be responded to when contacting this e-mail account. Reasonable accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis.