Project Administrator - Peanut Innovation Lab

Atlanta, with extended campuses in Atlanta, Griffin, Gwinnett, and Tifton. UGA employs approximately 3,100 faculty and more than 7,700 full-time staff. The University’s enrollment exceeds 41,000 students including over 31,000 undergraduates and over 10,000 graduate and professional students. Academic programs reside in 19 schools and colleges, including our newly established School of Medicine.

Posting Type: External

Retirement Plan: TRS or ORP

Employment Type: Employee

Benefits Eligibility: Benefits Eligible

Full/Part time: Full Time

Additional Schedule Information: M-F 8AM through 5PM. Potential travel; international and domestic.

Advertised Salary: Commensurate with Experience

Posting Date: 10/22/2026

Open until filled: Yes

Proposed Starting Date: 12/01/2026

Location of Vacancy: Athens Area

EEO Policy Statement: The University of Georgia is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or veteran status or other protected status. Persons needing accommodations or assistance with the accessibility of materials related to this search are encouraged to contact Central HR (hrweb@uga.edu).

USG Core Values Statement: The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 25 institutions of higher education and learning, as well the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 08.02.18.01.02.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 06.05 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom.

Classification Title: Grants Accounting Pro III

FLSA: Exempt

FTE: 1.00

Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent and 5 years of professional experience

Position Summary

The Project Administrator manages the business and grant administration functions of the Peanut Innovation Lab, a $36 million award over five years with more than 12 subawards across four countries, led by Scott Jackson, the Director of the Institute for Crop Design (ICD).

The Project Administrator is responsible for establishing and managing the lab’s business and financial operations. In partnership with the Principal Investigator, this position develops and maintains the award’s financial infrastructure, including account and chartstring setup, invoice review and certification processes, subrecipient monitoring procedures, documentation standards, and sponsor reporting schedules.

The position ensures compliance with sponsored project requirements, federal regulations, international project objectives, and audit standards from award inception through closeout. Responsibilities include overseeing the financial administration of subawards, conducting invoice reviews, determining cost allowability, processing payments, managing closeouts, and performing required subrecipient monitoring activities. The role also supports subrecipients with compliance requirements and facilitates the establishment of pending awards related to international project activities.

In addition, the Project Administrator manages procurement, travel, and personnel administration for the lab; reviews and approves financial transactions; supervises the Business Operations Professional; and serves as the University’s primary operational contact and point of accountability for the award’s financial management and compliance.

This is a grant-funded position with an initial two-year appointment. Continued employment is based on the needs of the project, as well as available funding and satisfactory job performance and progress.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and/or Competencies

• Knowledge with sponsored projects and Federal programs.
• Skill in reviewing subrecipient invoices against agreement terms, approved budgets and cumulative spending.
• Ability to administer subaward budgets, amendments and financial closeout in coordination with central sponsored programs offices.
• Knowledge of sponsored project accounting, cost share, rebudgeting and no-cost extensions.
• Skill in financial analysis, projections and burn-rate reporting over a multi-year award.
• Proficiency with enterprise financial and HR systems (OneUSG Connect / PeopleSoft or similar) and advanced Excel.
• Ability to design account structures, business processes and internal controls where none yet exist.
• Knowledge of university purchasing, travel and payroll policies and how sponsor terms apply to them.
• Ability to coordinate domestic and international travel, including travel authorizations and expense reconciliation.
• Knowledge of HR processes, including hiring, onboarding, effort reporting and payroll distribution.
• Ability to supervise, train and evaluate professional staff.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with faculty, international partners and central administrative offices.
• Ability to explain financial and compliance requirements clearly to non-financial audiences.
• Cultural awareness and flexibility working across time zones and institutions.

Physical Demands

• Typical office environment and working conditions
• Driving as needed to perform job duties

Is driving a responsibility of this position?: Yes

Is this a Position of Trust?: Yes

Does this position have operation, access, or control of financial resources?: Yes

Does this position require a P-Card? : No

Is having a P-Card an essential function of this position? : No

Does this position have direct interaction or care of children under the age of 18 or direct patient care?: No

Does this position have Security Access (e.g., public safety, IT security, personnel records, patient records, or access to chemicals and medications): Yes

Credit and P-Card policy: Be advised a credit check will be required for all positions with financial responsibilities. For additional information about the credit check criteria, visit the UGA Credit Background Check website.

Background Investigation Policy: Offers of employment are contingent upon completion of a background investigation including, a criminal background check demonstrating your eligibility for employment with the University of Georgia; confirmation of the credentials and employment history reflected in your application materials (including reference checks) as they relate to the job-based requirements of the position applied for; and, if applicable, a satisfactory credit check. You may also be subject to a pre-employment drug test for positions with high-risk responsibilities, if applicable. Please visit the UGA Background Check website.

Duties/Responsibilities:

Subaward Invoicing, Payment and Closeout

• Administer the financial side of the Lab’s subaward portfolio — more than twelve agreements across four countries. Support the Project Manager while incorporating CAES Contracts and Grants along with Sponsored Project Administration to ensure compliance and support modifications as needed.
• Review subrecipient invoices against agreement terms, approved budgets, period of performance and cumulative spending; determine allowability and certify them for payment.
• Coordinate with CAES Contracts and Grants to prepare the financial content of subaward request packages and amendments for Sponsored Projects Administration: budgets and justifications, period-of-performance and cost data, and the certifications each package requires.
• Coordinate with subrecipient institutions on financial documentation and payment across differing national requirements, banking arrangements and time zones.
• Administer subaward closeout: final invoice review, reconciliation against the executed agreement, and assembly of the financial closeout record.

Percentage of time: 25

Financial Management of the Award

• Manage the Lab’s financial operations across all award and cost share accounts; monitor, review and administer accounts and ensure the accuracy of system financial data.
• Monitor spending against the approved budget and period of performance across all budget periods; prepare and submit rebudget and no-cost extension requests.
• Produce projections, burn-rate analysis and expiring-funds reporting for the Director and the Business Director across a five-year award.
• Review and approve expenditures, requisitions and purchasing card activity for the Lab, and determine allowability against sponsor terms.
• Manage cost share commitments and ensure they are met, recorded and reportable.
• Prepare financial reporting to the sponsor to the schedule the award requires.

Percentage of time: 20

Establishment of the Award’s Business Function

• Design and implement the Lab’s account, chartstring and cost share structure at award setup, including the sub-account structure required to track more than twelve subawards separately across five budget periods.
• Build the subaward issuance, amendment and closeout process from the ground up: request package templates, internal review sequence, approval thresholds and the record each agreement must carry.
• Design the subrecipient monitoring program and its documentation standard — risk assessment methodology, monitoring frequency by risk tier, evidence retained for each activity — to the standard a single audit examines and put it in place before the first subaward invoice is received.
• Establish the invoice review, certification and payment routine, the sponsor reporting calendar, and the projection and burn-rate reporting the Director and Business Director will rely on over five years.
• Document all of the above as written Lab procedure, aligned to university policy and sponsor terms, so that the practice survives a change of incumbent.
• Advise the Director and project leads on allowability, allocability and sponsor restrictions, and resolve questioned costs before they reach closeout.
• Maintain effort and cost share documentation for personnel charged to the award.
• Coordinate with the Institute for Crop Design’s business staff on shared practice, given that the Lab is housed within the Institute.

Percentage of time: 15

Subrecipient Financial Monitoring and Compliance

• Perform the financial subrecipient monitoring UGA is obligated to conduct as prime recipient: risk assessment at issuance and periodically thereafter, with monitoring proportionate to assessed risk, in coordination with the Project Manager who holds programmatic responsibility for the agreements.
• Collect and track audit certifications and single audit reports, review findings relevant to each subaward, and follow up on corrective action.
• Monitor subrecipient spending against approved budgets and periods of performance, and address variances and underspending early.
• Document all monitoring activity to the standard required to evidence compliance in a single audit.
• Manage foreign subrecipient requirements including currency, banking, documentation standards and country-specific compliance considerations.
• Prepare for and support audit and sponsor monitoring visits.

Percentage of time: 15

Procurement, Travel and Personnel Support

• Administer procurement for the Lab, from requisition through receipt and payment, against sponsor and University purchasing rules.
• Coordinate travel for U.S. and international team members and for partner visits, including international travel authorities, visa-related documentation support and expense reconciliation.
• Provide human resources support for project personnel: position and hiring actions, onboarding, effort documentation and payroll distribution changes across the award’s accounts.
• Support day-to-day office operations for the Lab in coordination with the Operations Specialist.

Percentage of time: 10

Supervision and Work Direction

• Supervise the Lab’s Business Operations Professional: assign and review work, set priorities and deadlines, monitor workload and evaluate performance.
• Review and approve transactions prepared by the Business Operations Professional, and make determinations of allowability, allocability and monitoring judgment that position refers upward.
• Provide input on hiring and participate in selection for Lab business positions.
• Train the position on award terms, subrecipient documentation requirements and UGA systems.
• Establish segregation of duties between transaction preparation, review and approval within the Lab.

Percentage of time: 10

Partner and Project Coordination

• Serve as the Lab’s business point of contact for international partner institutions, project leads and UGA central offices.
• Support project meetings, reporting deadlines and partner communications on business and financial matters.

Percentage of time: 5

Contact Details:

For questions concerning this position or recruitment progression, please refer to the Recruitment Contact listed below.

Recruitment Contact Name: Scott Jackson

Recruitment Contact Email: sjackson@uga.edu