"Senior Grants Administrator, DISC Post Award"

Brandeis University is delighted to announce a career opportunity for a Senior Grant Administrator in the Office of Research Administration. If you are looking for an opportunity to work at a beautiful university campus with lots of perks including free parking and access to a top-of-the-line athletic facility, look no further! At Brandeis we offer competitive benefits and a compensation package which includes medical, dental and life insurances. If you hope to advance your career through educational opportunities, Brandeis offers tuition benefits for employees, dependents and spouses. Our 403b retirement savings plan includes a generous match.

The Senior Grant Accountant, DISC Post-Award is responsible for providing financial and grant management expertise, along with post-award management of a large and diverse portfolio of federal and non-federal grants, contracts, sub-award, fellowships, and other sponsored program funds for several major research centers, institutes, and departments within the institution. As a member of a small team of other post-award grant accountants, this position will serve as the primary liaison between principle investigators and the institution to ensure compliance with all sponsor regulations and all federal, state, local, and university requirements. Working independently, they will serve as a trusted partner and advisor in ensuring grant funds are expended efficiently and in full compliance with all requirements and conditions. This position will also work closely with other institutional offices including Sponsored Programs Accounting, the Office of Research Administration’s Pre-Award Services Team, the DISC Pre-Award Team, the Office of Human Resources, the Accounts Payable Department, and various other units, in support of Brandeis' core mission as a research institution.

Responsibilities:

• Independently manages post-award requirements for designated departments, programs, centers or organizations. Requires working closely with the principal investigator and Brandeis’ Sponsored Programs Accounting Department to ensure all sponsor and institution policies and deadlines are met.
• Manages the administrative and fiscal aspects of a large and diverse portfolio of both federal and non-federal grants and contracts. Successful management requires sensitivity to the needs of individual investigators, knowledge of sponsor, institutional and department requirements, highest ethical integrity and a commitment to a “customer-service” approach.
• Displays competency interpreting sponsor requirements while addressing all of the in-house systems and departments (Sponsored Programs Accounting, Accounts Payable, Procurement and Human Resources). Reads and interprets agreements to determine restrictions related to spending, prior approval requirements, applicable cost principles, and cost sharing requirements. Demonstrates curiosity to constantly learn about the changing regulatory environment.
• Monitors budgets and expenditures to evaluate whether they are allowable within the terms of the grant or contract while also verifying other critical aspects, such as sufficient funds, appropriate authorization, subcontract activity, etc. throughout the duration of the award.
• Reviews and approves all expenditures against awarded projects to ensure compliance with the OMB Uniform Guidance and individual sponsor requirements, as well as institutional policies and procedures.
• Assists principal investigators and research staff to properly allocate salary costs to sponsored awards consistent with research effort as new awards are received and throughout the life of the award as staff activities change and ensuring proper payroll adjustments.
• Works closely with Sponsored Programs Accounting in preparation of invoices and financial reporting as required by sponsors.
• Assists principal investigators in the preparation of Just-in-Time reports, RPPRs, grant/contract continuation applications, including clarification of policies with funding agencies, preparing and editing budgets and budget narratives; ensuring all application directives are met and responded to appropriately under strict deadlines.

Education & Work Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree required, master’s degree preferred
• 3-5+ years of related work experience.

Additional Requirements:

• Strong organizational and time-management skills, with a sensitivity to deadline-driven work and the ability to be self-motivated and self-managing.
• Excellent communications skills – oral, written, reading, and listening, demonstrating a highly-professional demeanor and the ability to interact independently and with confidence with staff, faculty, colleagues, campus departments and other outside agencies; exhibits a demonstrated “customer-service” focus and collegial tone.
• The ability to work independently as a top individual contributor within a team environment, collaborate with colleagues, and willingness to see what needs to be done and “pitch in” as needed.
• Experience in university research administration and/or financial management settings, including management of sponsored projects administration.
• Understanding of federal funding agencies, regulatory bodies, and regulatory requirements with the ability to research and interpret policies or regulatory requirements
• Resonance with the mission and goals of the Office’s priorities and a growth mindset.
• Proficiency in MSOffice applications, particularly MSAccess, MSWord, MSExcel (advanced skills); Google suite, Box, and other collaborative tools, and possess the ability to manipulate and extract data and work from a variety of sources (databases, Word files, plain text files, PDF, email, etc.). Workday and/or BA Priority software experience a plus but not required.
• Mastery of sponsored program accounting concepts and business processes, as well as a demonstrated understanding of how a university operates, including academic and administrative functions.
• Regular exposure to various principle investigators, including senior faculty and administrators; provides support to faculty, students, and staff of all levels.
• Liaison to outside agencies, sponsors, and other institutions.