Senior Research Administrator – Pre-Award, Department of Pediatrics

Benefits of working at VCU

All full-time university staff are eligible for VCU’s robust benefits package that includes: comprehensive health benefits, paid annual and holiday leave granted up front, generous tuition benefit, retirement planning and savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities for career development and advancement, and more. Learn more about VCU’s benefits here.

Job Code

RS, Sr Research Administrator, 1-3, 34214N, 34215N, 34216N

Recruitment Pool

All Applicants

Posting Number

req8145

Unit

School Of Medicine MBU

Department

SOM/Pediatrics/PRO

Department Website Link

https://pediatrics.vcu.edu/research/

Location

VCU

Address

1000 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219 USA

Duties & Responsibilities

Position Summary:

As a critical member of the Department of Pediatrics Research Office (PRO) and Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) administrative team, this position will perform at a high level, resolving complex issues largely independently to provide pre-award internal and sponsored funding support to faculty and staff in the Department of Pediatrics and if/as needed, to investigators who are CHRI members or are in other VCU departments and work with a pediatric population in the Children’s Hospital of Richmond. This position will oversee and coordinate administrative pre-award outreach, timelining and process setting and improvement if needed by working directly with faculty to identify internal and external funding opportunities and to submit competitive sponsored award proposals to primarily federal and foundation sponsors. This position will lead strategic management of daily pre-award operations and will work with other personnel at all levels in the PRO and CHRI to conform pre-award strategy with the larger goals and mission of the Department, the CHRI and CHoR. This position will serve as a liaison between other departments and aligned units across the university and health system as needed, including the School of Medicine, Office of Sponsored Programs, as well as with peers at collaborating institutions, in order to achieve individual and institutional goals.

Core Responsibilities:

• Assists in the creation and documentation of individualized grant plans for Department of Pediatrics researchers. Includes actively and accurately interpreting and applying sponsor and institutional policies upon identifying multiple award mechanisms and recycling the same grant through multiple funding opportunities and cycles.
• Performs proactive outreach to faculty and staff regarding notice of opportunities and adherence to preestablished grant plans for each individual.
• Oversees and coordinates all administrative aspects of a sponsored award submission including projecting and documenting timelines for submissions and funding terms.
• Assists the PRO / CHRI administrative team with department-level financial strategy by anticipating funding fluctuations: Includes anticipation of NCEs, bridge periods, and anticipated levels of new funding based upon scale of targeted mechanisms.
• Anticipates and communicates need for faculty protected research time and the resultant clinical FTE reduction.
• 45% = Pre-award activities include: interpretation of and adherence to sponsor guidelines; collaborative budget creation with research team; assistance with development of all submission components; follow all VCU and sponsor policies and practices to a successful proposal submission.
• 15% = Meet with faculty to understand their research goals; help identify funding opportunities.
• 25% = Serve as an administrative resource to faculty and research staff to educate and mentor in all aspects of pre-award sponsored program administration including preparing and presenting materials to individuals and groups to build knowledge and skills across the department and CHoR.
• 15% = Collect and report on submission and award metrics as well as perform any other sponsored award administrative needs as part of the PRO and CHRI.

Qualifications

Minimum Hiring Standards:

• Extensive knowledge and experience with multiple sponsors – primarily NIH (SF424), HRSA, DoD, and other federal (grants.gov) and also foundations (eg. Proposal Central)
• 5 years minimum experience in an academic medical research institution
• 5 years minimum experience in pre-award research administration
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent applicable combination of training, education and experience.
• Ability to lead multiple submission processes with and for busy investigators
• Ability to work under tight deadlines
• Highly independent self-starter and critical thinker
• Highly organized and has exceptional attention to detail
• Proficiency in budget building in Microsoft excel
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from various backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with VCU sponsored program systems, policies and processes
• Experience with financial management of sponsored awards and running financial projections

Additional Information:

Position is located in Richmond, VA. Hybrid schedule preferred but will consider fully remote.

Position will remain open until filled.

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine is a premier academic medical center located in the heart of Richmond. Accounting for almost half of VCU’s sponsored research, the School of Medicine is internationally recognized for patient care and education. All full-time university staff are eligible for our generous benefits package that includes choices for health, vision, and dental coverage, life-insurance, short and long-term disability coverage, retirement planning, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, flexible spending accounts, tuition benefits, significant paid-time off, 12 paid holidays, and more. Explore our benefits further here: https://hr.vcu.edu/current-employees/benefits/university-and-academic-professional-benefits/

VCU is committed to hiring veterans! VCU will include a veteran's period(s) of military service in the calculation of their annual leave accrual rate. This may provide veterans with an increased leave accrual!

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity employer.

Please note that if you are employed as a university employee working in any of the health system's facilities, you will need to follow VCU Health System policies, which will include but will not be limited to, vaccination requirements.

FLSA

University Employee

Job FTE

1.00

Exemption Status

Exempt

Restricted Position

No

E-Class

UF - University Employee FT

Job Category

University Employee

ORP Eligible

No

Salary Range

Commensurate with experience, up to $95,000

Compensation Type

Salaried

Target Hire Date

10/1/2025

Contact Information for Candidates

Jewel Jefferson jewel.jefferson@vcuhealth.org