Research Administrator II

Research Administrator II

Bachelors degree and two years of experience in grant and contract administration; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

The School of Landscape Architecture and Planning (SLA&P) studies and designs ways to improve natural and built environments to create healthy, equitable, and resilient communities. Our research involves environmental, urban and social challenges at the intersection of art, sciences and the built environment.

We work at a range of scales - site, city, region and context - both domestic and international. Our research and community outreach themes and focus capabilities are: 1) design thinking, 2) socio-cultural, economic and human needs, 3) adaptive policy, planning and design, 4) land use water, infrastructure and resource interactions, and 5) geospatial analysis and modeling.  

This position will play pivotal role is getting this research processed and approved so we can provide the community and the world with positive changes in our ever changing environment. 

Research Project Administration

Supports all aspects of a grant or contract award lifecycle including proposal submission, award set-up, award management, and assistance with closeout activities by providing analysis and comprehensive administration, while abiding by UF, sponsor, and various levels of jurisdiction on policies and procedures.

Works as primary contact and liaison for departmental faculty and staff, the College, UF Research and other stakeholders for all research related activities.

     Pre-Award Administration:

• The administrator starts with pre-award support which includes but is not limited to: budget development; policy review; UFIRST entry, submission, and routing; preparation and submission on sponsor websites.
• Work closely with Faculty to prepare budgets that include the calculation of personnel salaries, project expenses, and administrative & facilities costs. Ensure all documents line up equally such as the budget and budget justification, formatting as needed, entering proposals in UFIRST, uploading documentation, coordinating and reviewing all aspects of the proposal submission to ensure thorough and timely submission to the College and DSP for review and submission to the funding agency in a timely manner.
• Work with various electronic proposal systems (such as UFIRST, Grants.gov, Research.gov, etc.) as needed to enter additional sponsor application requirements.

     Award Management:

• Manage the timeline of the award and process adjustments as necessary, which may include but is not limited to: entering modifications in UFIRST for project changes; create sub-awards as needed, enter center designations, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) exemptions, requests for no cost extensions, carryover, re-budgeting requests, changes in scope, and other changes to the award.
• Meet with Faculty on a regular basis for grant monthly report reconciliation and overall lifecycle management. Make sure funds are being spent appropriately and distributions have been entered on time to avoid retros.

     Post Award Administration:

• Complete the lifecycle of the research activity such as: release the awards in UFIRST including subawards and subprojects, effort and commitments.
• Assist in the transfer of grant funds from other institutions for new incoming Faculty and grant transfers for Faculty who are leaving UF.
• Work with UF Division of Contracts & Grants (C&G) to close-out projects and confirm PI fund distribution accounts.

     Fiscal, Travel, & HR:

• Review and approve travel requests, expense reports, reimbursements and other travel expenses on research funds.
• Approve invoices, pcard purchases, purchase orders (Pos), and any other purchasing expenses occurring on research funds.
• Work with HR to review and approve employee hires, assisting with entering payroll distributions and tuition waivers that are on research funds.

     Other duties as assigned

UF offers a variety of benefits to our employees that can be found here: https://hr.ufl.edu/benefits/

• Extensive knowledge and ability to interpret University of Florida, State, Federal and sponsor rules, regulations, policies and procedures as it pertains to conducting research at UF.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the grant proposal process at UF and experience with using multiple research programs such as UF’s UFIRST system. research.gov and/or grants.gov preferred.
• Must be able to work independently with demonstrated problem-solving skills and attention to details.
• Good verbal and written communication skills and ability to communicate with all stakeholders.
• Skilled in the use of operating systems such as Microsoft Excel and Word, Adobe and have the ability to learn new operating systems. UF will be changing to workday in 2027 from peoplesoft.

In order to be considered, you must upload your cover letter, resume and list of at least 3 references. 

Application must be submitted by 11:55 p.m. (ET) of the posting end date.