Senior Pre-Award Officer, Sponsored Programs

Under the direction of the Manager, the Senior Pre Award Officer (SPAO) is responsible for supporting faculty and staff throughout the life-cycle of a funded project, including assistance with proposal preparation, proposal review and submission, award review and negotiation, management and close-out. He/she incorporates a significant amount of experience in support of multiple departments' research programs (ranging from small to large). Serve as the primary contact for research-active faculty and administrators regarding grant proposals and other research administration matters. In addition to these responsibilities, the SPAO may serve as a resource for faculty members preparing large or complex proposals, or for those faculty members or staff who need additional assistance/training during the project lifecycle. The SPAO should have extensive knowledge of major federal funding sources such as NIH, NSF, DoD,DOE as well research foundations and federal guidelines and policies. Participate in efforts to improve research administration including serving on University committees related to research administration, and is expected to serve as the subject matter expert for the proposal process and federal policies. Complete the majority of activities without direction and consult with the Manager for new or unusual circumstances.

Required Skills

B.A./B.S. and at least five years of central research administration experience. The Senior Pre-Award Officer is an experienced individual who must possess excellent organizational, time management, written and verbal communication skills; be detail oriented and capable of multi-tasking; must be self-starter, diplomatic, pro-active able in managing people. The SPAO must be able to provide leadership by cooperatively anticipating, coordinating, strategizing academic unit needs and be able to uses judgment and an extensive amount of experience to adapt an advanced knowledge of skills, methods, practices, policies and procedures and a moderate degree of innovation, analysis, and reasoning to plan and prioritize work that is primarily project oriented and involves some extremely difficult problems and/or decisions. The SPAO must be proficient in a wide variety of federal sponsors, especially NIH,NSF, and DOD. Successful candidate will have experience using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in research administration or be open to learning and leveraging AI to support their work.

 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor. 

Required Experience