Post Award Administrator

Overview

This role provides professional support for post-award activities relating to grant and contract proposals and funding within a department or unit. Post-award responsibilities include compliance monitoring, payment processing, and salary allocations. Work is performed with moderate guidance and requires applying knowledge of University and business drivers.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a primary account administrator for faculty, supporting portfolios that may include sponsored awards, gifts, and internal funding.
• Allocate, authorize, monitor, and control expenses.
• Maintain, oversee, reconcile, and correct errors in accounts.
• Collaborate with other administrators on procurement processes, including purchasing, internal requisitioning, and personal and travel reimbursements.
• Work with central offices to manage the financial and non-financial aspects of post-award grant management.
• Advise and assist with relationships and communications with funding agencies, subcontractors, and others.
• Propose solutions to discovered problems and resolve issues according to proper policy and procedure.
• Compare actual spending to the original budget and identify variances, with particular attention to faculty salary.
• Develop and apply working knowledge of University policies and procedures, as well as policies and procedures of various funding agencies.
• Work closely with the department to effectively manage faculty accounts and ensure proper spending.
• Handle straightforward post-award activities including:
  • account creation
  • regulatory and compliance monitoring
  • salary allocations
  • effort reporting
  • grant projections
  • cost allocations
  • cost center charges
  • equipment inventory
  • invoice preparation
  • grant closing process
  • account closing
• Prepare summaries of grants and effort allocations for Principal Investigators; meet with them and respond to questions.
• Coordinate with other departments/units/divisions on multi-investigator grants.
• Serve as the department contact for annual audits and agency site visits.
• Perform other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• A college or university degree in a related field.
• Knowledge and skills developed through 2–5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in accounting, business administration, or science.
• Administrative, accounting, or grant and contract administration experience.
• Experience with budgets, ledgers, invoices, and fiscal reporting.
• Experience with one or more aspects of sponsored program administration in a research environment.
• Experience with accounting systems.

Preferred Competencies

• Knowledge of Microsoft Office, financial computing, and database software applications.
• Mathematical aptitude.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Ability to work closely with senior University officials.
• Ability to independently complete projects on time and accurately with minimal supervision.

Working Conditions

• Work non-traditional hours.

Compensation & Benefits

• Pay range: $75,000.00 - $100,000.00
• Pay rate type: Salary
• FLSA status: Exempt
• Benefits eligible: Yes

Location

• Chicago, Illinois

Application Documents

• Resume (required)
• Cover letter (required)

Employment Information

• Scheduled weekly hours: 40
• Drug test required: No
• Health screen required: No
• Motor vehicle record inquiry required: No

The employer uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude employment; the employer reviews conviction information on a case-by-case basis, considering the nature of the offense, circumstances, time since conviction, and relevance to the position.

The employer is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law.