(Hybrid) Senior Grants and Contracts Coordinator - Office of Sponsored Programs

The Office of Sponsored Programs at West Virginia University is currently accepting applications for a Senior Grants and Contracts Coordinator.

About the Opportunity

The Office of Sponsored Programs in the West Virginia University Research Office is seeking applications for a Senior Grants and Contracts Coordinator (hybrid). The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) is the central administrative unit charged with providing support to the WVU community in the solicitation, acquisition, and administration of externally funded projects for research, teaching, and service. This position is responsible for reviewing proposals, as assigned by the Pre-Award leadership, for submission to federal, state, and private funding entities. The incumbent will serve as a senior level leader within the pre-award sub-department and is responsible for assisting with routine to complex sub-department decision making through providing recommendations to the Associate Director and Assistant Director of the OSP Pre-Award unit.

This position will oversee, plan, and coordinate organizational activities as assigned by the Associate or Assistant Director including sub-unit operating processes, management of daily operations, and resource stewardship consistent with business objectives. The incumbent may oversee pre-award functions such as communications with internal and external customers, budgetary/finance, general operations, and/or training support. Provides operational oversight which requires creativity, and interpretive abilities to effectively resolve complex problems.

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

• 37.5-hour work week
• 13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)
• 24 annual leave (vacation) days per year (employee leave)
• 18 sick days per year (for when you're ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family's, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
• WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits
• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ's.
• Wellness programs

What You'll Do

• Pre-Award Administration:
  • Independently review and interpret sponsor guidelines, including Requests for Proposal, Broad Agency Announcements, and Requests for Application.
  • Evaluate proposals for consistency with sponsor policy and regulations. Interpret regulations for faculty and staff including Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), FAR, NIH Grants Policy Statement, NSF PAPPG, etc.
  • Act as a proposal and budget review liaison to faculty and staff, coordinate revisions related to OSP review of proposals and budgets, and complete final proposal validation in consideration of sponsor and University requirements. Determine the readiness of proposals for submission. Escalate unresolved proposal issues to the Pre-Award Manager leadership for resolution.
  • Provide budget development support, to include advising faculty and administrative staff on compliant budget development, coordination of complex budgets with multiple entities (internal and external), and validating budgets as entered in various sponsor proposal submission systems such as NSF Fastlane, NIH eRA Commons, Grants.gov Workspace, etc. Verify accuracy of budgets, including calculation of person months, percent of effort, indirect costs, and cost share.
  • Identify unique proposal circumstances which may impact WVU or WVURC's commitment to a project, such as a waiver or reduction in indirect costs, specific cost sharing requirements, etc., and escalate to the Pre-Award Manager leadership for consideration. Identify solicitation and proposal content that contains contracts and agreement language, and forward terms and conditions to the Award Negotiation sub-department for review prior to proposal submission.
  • Document institutional research compliance requirements related to human subjects, animal welfare, biohazards, etc. Prepare institutional certifications/assurances such as institutional representations and certifications, pre-award risk assessment forms, etc.
  • Facilitate the progression of the proposal lifecycle from Pre-Award to the Award Negotiation and Award Initiation stages by providing clear, substantive documentation highlighting unique post-award management requirements, and provide information sufficient to issue sub-awards, as necessary.
  • Complete non-competing continuation management support, including progress reports and budget submissions for continuing projects
• Senior/Lead Role:
  • Supports executive Pre-Award unit leadership in maintaining a proactive pre-award grant management environment, which supports principal investigator needs and meets sponsor, university, state and federal requirements.
  • Engage in strategic planning processes, including long-term planning of the strategic direction of research administration operating processes.
  • Serve as a signing official on behalf of the institution for federal DHHS proposal submissions and/or required agency follow-up as assigned by the Associate or Assistant Directors of the Pre-award subunit.
  • Participate in the management and direction of training processes for new employees supporting research administration within the pre-award subunit and across the institution.
  • Engage the pre-award team in professional development activities as appropriate to maximize office efficiency and effectiveness.
  • Assist with the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures in collaboration with the Associate and Assistant Directors of Pre-Award.
  • Advising the research community on area of expertise including institutional, federal, state, and other applicable policies and procedures.
  • Develop and foster effective collaborations among colleges and departments across the research community.
  • Actively participates in mentoring and training opportunities to faculty, staff and/or students across the institution as needed to support consistent and effective operations for successful research programs across the institution.
  • Coordinates and supports the research and service missions for the Office of Sponsored Programs and pre-award subunit. Participates in unit assigned team initiatives and goals to increase efficiency in administrative processes.
  • Facilitate and present at meetings and training sessions to support professional development of organization.
• Other Administration:
  • Build and maintain positive business relationships with internal and external customers, including college, department, and center leaders.
  • Ensure proper follow-up to agency requests pertaining to the submission of proposals for sponsored projects. Advise faculty on necessary follow-up such as revisions to the budget or proposal documents, sponsor requests for Just-in-Time information, etc.
  • Respond to faculty inquiries regarding proposal procedures, budget development, and use of University systems for proposal routing.
  • Develop and maintain pre-award subrecipient monitoring materials, including subrecipient commitment forms and other resources for vetting subaward institutions at the pre-award stage.
  • Perform rotating pre-award tasks on a (scheduled among the team on a monthly rotation), including documenting sponsor rejection notices in WVU systems, monitoring and responding to general inquiries received by the pre-award vanity email account, and issuing regular NIH Non-Competing Renewal RPPR reminder notices on a rotating basis.
  • Create and maintain OSP website content, including developing training resources for faculty/staff, Standard Operating Procedures, and OSP guidelines for proposal content.
  • Perform electronic research administration customer service such as faculty user account creation and modification, checking status of proposals in submission portals, etc.
  • Complete other duties as assigned by the Associate or Assistant Directors of OSP Pre-Award sub-department.

• Bachelor's degree
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience in the following:
  • Direct experience in grants administration; of which at least 1 year must include program management experience.
  • Research Administration, including interpretation and application of 2 CFR 200
  • Electronic Research Administration
• Ability to analyze data, solve problems and provide useful reporting tools.
• Ability to prepare, manage and maintain budgets and financial reports and provide reconciliation reports among clustered accounts.
• Ability to learn and implement WVU, State, and Federal policies and procedures relative to budgetary and grant related matters.
• Knowledge of various grant proposal application processes. Must be skilled in working with grants and contracts in a higher educational environment.
• Any equivalent combination of related education and/or experience will be considered.
• All qualifications must be met by the time of employment.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent communication and listening skills.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to interact with various customers throughout WVU.
• Demonstrated commitment to customer and team-oriented management.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and appropriately apply judgement, discretion, and initiative in coordination of many different and complex tasks.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement training activities.
• Demonstrated problem solving skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge of research administration.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and appropriately apply Federal, State, and University policies and procedures, and interpret cost principles.
• Demonstrated ability to productively and successfully work in a deadline-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with senior administrators regarding technical issues.
• Working knowledge of Word, Excel, and Adobe software.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Research Administrator

West Virginia University is a place of purpose and community. We take pride in our profound impact on the state of West Virginia and are committed to the personal and professional growth of our employees.

From the groundbreaking R1 research at our flagship campus in Morgantown to the career-oriented programs at WVU Potomac State in Keyser, and the technology-intensive programs at WVU Tech in Beckley, the contributions of WVU employees resonate across the state, touching lives and shaping futures.

At WVU, you will discover a supportive community that champions work-life balance and fosters a collaborative atmosphere. Our core values - service, curiosity, respect, accountability and appreciation - unite us as Mountaineers.

Join us at West Virginia University, where your work will make a lasting impact. To learn more about WVU, visit wvu.edu.

West Virginia University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We invite all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or Veteran status.