Grants Specialist

Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) is a joint venture established in 2011 to build upon the scientific excellence of UT Southwestern Medical Center and the clinical expertise of Children’s Medical Center. CRI’s mission is to perform transformative biomedical research to better understand the biological basis of disease, seeking breakthroughs that can yield new strategies for treating disease. CRI is creating interdisciplinary groups of scientists and physicians to pursue research at the interface of regenerative medicine, cancer biology, and metabolism, fields that hold uncommon potential for advancing science and medicine.

We are seeking a bright and energetic Grants and Contracts Specialist to provide support to CRI faculty and their labs in research grant proposal development and submission, grants and contracts financial management, financial forecasting and review, and interpretation of complex institutional and government policies. The successful candidate will be a self-starter who is detail-oriented, analytical, organized, and has a high degree of accuracy.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

·      Manages pre- and post-award grant activities in support of an assigned portfolio of grants and contracts within several laboratories

·      Prepares financial models and conducts financial analyses

·      Completes a variety of complex monthly financial management reports and reviews all reports for errors and inconsistencies. Analyzes variations in forecasts and actual performance. Determines reasons for variance. Develops recommendations for improvement and completes written summaries of financial data.

·      Oversees regular review, reconciliation, and projection of award finances, preparing adjustments and corrections to award budgets, preparing financial reports, and at the end of the award, ensuring all financial requirements have been met, and closing out the award.

·      Prepares and/or supervises preparation of monthly financial reports, schedules for annual financial reports, and reports to various government agencies, ensuring conformance of such reports with applicable procedures and regulations of University of Texas System and Federal and State agencies.

·      Uses knowledge of grant and contract management rules and regulations, technical expertise, analytical skills and knowledge of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and awareness of federal rules and regulations related to research grant and contract activity.

Ideal Qualifications

·      Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, or related field and at least two (2) years’ experience in business or public administration with emphasis on customer service in financial or contracting position

·      Master’s degree preferred

·      Excellent written and oral skills 

·      Detailed oriented and the ability to multi-task with accuracy in a busy and active environment 

·      Energetic self-starter and critical thinker 

·      Thoughtful approach to problem solving and the ability to independently resolve conflicts

·      Grants management/administration experience preferred

·      Skilled in Microsoft Office Suite software, particularly Excel

·      Knowledge and experience with budgets and maintaining financial records 

·      Experience in PeopleSoft financial system preferred