What are the responsibilities and job description for the Research Administrator position at monell chemical senses center?
Monell is a globally recognized non-profit research institute dedicated to advancing the science of taste, smell, and related senses. Located in the heart of Philadelphia’s education and life sciences community, Monell fosters interdisciplinary research that leads to meaningful scientific and societal impact.
Position Summary
The Grant Administrator manages a defined portfolio of Principal Investigators, providing full lifecycle support for all sponsored research activities. This includes proposal development, budget preparation, internal routing, award setup, subaward management, financial coordination, reporting, and closeout. The Grant Administrator plays a vital role in ensuring compliance with sponsor and institutional policies while supporting researchers through clear, proactive communication and high-quality administrative service.
Responsibilities
- Meet with assigned PIs early in the planning process to review funding opportunities, eligibility, internal policies, deadlines, and required documents.
- Prepare detailed budgets and budget justifications for federal and non-federal proposals, and assist with sponsor-specific administrative components.
- Coordinate internal proposal routing and compliance with Monell policies.
- Review application materials for completeness and compliance with sponsor guidelines.
- Analyze Notices of Award and coordinate with the Business Office on award setup, including GL codes, personnel effort, salary caps, and cost-sharing commitments.
- Manage outgoing and incoming subawards by preparing or reviewing subaward packages, monitoring deliverables, coordinating with partner institutions, and supporting invoice review.
- Monitor expenditures, burn rates, and budget alignment with sponsor requirements in partnership with the Business Office.
- Track and support the preparation of progress reports, RPPRs, technical reports, and other required submissions in sponsor systems (eRA Commons, Research.gov, Foundation portals, etc.).
- Ensure PIs remain compliant with IRB, IACUC, and IBC approvals, COI disclosures, research security requirements, and sponsor-specific documentation.
- Communicate regularly with PIs regarding deadlines, reporting requirements, budget considerations, and upcoming administrative needs.
- Participate in ORA process improvements, SOP updates, technology implementation tasks, and internal training.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree required; PhD, JD, and/or CRA certification or related advanced training preferred.
- Minimum four years of experience in research administration, grants management, or a related field.
- Strong understanding of federal and non-federal sponsor policies (NIH, NSF, USDA, foundations, industry).
- Experience preparing budgets and managing multi-institutional subaward processes.
- Excellent communication, organizational, and analytical skills.
- Ability to handle multiple deadlines and competing priorities with accuracy and professionalism.
- Comfort working collaboratively with PIs, administrators, finance staff, and external partners.
- Experience with Cayuse or similar systems is an advantage.
Work Environment & Schedule
This is a remote position, with occasional on-site meetings as needed and collaborates frequently with Research Administrators, the Business Office, Human Resources, Development and other departments, scientific staff, and external institutional partners. This role requires a highly motivated and proactive individual who can exercise sound judgment, anticipate needs, and collaborate with a team of highly skilled Research Administrators who independently drive projects and administrative processes.
Application Instructions
Please apply through our Career Center by following the link below.
https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=d24b5e1f-d19a-4772-990f-d7a981aadfe4&ccId=19000101_000001&jobId=957032&lang=en_US&source=CC2
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Monell provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.