Pre-Award, Research Administrator

George Mason University - Fairfax, VA

Full-time

Fairfax, VA

Educational Services

About the position

The Pre-Award, Research Administrator at George Mason University is responsible for managing pre-award activities for grants and contracts within the College of Science. This role involves ensuring compliance with federal, sponsor, and university guidelines during the proposal preparation and submission process. The administrator will also monitor the regulatory environment, manage a portfolio of active proposals, and facilitate communication between sponsors and faculty to ensure timely compliance with all requests related to sponsored project activities.

Responsibilities

• Facilitates all aspects of proposal preparation and submission process to ensure proposals meet federal, sponsor, and university guidelines
• Provides expertise on sponsor and university policies
• Monitors the external regulatory environment related to sponsored funding
• Provides compliance checks and oversight for the University
• Monitors accuracy of data for internal and external reporting
• Ensures sponsor requirements and deliverables are met; maintains a portfolio of active proposals
• Manages actions of sponsored projects for assigned university units/centers, including modifications, no-cost extensions, rebudgets, PI changes, allowability questions, and other pre-award related actions
• Complies with all office pre-award procedures
• Effectively utilizes grants management system (Research Administration Management Portal - RAMP)
• Serves as a resource at times of high sponsored project activity to assist departments and faculty actions
• Maintains communication with sponsors and faculty to ensure timely compliance with all requests related to sponsored project activities
• Responds promptly and professionally to questions and requests from department staff, university faculty, or administrators regarding proposal and post award actions
• Facilitates communication with sponsors to resolve issues in a timely manner for pre-award questions.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent
• Any appropriate combination of relevant education and/or work experience may be considered
• Fundamental interpersonal skills in a professional environment
• Demonstrated advanced oral and written communication skills
• Ability to analyze data and formulate conclusions
• Proficient use of computers; requires a solid working knowledge of MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Ability to create high-quality written documents
• Proactively resolve issues in a timely manner
• Excellent customer service orientation
• Deadline-oriented; work well under pressure.

Nice-to-haves

• Bachelor's degree in related field
• Experience in Sponsored Programs Administration or related field preferred
• Knowledge of University processes, systems and offices, related to and/or involved in grant and contract submission management
• Knowledge of the Banner Financial system, or demonstrated ability to learn complex electronic systems related to grants and contracts management.