Sr Grants & Contracts Administrator (Remote)

About City of Hope

City of Hope, an innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution with over 6000 employees, is dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases and guided by a compassionate, patient-centered philosophy.

Founded in 1913 and headquartered in Duarte, California, City of Hope is a remarkable non-profit institution, where compassion and advanced care go hand-in-hand with excellence in clinical and scientific research. City of Hope is a National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers that develops and institutes standards of care for cancer treatment.

Position Summary

The Senior Grants and Contracts Administrator (SGCA) brings together a broad range of research administration knowledge and expertise and coordinates a two-person team in support of a portfolio of research programs ranging from small to large and complex. Manages pre and post award activities related to extramural grants, contracts and cooperative agreements for all basic, clinical and translational projects submitted through the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope. Serves as primary contact for research faculty and administrators as well as acts as liaison to grant sponsors, regarding grant proposals and other research administration matters. Provides training and mentoring to junior and department research administrators in systems, regulations, and overall award management. The SGCA participates in efforts to improve research administration including serving on institutional working groups, attending, and presenting at, internal and external administrator forums and staying abreast of developments in the research administration arena. The SGCA is engaged in and may lead a variety of initiatives (e.g. creating new policies, developing training, etc) and enhancements to policy and process development. The SGCA is a vibrant member of a team dedicated to customer service and support and embodies a continuous improvement mindset.

S/he is the subject matter expert in all aspects of pre-award administration and provides competent and timely assistance, guidance and counsel to department administrators and faculty throughout the life of a research project from proposal to closeout. S/he is responsible for overseeing the most complex grant proposals and awards as part of the assigned portfolio.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Develops and maintains positive relationships with funding agencies, collaborating organizations, and multiple internal offices to ensure proper and timely grant administration. Provides competent and timely assistance and guidance to department administrators and faculty throughout the life of a research project from proposal to closeout.
• Steps out of the daily, task-oriented activities and utilizes strong critical thinking skills to assess workload, deadlines and time sensitive issues, and to understand and analyze data through the use of measures and metrics. Proactively identifies issues and opportunities relating to processes, policies, and operations and proposes solutions and/or improvements.
• Develops and maintains a strong working relationship with assigned Grant and Contract Coordinator (GCC). Trains and mentors the GCC in all aspects of Research Administration. Provides support and acts as resource within OSR.

Proposal Development and Submission:

• Reviews the funding opportunity announcement or request for application/proposal to gain an understanding of the required application components, submission process, and sponsor guidelines. Alerts department of any out of the ordinary or uncommon submission requirements.
• Assists departmental staff throughout the proposal preparation process by providing review of sections as required, assisting with budget preparation and calculations including cost-share, answering questions, and resolving administrative and financial issues related to the proposal.
• Provides a detailed, thorough review of the completed proposal and offers feedback to the department as necessary for any required corrections and suggested revisions to enhance the overall application and to ensure compliance with sponsors' rules, guidelines and institutional policies and procedures prior to submission, Obtains necessary internal approvals.
• Submits final proposal and follows through to sponsor acceptance.

Award Set-up and Management:

• Provides complete and accurate award management for all grant and contract awards at City of Hope from set up to closeout. Works closely with the departments, Research Finance, Grants Accounting, Foundation Relations, and other City of Hope departments to provide outstanding stewardship of funding agency dollars and to protect City of Hope's interests.
• Thoroughly reviews notices of award and accompanying terms and conditions. Notifies faculty department and other offices of any and all award requirements (e.g. reporting, deliverables) and restrictions.
• Accurately completes all award acceptance and set up documents as required for entry into COH systems.
• Acts as liaison to funding agencies and collaborating organizations throughout the grant award and addresses all requests such as rebudgeting, change of scope, just in time documents, and sponsor inquiries.
• Initiates the award close out process and coordinates closeout with other COH departments through completion.

Subrecipients and Monitoring:

• Creates and negotiates all subrecipient agreements (incoming and outgoing, consulting, vendor, and independent contractor). Works closely with the COH principal investigator and department to obtain the best possible terms by understanding the research project and adjusting contract terms and deliverables accordingly.
• Conducts subaward risk assessments and works with departments and faculty to ensure appropriate subrecipient monitoring.

Systems, Processes, and Training:

• Develops and maintains systems expertise (InfoEd grant management system, PeopleSoft for grants, sponsor websites and others as needed). Assists faculty and staff in navigating research administration tools and systems.
• Conducts training sessions/classes for faculty and staff to properly use the various systems.
• Continuously assesses OSR processes and procedures for opportunities to improve and standardize work.
• Mentors junior research administration personnel .

Basic education, experience and skills required for consideration:

• Bachelor's Degree
• Minimum of 8 years of research administrative experience preferably in an academic medical center, independent research institute or university.
• Extensive knowledge of grant and contract rules and regulations governing grant and contract management, specifically NIH Grants Policy Statement and 2 CFR 200 along with those of other primary funding agencies.

Preferred education experience and skills:

• Master's Degree

Additional Information:

• To protect the health of patients and staff and to comply with new State of California mandates, City of Hope staff are required to show proof of full vaccination by September 30, 2021. Compliance is a condition of employment.
• This is a fully remote/work from home opportunity.

City of Hope is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

• Posting Date: Dec 2, 2021
• Job Field: Research Administration
• Employee Status: Regular
• Shift: Day Job