Senior Grants & Contracts Analyst

The Mathematical Institute for Data Science (MINDS) is seeking a Senior Grants and Contracts Analyst who will provide dedicated professional level sponsored funds management for more than 80% of time with specific responsibility for pre-award and post-award functions that includes, but may not be limited to: proposal preparation, submission, budget development, account projections and oversight, billing/invoicing, reporting, compliance, and closeout. The ideal candidate will work independently on a variety of grants/contracts that range from simple to highly complex. While this role may assist with some aspects of non-sponsored funds, the primary goal of this position is to ensure timely, effective and efficient functioning of sponsored funding.

This position will assist the Sr. Financial Manager to execute pre- and post-award activities for MINDS. Overall duties include: proposal development, maintaining subawards, providing account balances and spending projections, budget allocation, cost transfers, account reconciliation and reporting, p-card approvals, preparation and review of grant and contract proposals and providing guidance in the interpretation and implications of applicable grant terms and conditions including university and grant guidelines, and managing the grant closeout process. This position will work directly with project PIs, Co-Is and administrative staff to ensure effective, accurate and timely performance of required tasks.

The Senior Grants and Contracts Analyst Will provide broad/in-depth professional administrative level guidance on protocols, regulations and guidelines to PI and other scientific/research professionals, both within the University and with other associated research/ administrative professionals outside of the University. This position offers guidance and learning support to other finance team members within the department.

This position will interact primarily with faculty, MINDS staff, and staff in other departments in a collaborative or support role. The position will be assigned work primarily by the Sr. Financial Manager and assist with both pre- and post- award activities. Faculty interactions will include preparing grant proposal submissions, quarterly budget review meetings and projections as examples. After sufficient training, day-to-day tasks will be executed independently with help from other finance team members as needed. The position will help to review work by other finance team members, interpret policies, and cross-train others.

Types of sponsored awards for which the position is responsible. This position works independently on a variety of complex level grants/contracts, including those from NSF, DOD (ONR, ARO, AFOSR, DTRA), DOE, DARPA, and NASA. These grants, contracts and awards may involve highly detailed budgets, multiple projects, Cores and Sub-awards, Investigator-initiated, Consortium and New Center Dept. of Defense grants, and/or higher complexity Foundation grants. Will also provide direction and assistance to a Grants and Contracts Analyst or Budget Specialist with details related to Sub-awards from other institutions on their federal pass-through grants. May also work directly with management of non-sponsored funds, including general funds and gifts, on a limited basis.

This position will help with the overall MINDS portfolio of grants which may include sponsors such as NSF, DoD (ARO, ONR, AFOSR, DTRA), DOE, DARPA, NASA, NIH as well as industry partnerships, foundations, collaborations with National Labs and internal funds.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

• Partner with and act as final point of contact with departmental faculty and/or budgetary staff and the Office of Research Administration (JHURA) toward the planning and development of application submissions to various federal offices, private agencies/foundations and commercial companies.
• Understand and utilize institutional policies for pre-award grant process and sponsor guidelines.
• Review all sponsored project proposals for assigned faculty prior to them being forwarded to the Sr. Financial Manager and JHURA for signature. Review involves accuracy, content, adherence to all relevant guidelines.
• Responsible for the timely preparation of proposal budget for Principal Investigator Review.
• Responsible for the tracking of expenditure rates, budget allocations, sub-awards, and account maintenance for accounts across the MINDS portfolio.
• Assist with grant closeout for grants in the overall MINDS portfolio.
• Responsible for the billing of facility fees through iLabs.
• Some procurement tasks may be done (major equipment) to assist the Budget Specialist.
• Provide instruction, preparation assistance and support related to grant application procedures.
• Serve as liaison between research units, central offices and funding agencies.
• Review budgets and related justification for appropriateness and completeness of content. Provide groundwork for subcontract negotiations.
• Ensure compliance in all other areas related to grant and contract management, including sponsoring organization guidelines, internal protocols, accurate protocol information within grant documents, conflicts of interest, etc.
• Manage all assigned grant submissions to ensure timeliness and accuracy.
• Maintain ongoing updates and communications related to current grants and contracts, this includes regular auditing and reporting to principal investigators on financial status of grants, contracts and discretionary accounts. Prepare and carry out quarterly budget meetings with each PI to review funding portfolio. Also provide relevant updates and reports to departmental leadership, as needed.
• Manage related post-award processes, including award setup, review, and account setup verification.
• Process all new sub-award agreements and modifications. Monitor sub-awardee spending to achieve agency goals.
• Ensure that post-award responsibilities are completed, including budget distribution, account reconciliation, e-form setup, HR Payroll transactions, effort reporting, cost transfers, paying invoices and paperwork finalization related to subcontract setup, and closeout.
• Oversee and direct all aspects of complex award management activities and provide oversight to other employees, including monitoring and managing accounts, audits, evaluations and reporting.
• Provide information and direct assistance required to complete contract and grant closeouts, as needed. Ensure that all closeouts handled by other members of the grants & contracts team have been handled appropriately.
• Assist with training other finance team members for help in proposal preparation or post-award activities.

Special Skills/Knowledge:

• Knowledge of accounting and budgeting theory and practices required.
• Ability to make independent judgments and to act on decisions on a daily basis.
• Ability to work with flexibility on several tasks simultaneously and to meet various concurrent deadlines.
• Strong mathematical and Excel skills with attention to detail
• Thorough knowledge of external Federal guidelines/procedures for grants and contracts, including NSF, DOD, DOE, and NASA preferred.

• Bachelor's Degree.
• Five years of related experience in sponsored research and/or financial positions, preferably in an academic or medical setting. Two of those years must include working in a lead or supervisory capacity with extensive supervisory responsibilities or high level, direct involvement in JHU grants and contracts leadership development training projects, serving as a recognized subject matter expert.
  

• Additional education may substitute for required experience and additional related experience may substitute for required education, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula*.
  

• Successful completion of the Research Administration Training program (18-24 months) is equivalent to three years of relevant experience for this position. If an employee does not successfully complete the program, no additional experience will be applied**.
  

* JHU Equivalency Formula: 30 undergraduate degree credits (semester hours) or 18 graduate degree credits may substitute for one year of experience.  Additional related experience may substitute for the required education on the same basis. For jobs where equivalency is permitted, up to two years of non-related college course work may be applied towards the total minimum education/experience required for the respective job.

** Applicants who do not meet the posted requirements but are completing their final academic semester/quarter will be considered eligible for employment and may be asked to provide additional information confirming their academic completion date.

Classified Title: Sr. Grants & Contracts Analyst 
Job Posting Title (Working Title): Senior Grants & Contracts Analyst   
Role/Level/Range: ATP/04/PD  
Starting Salary Range: Min $62,300 - Max $109,000 (Commensurate with experience) 
Employee group: Full Time 
Schedule: Monday through Friday- 8:00-4:30pm 
Exempt Status: Exempt 
Location: Hybrid/Homewood Campus 
Department name: MINDS Institute 
Personnel area: Whiting School of Engineering