Associate Research Administrator

The Department of Family Medicine of the Keck School of Medicine of USC provides care for every member of the family, across generations and over lifetimes. We aim to enhance the quality of life for underserved and vulnerable patients, while educating future generations of highly skilled, compassionate primary care specialists. Our goal is to combine education, patient advocacy, and evidence-based research to advance family medicine and geriatrics.

The Department of Family Medicine is seeking an energetic, self-motivated team player with solid organizational, analytical and interpersonal skills to join its grants division to support departmental research activity and manage contracts & grants. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience managing a diverse portfolio of federal and non-federal awards independently. The candidate should have a high degree of proficiency in research administration and governmental regulations with the ability to maintain outstanding customer service and high attention to detail while meeting multiple deadlines in a fast-paced and high-volume environment.

Core job duties include:

Contracts & Grants

• Prepares summary reports of grant applications and grant budgets for department administration as necessary.

Pre-award Support

• Assists assigned faculty and research team members in the preparation and submission of proposals.
• Assists PIs with budget development (modular and detailed budgets) and assembles sub-award packets for submission.
• Initiating, completing, and routing proposals via TARA, Cayuse, Grants.gov, ASSIST and other sponsor portals while adhering to deadlines for all assigned proposals.
• Assists with the resolution of pre-award issues.

Post-award Support

• Administering all facets of post-award grant implementation; working closely with the faculty and serving as primary liaison and active partner between the faculty and the Office of Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA), Department of Contracts and Grants (DCG) and Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) to ensure awards are set up properly, cost-sharing requirements are fulfilled, and appropriate compliance controls are in place.
• Provides budget guidelines and decision-support to staff who process check requests, POs, and requisitions for the Research division. Review agency guidelines to confirm budget changes are in compliance with the specified requirements of individual agencies.
• Works with the Department Business Manager to finalize grant budgets and provide salary detail so payroll can be set-up appropriately in Workday. Processes non-payroll, payroll expenses transfers and effort certifications.
• Tracks expenditures and reconciles accounts. Prepares regular monthly financial forecasts and labor planning reports. Evaluates and analyzes reports and data.
• Arranges monthly financial meetings with PIs and/or management to review financial summaries, establish a plan for spending available balances, and address action items.
• Managing sub-recipient monitoring tasks, including setting up outgoing sub-awards for assigned awards, compiling appropriate documents to submit sub-award amendments, tracking awardees’ burn rate and invoicing frequency, reaching out to awardees regarding delinquent invoices, reviewing invoices for compliance with approved budgets, collecting required documents from sub-recipients for progress reports and performing sub-award closeout processes.
• Managing award continuity and timely submission of carryover requests, progress reports (RPPRs), award amendments, and no-cost extensions.
• Coordinating the award closeout process and ensure all fiscal and non-financial reporting requirements are met.
• Compiling data and documentation needed for institutional compliance requirements, audits and sponsor inquiries
• Assists with the resolution of post-award administrative issues and any issues that may arise on existing, continuing and/or expiring awards.
• Providing feedback regarding workflow for process improvements. Participating in cross training of administrative staff who assist with account reconciliation.
• Performing other job duties as assigned.

Skills & Qualifications:

• Directly related experience in a university environment with knowledge of university systems and procedures preferred
• Advance proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access) and Adobe Acrobat
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Demonstrated analytical capability in financial analysis and reporting
• Strong problem solving skills, including ability to research, organize and analyze information
• Ability to anticipate potential issues and be proactive in formulating solutions
• Ability to interpret university policies and applicable federal regulations
• Must exercise a high level of confidentiality and discretion
• A results oriented focus with demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage time sensitive issues and meet strict deadlines

Required Application Documents:

• Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file).
• Candidates may need to provide writing samples and demonstrate budget development skills if requested.
  The hourly rate range for this position is $40.88- $46.14. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

Minimum Education:
Bachelor’s degree
Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education
Minimum Experience:
3 years
Minimum Field of Expertise:
Basic knowledge of governmental regulations. Strong accounting skills. Competency in
project management. A Bachelor’s Degree with broad knowledge of relevant research
computer software, e.g.: Microsoft Access, Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Outlook, SPSS,
Visio, and SunGard. Experience in creating and analyzing statistical reports. Must be able
to utilize computer technology to access data, maintain records and generate reports.
Proven oral and written communication skills to interact with other employees.