The College of Arts & Sciences seeks a Research Coordinator to support the pre-award administration services and other inter-related strategic efforts of the Arts & Sciences Research Office led by the Director of Research Support. The College of Arts & Sciences, the largest and most comprehensive academic unit within the University of Tennessee, is comprised of 22 departments/schools as well as 10 research centers.

This position will serve on a team that will support pre-award functions & provide technical direction to approximately 468 tenure-track faculty of the College, along with their postdoctoral researchers, graduate & undergraduate students, and the departmental/center staff. In fiscal year 2022, the College’s externally funded expenditures were approximately $34 million and over 400 proposals for external funding were produced.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree

• Experience: Minimum of 3 years of experience interpreting and applying federal regulations relative to sponsored research

• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

  • Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office software

  • Working knowledge of funding agency-specific guidelines relative to sponsored research

  • Superior critical analyses skills with a keen attention to detail

  • Outstanding, proactive problem-solving skills

  • Ability to multi-task, with excellent organizational & project management skills

  • Demonstrated ability to work and/or lead within a team

  • Superior customer service skills, with demonstrated strong interpersonal skills to deal effectively & tactfully with personnel at all levels

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: Master’s degree, Certified Research Administrator (CRA) certification

• Experience:

  • Sponsored research experience in an academic environment

  • Experience with grant and contract policies of state, federal, private, and non-profit funding agencies

• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

  • Knowledge of Uniform Guidance

  • Knowledge of University policies and procedures

Work Location

• Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
• Onsite

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range: 10
• Anticipated hiring range: $66,250 - $75,000; depending on experience and qualifications
• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments.

• Resume

• Cover Letter

• List of 3 Professional References

About The College

The College of Arts & Sciences is the largest and most comprehensive academic unit within the University of Tennessee. The college is comprised of 22 departments/schools as well as 10 research centers.

The position will be responsible for the following activities in conjunction with the College faculty, staff, and students:

Proposal Development

• Analysis of funding agency opportunities (e.g., solicitations, request for proposals, program guidelines) to identify application requirements and content, and assistance with interpreting stated guidelines.

• Assistance with the planning and coordination of gathering required information and data for successful application. Creating templates, checklists, and timelines to facilitate efficiency of the process.

• Assistance with development of accurate application budgets, applying both UTK and agency policies to ensure adequate cost allocation and allowability.

• Initiating correspondence to grant personnel, outside agencies, departments & University officials related to grant submission.

• Coordinating and reviewing subrecipient documentation required by sponsor and by UTK, to include Statement of Work (SOW), authorized letter of collaboration and/or cost share commitment, detailed budget, budget justification, and supplementary documents

• Coordinate the strategic development of large proposals (multi-year, multi-investigator projects in excess of $2 million/year); identify senior participants and research partners, both internal and external to the University (e.g., other universities, national laboratories, private industry)

• Providing rule-driven copy-editing (language, mechanics, and conformance to guidelines of publisher or funding agency) for research proposals.

• Facilitating the resolution of sponsored research-related issues referred by departmental personnel and/or university research administrators.

• Ensuring alignment between technical application and budget plans; ensure adequate approvals for resources pledged by the University have been obtained prior to submission

• Serving as the subject matter expert on Proposal Guidelines from funders, fiscal policies and federal guidelines such as the Uniform Guidance

Administrative & Community Engagement

• Delivering research-related training (e.g., budget development, allowability of costs, effort certification, electronic systems) one-on-one, to entire departments, and during new faculty orientation

• Serving as a backup Cayuse reviewer & approver for the Director of Research Support for all external funding proposals on behalf of the College; reviews for compliance to college and university policy for budgets, indirect costs, space, joint faculty, cost share, location of research activities, and leave of absence timing/requirements.

• Providing assistance in preparing and processing post-award actions; such as budget revisions, no-cost time extensions, change in project personnel, addition or elimination of sub-awardee participants.

• Interacting with other internal administrative units on campus such as Office of Research, Innovation, & Economic Development offices (Research Administration, Research Development), UT Research Foundation (UTRF), UT Foundation, UT Institute of Agriculture (UTIA), Global Research Office, Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (OIRA) for information exchange, problem resolution, and clarification of policies and procedures.

• Participating on university committees to discuss sponsored research-related issues to identify problems & formulate actions to address problems

• Participating in professional associations and conferences which benefit the management and administration of sponsored research, and other continuous self-study opportunities.