Grants & Contracts Specialist

The Pathology Department is seeking a Grants & Contracts Specialist to provide professional sponsored funds management with specific responsibility for pre-award and post-award functions that include, but may not be limited to: proposal preparation, budget development, account maintenance and oversight, billing/invoicing, reporting, and closeout. This role may manage less complex grants through the submission stage, with necessary oversight and direction. While this role may assist with some aspects of non-sponsored funds (general funds and gifts), the primary goal of this position is to support the timely, effective and efficient functioning of sponsored funding.

Independently reviews and processes accounting transactions, verifies budgets and expenditures to ensure compliance with university and/or agency regulations and restrictions. Uses various software applications, such as SAP, spreadsheets, relational databases, statistical packages, and graphics packages to assemble, manipulate and/or format data and/or reports.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

Grants & Contracts

• Partner with departmental faculty and/or budgetary staff toward the planning and development of application submissions to various federal offices, private agencies/foundations and commercial companies. May work with representatives from ORA, under the guidance of more senior members on the departmental research/administration team.
• Understand and utilize institutional policies for pre-award grant process and sponsor guidelines.
• Review all sponsored project proposals for assigned grants of moderate complexity, prior to them being forwarded to the Grants & Contracts Manager and ORA for signature. Review involves accuracy, content, adherence to all relevant guidelines.
• Provide instruction, preparation assistance and support related to grant application procedures, at the direction of the Sr. Grants and Contracts Analyst and/or Grants and Contracts Manager.
• Serve as liaison between research units, central offices and funding agencies for grants of moderate complexity.
• Review budgets and related justification for appropriateness and completeness of content. Ensures that all applicable and indirect costs have been applied. Involves more senior members of the research team for direction, as needed.
• 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.
• Coordinate related details for 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 and research management. May assist with closeouts as needed.
• Assist with award setup details, after grant number is assigned.
• Support all relevant post-award responsibilities, as requested by senior members of the grants & contracts team, including account reconciliation, effort reporting, cost transfers, paying invoices, closeouts and related faculty support.
• Participate in the preparation of the medical records or research documentation, budget, administrative, and regulatory documents for patient records, grant proposals, clinical or research protocols, and/or contractual agreements.

Inventory & Expenses

• Responsible for day-to-day budget management including purchase orders, travel reimbursements, reconcile expenses based on JHU Compliance guidelines, identify and communicate budget issues, provide alternative solutions, and resolve problems.
• Order office and lab supplies and equipment. Responsible for SAP transactions per policy and department procedures. Reconciliation and documentation.
• May be assigned responsibility for procurement card (P-Card).
• Monitor monthly expenditures through reconciliation of monthly financial statements. Oversee the expenditure of funds, ensuring that funds are expended according to sponsoring organization’s stipulations and appropriate university guidelines.
• Distribute monthly financial statements.

Administrative

• Helps coordinate and document management, narrative and statistical reports for private and government agencies.
• Coordinates administrative activities for one or more pathologists to ensure a smoothly functioning office; interprets operating policies; exercises independent judgment in the resolution of administrative problems, prioritizing of workload, facilitating travel arrangements and expense reconciliation, purchasing supplies, coordinates special projects or programs, such as: seminars, courses, donation centers, training programs, etc.
• Compose agendas, documents, correspondence, and memos on behalf of the faculty. Transcribe and/or type manuscripts, technical documents, tables, graphs/charts, correspondence and notes, formatting and compiling information for grants, protocols, presentations, reports, manuscripts, etc. Provides some support to faculty including appointments, transcription of medical records, correspondence, manuscripts, grant proposals and filing.
• Provide support for faculty's activities with national societies, research projects, and scholarly publications and presentations, serving as a liaison between department and vendors, other departments, and outside organizations. Reference Management.
• Participate in the preparation of the medical records or research documentation, budget, administrative, and regulatory documents for patient records, grant proposals, clinical or research protocols, and/or contractual agreements.
• Serve as coordinator for faculty travel and faculty-sponsored events.

Manage Scheduling/Calendars

• Prepare routine, customized, and adhoc reports for both internal and external reporting.
• Create and maintain spreadsheets utilizing appropriate software applications.
• Perform ad hoc research and fact-finding on a wide variety of administrative issues and items; know the formal and informal Institute goals, standards, policies and procedures.
• Create, maintain, & analyze electronic and paper record keeping systems including retrieval, retention, storage, compilation, updating, and destruction of files; creating new systems or revising established procedures as needed.
• Maintain equipment and service contracts including computers, office equipment. Analyzes office-operating practices such as record keeping systems, forms control, personnel requirements, recommending new systems or revising established procedures. Interprets and communicates operating policies.
• Perform miscellaneous related duties as assigned.

Special Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Operates personal computer to access email, electronic calendars, and other basic office support software.
• SAP transactions including order of supplies (Shopping Cart).
• Uses various software applications, such as spreadsheets, relational databases, statistical packages, and graphics packages to assemble, manipulate and/or format data and/or reports.
• Utilizes Internet to search for information, contacts for research, and clinical consultation, international contacts for teaching and travel.
• Ability to understand when additional direction/expertise is needed on matters of complexity.
• Able to make decisions on a daily basis, within pre-determined guidelines and parameters.
• Ability to work with flexibility on several tasks simultaneously and to meet various concurrent deadlines.
• General understanding of external Federal Guidelines and procedures regarding grants and contracts.
• General understanding of Microsoft Office programs (excel, word, PowerPoint etc.)
• Strong organizational and analytical skills, problem solving abilities and attention to detail required.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written suggested (medical terminology skills are necessary).

Specific Physical Requirements

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee may remain in a stationary position (sitting at computer/desk) up to 85% of the time.
• The employee is required to operate computer keyboard for majority of work time and other office equipment like calculator or copier throughout the day and for prolonged periods.
• Prolonged vision requirements including viewing computer screen, paper reports/documents, and statements.
• May transport from one area to another (in the administrative office or building) or be required to lift and/or move up to 40 pounds with proper training, or precautions/lifting aides (example: paper supply boxes, document files, large mail bags/boxes for pick up or receipt). In some areas, workspace is confined.
• Staff may be required to complete annual competency review, and must insure compliance with Hospital Policy, Laboratory Policy & Procedure, Health, Safety & Environment regulations, and all applicable privacy & confidentiality laws/practices.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree.
• One year of administrative/budgeting experience.
• 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree.
• Grants and contracts experience.

Classified Title: Grants & Contracts Specialist
Role/Level/Range: ATP/03/PB
Starting Salary Range: Min $21.97 - Max $38.46 HRLY ($55,437 targeted; Commensurate with experience)
Employee group: Full Time
Schedule: M-F, 8:30am-5:00pm
Exempt Status: Non-Exempt
Location: School of Medicine Campus
Department name: ​​​​​​​SOM Pat Neuropathology
Personnel area: School of Medicine 

Please refer to the job description above to see which forms of equivalency are permitted for this position. If permitted, equivalencies will follow these guidelines:
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 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.

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check. Johns Hopkins is committed to hiring individuals with a justice-involved background, consistent with applicable policies and current practice. A prior criminal history does not automatically preclude candidates from employment at Johns Hopkins University. In accordance with applicable law, the university will review, on an individual basis, the date of a candidate’s conviction, the nature of the conviction and how the conviction relates to an essential job-related qualification or function.

The Johns Hopkins University values diversity, equity and inclusion and advances these through our key strategic framework, the JHU Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion .

Johns Hopkins has mandated COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, as applicable. The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/ .

The following additional provisions may apply, depending on campus. Your recruiter will advise accordingly.

The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.

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