Description

POSITION OBJECTIVE

Working under general direction, the Administrative Contracts Coordinator will provide administrative support to the Office of Grants and Contracts for the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. This position will be responsible for the coordination of the office's daily operations and will provide support to the contracts team as well as pre- and post-award personnel, with related functions, projects, and processes. The Office of Grants and Contracts is responsible for providing support to all departments and divisions within the School of Medicine. In order to maintain effective customer service and compliance with internal and external guidelines, the coordinator must be knowledgeable in the contract and pre, post-award processes. The coordinator will be cross trained in the processes/management of the pre-award, post-award, subcontract and contract functions to support the office's expectation of timely and effective customer service and compliance with Case Western Reserve University and funding institution regulations.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Conduct initial review of subcontracts and amendments that arrive via email and SPARTA; compare the agreements to previous year’s agreements and indicate differences; with oversight from contracts staff, communicate questions around budget and compliance that must be addressed by the principle investigator and/or department; evaluate the quality of SPARTA and subcontract (is there and Funding Proposal for agreement; is there principle investigator approval; does the budget -present and historical look correct; is an IRB or IACUC available or necessary). Verify that the subcontract is partially or fully executed and subsequently send to sponsor to achieve a fully executed agreement; or work with post award to ensure the fully executed agreement is set up in PeopleSoft Financial. (15%)
Audit internal NOA interface reports daily to determine any issues with the award set-up.  Proper review requires thorough knowledge of complex and myriad applicable school and university requirements for the proper conduct of research and administration of sponsored projects. Analyze the information provided and use independent judgment to determine if there are issues that must be addressed. (15%)
Process fully executed awards and amendments received from sponsors and process in Sparta.  Prior to processing, ensure awards meet compliance requirements for sponsor and university polices, terms and conditions. (Examples include: extend the award, change faculty and/or departments and modify budgets and terms of the original award based on analysis and independent judgment). (10%)
Intake and process Notice of Awards (NOA) daily; scan and send the NOA's and appropriate back up documents to the Office of Research Administration and  department administrator(s); update the NOA distribution report; compile final files according to protocol; and file in appropriate location; discern where to file the files based on the background and research of the project; watch all medrescontract email communications and gather files in response to communications; distribute appropriately to contract staff. (10%)
Provide administrative assistance to office staff; pulling and filing grant files; prepare subaward folders to ensure required documents are present; log outgoing subaward agreements; and follow up with departments and external entities about items required for set-up in PeopleSoft or status of in-process or fully executed agreements. Facilitate communications between the Office of Grants and Contracts and other departments in the School of Medicine and the university. Coordinate requests from other departments within the School of Medicine or university for grant files and information. (10%)
Develop familiarity with the office's operations, including pre award, post award, subcontract and contract processes and procedures, so as to provide back-up as needed. Maintain working knowledge of the internal Proposal and Award Database System (PADS) to be able to search by NIH Award Number and faculty member name to determine in which School of Medicine department the faculty and their program is based. Maintain knowledge of Sparta systems and familiarity with PeopleSoft and grants.gov. Assemble and maintain project files. Review internal Notice of Awards, gather information from the internal award database and tracking systems (PADs and Sparta), and compile the file per the office's guidelines. (10%)
Serve as the primary contact for the office. Greet visitors at the front desk and answer incoming phone calls to the office's central phone line. Manage the office's central pick-up box and drop-off box and sign-in sheet. Answer general questions and direct the individual to the appropriate personnel within the office. Control the flow of non-office staff throughout the office. Perform diverse duties of an administrative/clerical nature requiring accuracy and timeliness. Maintain the office's calendar. Maintain files, project folders, and confidential records. Maintain and order office supplies. Receive, distribute and process FedEx packages, inter-office mail and external mail.Order phone equipment/accessories and replacement computer equipment through Corporate Express and other internal/external vendors. Handle the central phone line and address all matters regarding the office's phone system. Forward absent staff phone lines to the central phone line and notify all office staff of the absence. (10%)
May authorize routine department expenditures. Prepare or assist in preparing budgets. Reconcile monthly expense statements. Provide budget analysis/ forecasting. Process expense reports. Assist the Director with the reconciliation of the Procurement Card (P-card) statement for potential audits. Process and deposit incoming checks for Sponsored Projects Accounting. Organize and plan meetings. Schedule monthly staff meetings and meetings between office personnel and university and School of Medicine personnel. Manage and plan office events such as the annual staff retreat and seasonal potlucks/lunches. Coordinate with the School of Medicine Facilities and Services Office to reserve conference rooms and space for groups of two to 50 individuals. Reserve onsite or offsite space. Create sign-up sheets and schedule catering, other amenities, and activities as needed Handle facility/technology related issues for the office. Work with School of Medicine/university's facilities offices, telephone services, maintenance, access services, and security offices to resolve issues. Coordinate school and university access and train new hires. (10%)
 

NONESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Review incoming contract emails, determine the nature of the request and distribute the request to the appropriate office staff member in a timely and accurate manner. (3%)
Within the first three months and through the first year of employment, identify and schedule necessary trainings as needed to effectively perform functions of the job (Excel, Adobe, Word, Sparta, PADS, etc.) (1%)
Review periodicals, both hard copy and online, on a daily basis, identify and flag any articles relevant to research administration, institutions of higher education, sponsors (federal and non federal) and the overall university/research environment. Prepare and present executive summaries to the director. (1%)
Develop and maintain effective working relationships with department administrators, grant administrators and support staff. (1%)
Become a contributing member of the Office of Grants and Contracts team; maintain a professional and customer-oriented attitude; exhibiting a willingness to assist other peers with their job responsibilities. (1%)
Perform other duties as assigned. (1%)
Assist in developing adobe PDF forms for tracking inter-office work. (1%)
Update the SOM OG&C website. (1%)
 

CONTACTS

Department: Daily contact with colleagues and supervisor within the School of Medicine Office of Grants and Contracts to exchange Information related to the set up and processing of awards.

University: Daily contact with School of Medicine departments including but not limited to; School of Medicine Research Administration Office, School of Medicine Office Finance and Administration, School of Medicine Office of Development, and other administrative offices; with principal investigators and administrators, explaining requirements and providing information. Daily contact with administrators outside of the SOM including but not limited to; central offices such as: Office of the Provost, Office of General Counsel, Office of Research Administration, Sponsored Projects Accounting, Foundation Relations, Technology Transfer Office, and the Controller's Office responding to requests and providing information.

External: Regular contact with agency and agency's technical support personnel. Contact with supply vendors as needed for ordering of office supplies.

Students: none

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

No direct supervision of staff employees.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education/Experience: High school education and 3 or more years of administrative experience with responsibility for multiple projects or primary functions; or Bachelor’s degree and 1 or more years of administrative experience with responsibility for multiple projects or primary functions. Experience reviewing research contracts and/or agreements preferred.

REQUIRED SKILLS

Knowledge and understanding of commonly-used administrative concepts, practices, and procedures.
Experience with a web-based interface or web application is strongly desired. Familiarity with eRA Commons, PADS, Sparta, PeopleSoft and Grants.gov is preferred.
Professional and effective oral and written communication skills; and good interpersonal skills with the ability to work and communicate with various individuals within and external to the university. Must be able to interact well with investigators and department administrators and articulate clearly to facilitate the application process to explain requirements and to assist in resolving problems.
Must demonstrate tactfulness and communicate clearly.
Strong organization skills; ability to multi-task, prioritize and meet deadlines. Must demonstrate attention to detail and accuracy, time management skills, and proven ability to successfully follow through on assigned projects. Must be able to manage multiple priorities.
Excellent customer service skills; ability to maintain effective working relationships and address the potential and current needs of customers.
Ability to work effectively independently and collaboratively within a team. Must be highly motivated, responsible, and dependable.
Ability to work with sensitive information and maintain confidentiality.
Good problem-solving skills; must demonstrate sound judgment and good decision-making.
Must demonstrate flexibility and ability to work under pressure; must be able and willing to work in a fast-paced, changing environment, and conform to shifting priorities, demands and timeline.
Ability to rely on and follow instructions and pre-established guidelines to perform the functions of the job.
Ability to perform various clerical functions, including filing, data entry, organizing materials, copying, faxing, scanning documents, routing documents, etc.
Ability to operate copy and fax machines, perform calculations, and produce documents, as well as the ability to operate scanners, audio visual equipment, etc.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, specifically with Microsoft Word and Excel, and Adobe Acrobat, familiarity with the internet as a source of information. Familiarity with Microsoft Access is a plus.
Must demonstrate willingness to learn new concepts, policies, regulations, procedures, processes, and computer programs as needed.
Ability to actively learn - understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Ability to meet consistent attendance.
Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors, and customers face-to-face.
 

WORKING CONDITIONS

General office environment. Strict deadlines and project guidelines may require occasional overtime and working under pressure.