Unit Research Administrator (Finance)

ANNUAL SALARY: $60,000

The Unit Research Administrator supports scholarly activities within the college by; Strengthening CAS research infrastructure and expanding its extramural funding portfolio, Cultivating focused research areas that respond to global challenges, Accelerating the translation of research discovery into real-world applications, increasing publications and other scholarly activity by faculty at all ranks and Facilitating collaborative research projects centered on focused research areas. CAS-ORS provides support for the development of research proposals and fellowships by assisting researchers in identify funding sources that align with their research areas, designing and facilitating proposal development workshops, demonstrating applicable strategic tools and resources, performing comprehensive proposal narrative reviews, offering internal awards, and providing solid research infrastructure. In addition to the pre-award proposal and post-award grant support, CAS-ORS promotes the research and scholarship success of our faculty, correspondingly increasing our visibility within the university, our local community stakeholders, and our national and international peers.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Unit Research Administrator position provides various levels of fiscal and administrative support to CAS Departments. This position may support departments housed in the School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics (SNSM), the School of Social Sciences (SSS), the School of Humanities (SHUM), or Centers and Institutes. This position acts as a primary contact between Principal Investigators and Sponsored Research on the identification, development, review, submission and subsequent administration of grants and contracts. This position supports researchers by preparing budget projections, developing materials for compliance analysis, and advising the researchers concerning the review of the proposals by Sponsored Research. This position requires the knowledge of federal sponsor agency guidelines and regulations (NSF, NIH, NEH, etc.), OMB Uniform Guidance, and private sponsor agency (private foundation, corporate) guidelines. In addition, this position must interpret and apply varied Federal, State, and University policies and regulations through the entire proposal and contract process. After awards are made the position provides guidance to researchers on administrative steps such as setting up accounts, reconciling the projects on a regular basis, reviewing and approving invoices and financial reports prepared by Sponsored Research, preparing expenditure transfers and override requests with supporting justification, and reviewing the final reconciliation of the projects prepared by Sponsored Research.

Schedule: On Campus with option for hybrid schedule upon completion of satisfactory training period.MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
This position requires a Bachelor's degree and 1 year of professional administrative experience; or a Master's degree. Progressively responsible related experience may substitute for the required education on a year for year basis.

FLSB1310 Equivalency:
4 years of directly relevant experience may be substituted for bachelor's degree.
6 years of directly relevant experience may be substituted for master's degree.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration/Accounting/Finance, or closely related field. 1 year of grant research or grant research administration experience, and knowledge of USF business systems and policies.

This position may be subject to a Level 1 or Level 2 criminal background check.

Applicants for USF employment are entitled to request reasonable accommodation(s) in the application process. A request is to be made at least five (5) working days prior to the time the accommodation(s) is needed. Contact the USF ADA Lead ( hr-ADA-Request@usf.edu ) to coordinate your accommodation request.Working at USF
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With approximately 16,000 employees, the University of South Florida is one of the largest employers in the Tampa Bay area. We are dedicated to cultivating a talented, engaged and driven workforce that strives to be bold. Employees excel in USF's rich academic environment, which fosters their development and advancement. In 2025, Forbes recognized USF as one of Florida's best large employers, ranked No. 1 among the state's 12 public universities. Our first-class benefits package includes medical, dental and life insurance plans, retirement plan options, employee and dependent tuition programs, generous leave, and hundreds of employee perks and discounts.
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About USF
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The University of South Florida is a top-ranked research university serving approximately 50,000 students from across the globe at campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and USF Health. USF is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top 50 public university and the best value in Florida. U.S. News also ranks the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine as the No. 1 medical school in Florida and in the highest tier nationwide. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group that includes only the top 3% of universities in the U.S. With an all-time high of $738 million in research funding in 2024 and as a top 20 public university for producing U.S. patents, USF uses innovation to transform lives and shape a better future. The university generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. USF's Division I athletics teams compete in the American Athletic Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu .Job Duties:

Proposal Development and Pre-Award: Works closely with faculty in the development of proposals while ensuring compliance with applicable sponsor, University Sponsored Research, Foundation and College of Arts and Sciences regulations, guidelines and processes. Provides technical assistance to facilitate the development of grant proposals and assists faculty with submitting proposals to various agencies. Assists in critical review, writing, and editing of research proposal. Calculates budgets and ensures inclusion of all appropriate and required elements including direct and indirect costs, cost share, program income, etc. Assists in developing budget justifications, review of sub-recipient budgets and justifications, and insures accurate completion of sponsor application forms and USF internal forms. Works with the CAS Office of Research to ensure completeness and compliance of all components of the proposal.

Post Award Management: Responsible for the oversight and support to Principal Investigators, project staff, and CAS administration in the following areas of post-award management. Awards underwrite accounts properly assessing risk; prepares and oversees award setup; develops and modifies as necessary sub-recipient agreements; processes all financial transactions including payroll distribution monitoring and cost transfers; work with department Chair/staff on resource commitments to confirm available funds for hiring projected personnel funded by grants/contracts. Coordinate with department staff on preparing hiring documents and processing of grant paid tuition payments; monitors effort reporting process; identifying and tracks cost sharing and matching requirements and documentation; assists with obtaining sponsor approvals for non-budgeted financial transactions or changes; preparation of monthly ledgers and reconciliation reports; annual and award financial closeouts; assists with responses to audits and post-project requests. Reconciles projects, research initiative accounts, start-up, retention, and carry-forward accounts on a monthly basis, prepares documents.

Attends ongoing trainings, meetings and workshops to stay current on all grant policies and procedures. Collaborates with other research personnel for best practices, and represents the college and/or department on committees and communicates pertinent information to departments.

Performs other duties as assigned.