University of Texas at Austin

Job Posting Title:

Manager for Research Administration, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering

Hiring Department:

Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Position Open To:

All Applicants

Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

FLSA Status:

Exempt

Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

Location:

AUSTIN, TX

Job Details:

General Notes

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is a top-ranked department and the largest department in the Cockrell School of Engineering with more than 2,100 students and 67 tenured and tenure-track faculty. Our faculty bring state-of-the-art research, development, and design experience into the classroom and lab, ensuring that our students and alumni are amongst the best in their fields and that our research advances the scientific community as well as society and business. Join us in changing the world!

Purpose

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering seeks a Manager for Research Administration to support the research mission of the department, for both pre-award and especially post-award functions. This position will be responsible for working directly with faculty, grants and contracts specialist and research support staff to provide technical project management support and coordination for ongoing research and development projects in an agile and dynamic environment.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the research administration of the department, including pre- and post-award functions and serve as the liaison between the department and the Office of Sponsored Projects, Office of the Vice President for Research, and other offices during the pre- and post-award process. Manages all aspects of research accounting including the indirect cost return budget, school of engineering tax return, research gifts, dedicated funds, and faculty research accounts. Handles budgeting for department research operations.
• Monitor post award activities to ensure compliance for issues involving cost transfers, budget adjustments and reporting requirements. Assist Principal Investigators with submission of annual, quarterly, or monthly reports to funding agencies. Perform periodic review of expenditures, commitments, and their compliance with grant agreements.
• Work with research support staff from the department and affiliated organization research units (ORUs) to review and analyze Principal Investigators’ research grant and gift accounts on a monthly basis in order to address overdraft issues and monitor spending. Oversees graduate research assistant and faculty summer salaries charging. Ensures compliance and consistency across the department with regard to university and funding agencies research policies and procedures. Researches questions, presents recommendations and resolves issues.
• Work with research support staff to monitor account balances, reconcile all research grant and gift accounts, and distribute monthly financial reports to Principal Investigators. Oversees effort certification and performs monthly account reconciliation. Coordinates costing updates in Workday as needed.
• Assist with pre-award functions as needed, which may include grant budgeting, grant modifications (no-cost extensions, reallocations, etc.).
• Collaborate with pre-award staff (contracts and grants specialist, external engagement director) to ensure proper transition of project from pre-award to post-award and lead the award kick-off.
• Present status and work directly with internal and external stakeholders. Coordinate internal and external meeting scheduling, notes and action items. Demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Review processes for efficiencies and assist in defining automation projects related to process improvements. Assist with special projects and any other tasks that require independent decision-making and a broad organizational perspective performing related duties as requested.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business or related discipline, or equivalent experience with five years of financial or administrative experience, including experience in pre- and/or post- award research administration.
• Demonstrated effective written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to multitask.
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate administrative information to technical and non-technical personnel at various levels in the organization.
• Strong listening skills and a focus on customer advocacy.
• Extensive experience with MS Office products.
• Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s or equivalent advanced degree in Project Management or related discipline. Familiarity with ECE or closely related engineering disciplines. Familiarity with academic culture. Current Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and/or experience with Agile Project Management. Certified Research Administrator (CRA).
• Proficiency in MS Online products including but not limited to: SharePoint (Building internal sites and collaborative work environments), MS Project, Excel (including data base manipulation and automation actives), Power BI apps, or OneDrive.
• Experience summarizing and/or presenting results and progress using Microsoft PowerPoint or Word to executive leadership. Proven ability to work with minimal direction, formulate research plans, solve tough problems, and take initiative. Demonstrated excellent interpersonal communication skills.

Salary Range

$90,000 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• May work around standard office conditions
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation

Work Shift

• Standard work schedule is Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Flexible schedule and/or hybrid telework may be allowed.
• Periodic work outside of normal business hours, to include evenings and weekends, may be required on a periodic basis or for special events.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English) [PDF]
• E-Verify Poster (Spanish) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.

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