Grants and Contracts Specialist III

Overview

Grants and Contracts Specialist III
Public Health Institute

Posting Number: #232-20
Position Title: Grants and Contracts Specialist III
Closing Date: Until Filled
Location: Oakland, CA or Sacramento, CA (Remote until end of June 2021)

Position Summary
The Public Health Institute (PHI) is looking to hire a Grants and Contracts (G&C) Specialist III to be responsible for post-award management and monitoring for a complex assigned group of grants and contracts funded by federal, state, and other funding agencies. This includes a heavy emphasis on transaction review, financial oversight, and providing support for budget development and management. Reporting to the Grants and Contracts Manager, the G&C Specialist III will possess detailed knowledge of the federal, state, and/or other funding entities’ requirements for his/her assigned portfolio to interpret regulations for principal investigators/project directors and other program and PHI central staff, as needed.

Candidates who have served in the capacity as project accountants, financial analysts, grants & contracts managers, compliance officers, and/or project managers at universities, for-profit and/or non-profit organizations tend to be successful in this position.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Manages all phases of post-award grants and contracts administration, including monitoring award compliance, budgets and reviewing and approving expenses.
• Serves as PHI Central’s lead point of contact with Principal Investigators/Program Directors, program administrative staff, and funders on matters relating to award compliance and financial administration through effective written and verbal communication with minimal guidance.
• Supports a highly complex program portfolio that may include federal, state, county, and/or foundation funding sources and domestic and/or international awards.
• Researches, identifies, and implements solutions to highly challenging compliance, financial management, and operational problems. Occasional guidance from the supervisor may be needed on more complex issues.
• Utilizes ERP database system (currently PeopleSoft) to set up activities and to generate, analyze, maintain and monitor budgets with a high level of complexity. Identifies needs for additional queries and/or reports to better serve program and central staff needs. May work in partnership with IT, Finance, and G&C to develop and implement new queries and/or reports.
• Works independently to prepare and submit financial reports to funder. Supports program teams with preparation and/or review of budgets, forecasting, fund reconciliations, and ad-hoc reports for PHI staff and PI/PDs as needed. Performs advanced-level data analysis as required.
• Reviews outside party agreements including subawards, sub-contracts, service agreements, and consultant agreements, and related amendments and supplements for award compliance.
• Plays a key supporting role to programs to coordinate and submit continuation applications.
• Identifies and explores opportunities for continuous quality improvement in departmental services.
• Leads departmental process improvement working groups, prepares and/or reviews/ provides comments on department policies and procedures, manuals, and guidelines, as requested.
• Provides training and/or mentoring to other G&C team members and/or the program community, as requested.
• Other duties may be assigned as required by the needs of the department.

Minimum Qualifications
• At least five years of experience in sponsored projects administration or related area that included financial analysis and/or customer contact. Education and experience can be combined to reach the requirement.
• Bachelor’s degree in public or business administration, finance or accounting, etc. or four years of additional equivalent experience/training.
• In-depth knowledge of sponsored projects administration and advanced experience with grants, cooperative agreements, and/or sponsored contracts. Expert knowledge of federal, state, and non-profit sponsor regulations, policies, requirements, and procedures.
• Must have the capacity and interest in supporting both domestic and international awards.
• Commitment to continuous quality improvement and customer service, the ability to interact well with a wide range of customers and stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, ability to communicate highly complex issues clearly and independently and willingness to accept guidance and feedback from supervisor when needed.
• Intermediate to advanced skills in computer applications including Microsoft Excel, Word, and Adobe Acrobat. Ability to work with a sophisticated database system (currently PeopleSoft) to maintain fiscal and administrative records.
• Intermediate to advanced understanding of accounting, bookkeeping, and/or financial analysis.
• Flexibility and ability to work well under tight deadlines.
• Strong analytical skills leading to the ability to solve highly complex issues.
• Demonstrated administrative abilities including attention to detail and organization.
• Demonstrated experience with leading working groups and/or delivering training or mentoring.
• Occasional travel may be required.

Desired Qualifications
• Advanced degree or certification in public or business administration, accounting or research administration.
• Society of Research Administrators (SRA) financial certificate or Certified Research Administrator (CRA) credential.

Important Information
• This is a full-time (40 hours per week) position.
• Our offices are currently closed until the end of June 2021. Until then, this work will take place remotely.

For more information or to apply, please visit: https://apptrkr.com/2032409

The Public Health Institute is committed to a policy that provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and to make all employment decisions so as to further this principle of equal employment opportunity. To this end, the PHI will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are offered employment and employees are treated during employment without regard to these characteristics.

To apply for any position, you must create an account on the Public Health Institute’s job application site. After creating your account, you may search the open positions and apply for the specific position that interests you. Please note, mailed and emailed applications will not be accepted.

We’re so pleased the Public Health Institute is an organization you would like to work with. Do you have questions about this opportunity? If so, email our recruitment team at Recruitment@phi.org,