Director of Post-Award Research Administration, Moody College of Communication

Location: UT MAIN CAMPUS

Hiring Department

Moody College of Communication

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Position Open To

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours

40

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FLSA Status

Exempt from FLSA

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Earliest Start Date

Immediately

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Position Duration

Expected to Continue

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Location

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details

Purpose

The Director of Post-Award Research Administration, based in the Moody College Research Office (MRO), manages the post-award administration of sponsored research awards across Moody College, from account setup through closeout. Serving as a central resource, this role partners with the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP), principal investigators, and departmental and center administrative staff to administer subawards, process financial transactions, prepare sponsor reports, and ensure compliance with federal regulations and sponsor requirements. The position provides expert guidance on post-award policies, procedures, and financial management throughout the award lifecycle.

Responsibilities

Post-Award Operations

• Provide leadership and oversight for post-award operations, ensuring compliant and efficient management of sponsored projects across the award lifecycle.
• Supervise the Grants and Finance Coordinator, sharing responsibility for day-to-day award and account actions while providing guidance on complex or escalated issues.
• Partner with the Grants and Finance Coordinator on account transactions, rebudgets and budget transfers, purchase orders, contracts, subawards, award modifications, and closeout activities; lead actions requiring sponsor or institutional approval.
• Serve as the primary post-award liaison for investigators, sponsors, the Office of Sponsored Projects, and campus partners.
• Key partner to departmental and center administrative staff on research personnel activities, including appointments, costings, tuition support, faculty buyouts, summer salary, and other grant-funded personnel matters.
• Partner with and advise departmental and center administrative staff on grant expenditures.
• Develop and maintain shared tracking tools that provide units with information for managing post-award administration.

Financial Oversight & Reporting

• Collaborate on financial management of sponsored projects, including monitoring expenditures, projections, and account activity.
• Lead the preparation and submission of major sponsor reports, including NIH RPPRs; oversee the Indirect Cost Return process and annual post-award report for the Associate Dean for Research; and provide ad hoc reporting and analysis as requested by ADR.
• Oversee key financial tracking systems and reporting of institutional research metrics.
• Collaborate with the Grants and Finance Coordinator to manage the post-award reporting calendar and financial reporting activities, ensuring compliance with sponsor and institutional deadlines.
• Lead effort certification on sponsored projects.

Operational Support & Compliance

• Monitor changes in sponsor, federal, and institutional policies impacting research administration; disseminate relevant updates to investigators and administrative partners.
• Collaborate across Moody College to support consistent and effective post-award research administration practices, providing training, guidance, and direct post-award support to units, as needed.
• Represent the Moody Research Office on committees, working groups, and initiatives related to post-award research administration
• Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, accounting, finance, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• At least five years of experience in post-award research administration, sponsored programs/grants and contracts management, or related financial administration.
• Strong working knowledge of federal and sponsor-specific post-award regulations and reporting requirements (e.g., 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance).
• Strong financial and analytical skills, including budget monitoring and reconciliation.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple accounts, deadlines, and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for coordinating with faculty, departmental staff, and OSP.
• Proficiency with spreadsheet and financial reporting tools (e.g., Excel)
• Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with NIH and NSF post-award reporting requirements, including RPPR submissions.
• Experience with university financial systems such as UTRMS, Cognos, and Workday.
• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) or equivalent certification.
• Experience in a higher education or large research university setting.

Salary Range

$95,000 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

The position is located in Austin, Texas. The office is fully remote and employee must meet all the qualifications outlined in the University’s Flexible Work Arrangement Policy and submit all required documentation to participate in remote work. Flexible work hours are between 7 am and 6 pm CST, regular work schedule must be approved by direct supervisor and may be dependent on current need for team coverage.

Repetitive use of keyboard at workstation.

Access to internet required for remote work.

Repetitive use of standard office equipment.

Required Materials

Resume/CV

3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor

Letter of interest

Importantfor 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.

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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.

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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. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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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.