SEARCH CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

GENERAL SUMMARY OF POSITION: 

Under the direction of the Director of Sponsored Programs, the Contract Specialist develops, modifies and monitors contract and subaward processing and submission procedures and activities, reviews contract requests and proposals, and serves in a liaison capacity between departmental staff and provider and agencies involved in the contract and subaward development and approval process.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Solicit, prepare, review, negotiate, and amend a full array of agreements, including collaboration agreements, sponsored research agreements, federal clinical trial agreements, subcontracts, state contracts, and other forms of agreement, where required.
• Draft all outgoing new contracts and modifications to Sponsors, negotiate terms and conditions, and route for internal reviews, approvals, and signature, as needed.
• Responsible for reviewing contracts to ensure compliance with University, State, Federal and Corporate sponsors, provide recommendations relating to any exceptions or items of concern or caution and contribute to their creative negotiation with the partners.
• Develop, review, recommend, and interpret processes and procedures supporting subcontract and contract preparation and submission activities; revise existing procedures or develop new ones to increase efficiency of contract processing.
• Create and maintain a contractual deliverable tracking and monitoring system to ensure compliance with all contractual reporting deadlines and requirements; Perform risk assessment and regular and/or ad hoc subrecipient monitoring.
• Responsible for submitting the bids for state contracts in COMMBUYS.
• Review all state contracts prior to signature and submission to state agencies; verify budget is appropriate; assure compliance with state priorities and policies and investigate any special terms and conditions.
• Review all subcontract agreements prior to signature and submission to sponsoring entities, verify budget is appropriate; assure compliance with federal, state and campus policies and review of special terms and conditions
• Ensure research management system is kept current with information, status and documentation for all contracts for transparency and to ensure audit compliance.
• Serve as liaison between departmental staff, legal, state, and sponsoring agencies involved in contract development and approval process
• Work collaboratively with campus leadership, university legal office, department administrators, principal investigators, and other cross functional teams to answer questions, resolve issues, and interpret contract provisions and terms.
• Attend meetings with State Agency – financial and programmatic as required.
• Solve complex problems by actively seeking information and new ideas from a variety of sources including conducting research on legal issues or other topics as required.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelors Degree required in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 3-5 years of progressive experience
• Demonstrate high proficiency in Excel, Word and other office software.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and writing skills needed to present and communicate effectively with a diverse population of stakeholders.
• Demonstrated time management and problem-solving skills with ability to organize and prioritize workload, identify problem areas and take action to meet deadlines.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Previous experience in an academic, health care, or public sector setting.
• Experience with a broad range of award mechanisms, including grants, contracts, subcontracts, and cooperative agreements.