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Index/Position No.:                             24550/241550                                     Level 8

Position Title:                                      Grants and Contracts Specialist

Department:                                        Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Administration

Expectations for All Employees

East Tennessee State University pursues its mission based upon core values.  An employee's job performance must support and exhibit the university's core values:

PEOPLE come first, are treated with dignity and respect, and are encouraged to achieve their full potential;

RELATIONSHIPS are built on honesty, integrity and trust;

DIVERSITY of people and thought is respected;

EXCELLENCE is achieved through teamwork, leadership, creativity, and a strong work ethic;

EFFICIENCY is achieved through wise use of human and financial resources; and

COMMITMENT to intellectual achievement is embraced.

Function of Position

Responsible to the Assistant Vice President for Research and Director of Sponsored Programs for working with university faculty, staff, and administrators as well as with external funding agencies to facilitate the development of proposals and the administration of grant awards, contracts and other agreements related to the university’s sponsored programs and activities.

Essential Functions

-          Provides budget and proposal development assistance to faculty and staff.

-          Analyzes proposals for required sponsor elements and ensures compliance with sponsor terms and conditions as well as federal, state and institutional regulations prior to submission and advises faculty accordingly.

-          Responds to and makes recommendations regarding post-award administrative requests including requests for re-budgeting and no-cost extensions.

-          Maintains the internal proposal tracking database(s).

Secondary Functions

-          Generates standard and custom reports on sponsored project activity as necessary.

-          Performs other duties as assigned.

Knowledge and Abilities

-        Knowledge of Budgetary processes and ability to develop accurate and appropriate budgets for a variety of projects.

-        Ability to accurately interpret and abide by complex federal guidelines and regulations governing federal research grants including but not limited to OMB circulars A-21, A-110, A-133.

-        Ability to accurately interpret and promote compliance to regulations governing research involving human subjects, animals, and recombinant DNA as well as regulations and guidelines concerning responsible conduct of research, conflict of interest, and bio-safety as they apply to ETSU sponsored activities.

-        Ability to accurately interpret and abide by state, TBR, and university grants and contracts policies and procedures.

-        Ability to prioritize tasks and perform effectively and efficiently under strict deadlines.

-        Ability to analyze and problem solve.

-        Ability to communicate effectively.

Supervision Received

Determines own methods of performing assigned work.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required; two years of related experience in proposal development and/or grants management at the department level or above in either an academic institution or non-profit organization.

July 2008