Award Management Specialist
UNC Charlotte
Full-Time
Closes on Wednesday, December 2, 2026
Job Description
- Provide comprehensive sponsored project oversight and serve as the primary point of contact for PIs seeking support for post-award management activities.
- Perform financial analysis of award spending, calculate burn rates, and provide highly accurate spending projections to guide research planning.
- Collect and analyze financial data in preparation for monthly spending reports to PIs, providing relevant expenditure projections and an ongoing review of post-award activity.
- In collaboration with department staff, complete thorough monthly reconciliations on grant awards and review results directly with Principal Investigators (PIs).
- Work with PIs and campus administrators to solve problems, answer questions, and give guidance on post-award activities and other grants management topics.
Project Administration & Lifecycle Management
- Assist and provide guidance to faculty and unit-level staff on the financial management and tracking of awards, including but not limited to purchasing, travel, hiring of project personnel, reporting, and sub-award interactions.
- Plan and execute award kickoff meetings and quarterly award meetings with PIs and department staff to review project status and financial health.
- Manage overall budgets and reporting timelines throughout the entire lifecycle of the award, ensuring no deadlines are missed.
- Collaboratively design, draft, and develop formal budget revisions and re-budgeting scenarios for active awards, aligning revised spending plans with project milestones.
- Provide active support and guidance to department staff on institutional procedures and systems required to process financial transactions on grant accounts successfully.
- Review award transactions, ensuring all charges are allowable, allocable, and reasonable.
Compliance, Information Analysis & Decision-Making
- Provide financial oversight, financial and administrative compliance guidance on awards, and award management support regarding sponsor and institutional policies, procedures, and guidelines.
- Track and monitor cost-share commitments to ensure the institution meets its documented obligations.
- Review, coordinate, and submit sponsor prior approval requests, Assumptions of Risk, and other administrative amendments.
- Work as the lead mediator when financial non-compliance is identified. Collaborate with department staff to investigate the root cause, and partner with the Research Accounting and Financial Compliance Team to implement corrective action plans.
- Oversee monthly expense reporting, projections, and formal closeouts. Assist faculty and unit-level staff with timely award closeouts, work to clear remaining encumbrances, and coordinate with the Research Accounting and Financial Compliance Team to submit final financial reports (FFRs).
Compliance, Information Analysis & Decision-Making
- Maintain strong, positive relationships with faculty and staff, all units within the Division of Research, and sponsor agencies to facilitate the work of research administration at the University.
- Promote and maintain close, effective working relationships between the teams within the Office of Sponsored Research Administration.
- Work with colleagues and team members to jointly solve questions and challenges in their daily work, responding to inquiries in a timely, professional manner and providing consistently excellent support.
- Monitor changes to sponsor policies and procedures and assist with communicating key changes to campus research administrators and investigators.
Other duties as assigned. UNC Charlotte