Grants and Contracts Administrator

Duke University:

Duke University was created in 1924 through an indenture of trust by James Buchanan Duke. Today, Duke is regarded as one of America's leading research universities. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke is positioned in the heart of the Research Triangle, which is ranked annually as one of the best places in the country to work and live. Duke has more than 15,000 students who study and conduct research in its 10 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. With about 40,000 employees, Duke is the third largest private employer in North Carolina, and it now has international programs in more than 150 countries.

Be You.

The Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science is looking for an experienced Grants & Contracts Administrator to join our high-performing research administration team. In this role, you will partner closely with faculty and Principal Investigators (PIs) to develop, submit, and manage complex grants and contracts that power groundbreaking research. You'll guide proposals from concept to submission, steward awards through their full lifecycle, and ensure financial and regulatory compliance-so investigators can focus on discovery while you keep the engine running.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent combination of education/experience) with strong communication, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Experience: No experience required for candidates who possess a Bachelor's or Master's degree in a field of study directly related to the specific position.
• Technical: Proficiency with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) and cloud collaboration tools (e.g., Google, Box).
• Knowledge: Federal rules/regulations for research grants/contracts; ability to apply federal and University effort allocation and costing rules to sponsored projects; understanding of financial processes/controls, including reconciliation.
• Communication & Prioritization: Ability to write clearly, present financial information, and manage multiple priorities/deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years of related experience in a university or higher education setting is preferred.
• RAA completed at Duke; additional research admin certifications (e.g., CRA) a plus.
• Hands-on experience with Duke systems: SPS, SAP, Grants, Duke@Work, SES (or comparable institutional systems).
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups), data analysis, and budget modeling.
• Experience preparing complex multiPI, multisite, or federal proposals (e.g., NIH/NSF/DoD) and managing portfolios with subawards and cost sharing.
• Demonstrated success interpreting sponsor terms & conditions and advising PIs on compliance strategies.

Other Requirements

• Commitment to maintaining accurate financial and administrative records per institutional retention standards and internal controls.
• Occasional peak-period overtime around major proposal deadlines and fiscal close may be required.
• This role partners with multiple stakeholders (PIs, ORA, ORS, department leadership) and requires strong customer service orientation.

Work Location: This position is 100% remote. The employee must reside in a Duke University-approved state (https://remotework.duke.edu/guidelines/outside-nc/). Will be required to attend on-site meetings a few times per year.

Be Bold.

PreAward Administration - ~40%

• Advise PIs on administrative, financial, and institutional requirements for proposal development and submission.
• Develop and justify proposal budgets (personnel, subawards, F&A, participant support, cost share), ensuring accuracy, internal consistency, and compliance with sponsor and Duke requirements.
• Prepare/coordinate proposal components (biosketches, facilities & resources, other support) for completeness and consistency.
• Verify F&A/indirect cost rates, fringe, and institutional data; monitor submissions for compliance with sponsor, federal, and University regulations.
• Route sponsored project packages through institutional systems (e.g., SPS) to ORA/ORS, ensuring correct approvals and on-time submission.
• Track proposal status and advise PIs on timelines, internal deadlines, and research protections protocol requirements.

PostAward Financial & Grant Management - ~40%

• Manage assigned portfolios from award setup through closeout, including complex, multicomponent awards.
• Monitor and analyze expenditures; identify issues and recommend budget adjustments; prepare complex financial reports.
• Administer costsharing commitments (including labor distributions) per sponsor and institutional guidelines.
• Manage budgets, reporting, and compliance timelines throughout the award lifecycle; communicate establishment of new WBSEs to stakeholders.
• Reconcile monthly statements; prepare/submit cost transfers per policy; submit rebudgeting and modification requests as needed.
• Coordinate subrecipients: establish financial/reporting requirements; issue/monitor subagreements with ORA/ORS; reconcile/close subrecipient budgets and collect required reports.
• Determine appropriate expense charging (including patient care costs) to sponsored fund codes; manage overdrafts per policy.
• Ensure accurate revenue recording and apply University revenue management standards.
• Complete timely closeout of awards in line with University processes and sponsor deadlines.
• Apply federal and University regulations related to effort allocation for personnel supported by federal awards.

Administrative, Compliance & Operational Support - ~20%

• Develop and maintain project management plans for PI or senior research administration leadership review.
• Review/evaluate SiteBased Research charge assignment grids against approved protocols and schedules of events.
• Maintain documentation and records per institutional retention policies and cashhandling/controls.
• Interpret departmental policies, resolve operational issues, and prepare financial/administrative reports for Business Manager, PI, or leadership.

Choose Duke.

Join a collaborative, missiondriven research community where your work directly accelerates discovery and societal impact. You'll support faculty in a department known for innovation across mechanics, materials, energy, robotics, and more-while benefiting from the resources of a worldclass university. You'll be empowered to take ownership of a portfolio, deepen your grants/contracts expertise, and grow your career through structured training and continuing education.