Junior Grants and Contracts Specialist

All Candidates Must Apply Directly Through LJI’s Website

https://www.lji.org/careers/

[click “Open Positions” to find the correct opportunity]

Career Opportunity

La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) is looking for a self-starting critical thinker to join our team!  If you can deliver outstanding customer service to LJI’s faculty while taking exceptional pride in your work then we want to hear from you. Please note that this position is fully on-site.

What We’re Looking For

• Must be able to function purposefully and efficiently in tight deadline-driven situations
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills are essential for this role
• Regularly exercise sound judgment and problem-solving abilities
• Independent research institute or college/university experience is preferred
• Working in administration with faculty, students, graduate students, and/or postdocs is a plus
• Interact effectively with a diverse group of professional backgrounds and personalities
• Maintain a flexible, collaborative, and positive work environment at all times
• Proficient computer and technology interface skills
• Understand and follow rules, policies, and procedures
• Open to providing and receiving feedback, including constructive outcome-oriented criticism
• Please highlight any direct NIH grants experience/exposure that you may have had
• Capacity to follow directions from a supervisor, work productively, and stay engaged on multiple tasks with a minimum amount of oversight

Job Summary

Reporting to the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) Manager at LJI, the Junior Grants & Contracts (G&C) Specialist will prepare and submit funding proposals to various federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private foundations, as well as process select non-financial post-award administration of grants and contracts.

The Junior G&C Specialist will work directly with faculty, research staff, scientific cores, administrative departments, and management to collect required information for funding proposals and progress reports while adhering to internal protocols and sponsoring agency guidelines.

The Junior G&C Specialist must continually demonstrate a commitment to high-quality customer service and an eager willingness to be there for LJI’s research personnel, administrative staff, and sponsors in all matters related to sponsored programs within their areas of responsibility.

Core Duties & Responsibilities

• Pre-award administrative duties for grants and contracts submitted to U.S. Government Agencies (primarily NIH) and other public or private funding organizations.
• Assist Faculty, Instructors, and Postdoctoral Fellows in identifying prospective funding sources and appropriate funding mechanisms based on academic rank or other eligibility requirements.  This may include navigating Grants.gov, eRA Commons, Proposal Central, and other online portals.
• Provide guidance and timelines to Faculty, Instructors, and Postdoctoral Fellows regarding solicitation instructions and review proposal documents for conformity with sponsor guidelines.
• Respond to Just-in-Time requests from NIH as well as equivalent non-NIH activations.
• Analyze the terms, conditions, and budget of award documents to identify potential problem areas.  Provide top-tier support to all investigators when working with sponsors to resolve any questions or concerns of an administrative nature.
• Apply specialized knowledge and interpretation of rules, regulations, policies and procedures from funding agencies and combine those with LJI protocols to inform a proper course of action.
• Liaison with funding agency sponsors to respond to inquiries, explain decisions made and/or actions taken, and to clarify award terms and conditions for all concerned parties.
• Process certain non-financial post-award administration of grants and contracts awarded from U.S. Government Agencies (primarily NIH) and other public or private funding organizations.
• Prepare, amend, and perform some due diligence for inter-institutional consortium agreements in order to initiate a sub-award to an LJI subcontractor, or in order to obtain pass-through funds from a prime grantee when LJI is the subcontractor.
• Enter and maintain proposal data in the Serenic Navigator system, as well as the submission schedule and other OSR department-housed databases and spreadsheets.
• Work closely with OSR supervisors as well as other department leadership and staff.
• Miscellaneous OSR-facing support duties as assigned.

More about the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) at LJI

OSR serves as the coordinating department for all Government Agency and most Private Foundation externally funded research grant and contract proposals submitted by LJI on behalf of our Faculty, Instructors, Postdoctoral Fellows, and Graduate Students.  OSR assists all LJI Principal Investigators during the grant or contract application preparation and submission process.  We work to enhance the cooperation and support afforded to all research staff.  Additionally, OSR operates in close concert with institute leadership on reports and projections for all manner of cyclical and special ad hoc initiatives.

More about La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI)

https://www.lji.org/about-us/