Grants and Contract Associate (Pre-Award) – Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences

The Grant and Contract Associate is responsible for the pre-award activities within the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences. In addition, the Grants and Contract Associate will be responsible for overseeing and facilitating an interdisciplinary research program aligned to the larger strategic aspiration and goals for the UIC Campus. The Grant & Contract Associate will be reporting directly to the Associate Head of Research and will be assisting with research operation activities.

The Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences within the UIC College of Medicine is ranked #9 nationwide in NIH funding by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The Grants and Contract Associate will coordinate, oversee and grow the current research portfolio.

Duties & Responsibilities
• Research and review sponsor requirements at the proposal stage and ensure compliance prior to application submission. Prepare protocol timeline.
• Prepare proposal documentation, including Proposal Approval Form (PAF), budgets, institutional information, budget justifications, sponsor compliance and regulatory information for routing to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).
• Assist in the development of budgets and budget justifications for grant proposals by forecasting funds to support research expenditures
• Reviews, interprets, and counsels, principal investigators and departmental administrators on regulatory policies and procedures; communicates and ensures compliance with internal, federal, and sponsoring organizations’ rules and regulations
• Operates as a liaison to internal (OSP) units and external (VA, grant sponsoring agencies) agencies; cultivating collaborative relationships and serving as a representative of the assigned divisions
• Organize departmental research meetings to discuss research issues and foster intradepartmental collaborations
• Prepare progress reports for all departmental grants
• Work with the Department Head and/or the Associate Head for Research on new initiatives to improve research funding and visibility
• Interdisciplinary Research
• Manage an interdisciplinary research program involving multiple stakeholders across the UIC Campus
• Collaborate closely with multiple faculty, senior executives, and Campus stakeholders across UIC –College of Dentistry, College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy and the Office of Research Development – for operational needs
• Collaborate with the delivery team to ensure key projects are resourced and run successfully
• Collaborate with senior executive leadership to define, structure launch, and drive strategic and operational initiatives
• Lead multiple cross-functional teams charged with implementing project objectives in addition to meeting project deadlines
• Reporting
• Lead the creation of reports for the principal investigator and project team detailing expenditures, balances, sub awards, metrics, milestones etc
• Prepare ad hoc reports with the assistance of post-award for the Department Head, Director of Administrative Operations and Principal Investigators as requested
• Research Seminar Series
• Organize, manage & lead the monthly Research Seminar Series and intradepartmental workshops/seminars to share research findings, cultivate collaborative interactions and facilitate ophthalmology & vision research. S/he will be responsible for inviting faculty members, clinical trainees and students, as well as prominent researchers from UIC and other reputable institutes
• Performs other duties & special projects as assigned