Job Profile

Core job information
Job Title / Senior Research Administrator
Dept./School/Inst. / Finance / Section/Centre/Unit / Joint Research Management Office
Career Family / Professional / Grade / 4
Working hours per week / 35 / Appointment period / 12 months (Interim)
Reports to (job title) / Post Award Manager / Current location / Whitechapel/Charterhouse Sq
Job purpose
Responsible for the administration of the College’s research grants dealing with a wide range of post award activities. The role requires an in-depth knowledge of sponsor rules and regulations.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
Requirements / Essential/Desirable
Qualifications / GCSE or equivalent Maths & English (A-C)
AAT Level 3 or equivalent accounting qualification or relevant experience / Essential
Essential
Experience / Experience of working with all levels of staff including Senior Officers
Extensive accounts and administrative experience preferably within an HEI
Ability to demonstrate management and team leadership of staff
Experience of research grants administration
Ability to advise academics on all aspects of post-award administration
Ability to work under pressure and to meet predetermined deadlines / Essential
Essential
Essential
Desirable
Essential
Essential
Knowledge, skills & abilities / Knowledge of good accountancy practice
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Ability to work on own initiative in a challenging environment
Numerate skills to appropriate level
Good working knowledge of financial systems and accounting methodologies
Effective us of IT systems in support of role including use of databases and internet sources
Ability to prioritise busy workload
Presentation of clear written material / Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Desirable
Essential
Essential
Attitude & disposition / Tact and diplomacy
Able to work co-operatively in a team / Essential
Essential
Other circumstances
Freedom to Act & Decision Making (depth of control, supervision received, use of judgement & initiative, analytical ability) / Ability to work under pressure and to meet predetermined deadlines
Main Duties and Responsibilities of the Role
a)To manage a portfolio of grants and contracts ensuring the accuracy and timely submission of invoices and claims, and supporting junior staff with the more complex grants.
b)To monitor income and expenditure on large / Programme centre grants, mostly in excess of £1million, dealing with complex issues and the submission of interim and final expenditure statements in close liaison with the grant holders.
c)To authorise and submit Starting Certificates to the various Research Councils ensuring that the grant holders have met with the sponsor rules and regulations. Meeting set deadlines is essential to the timely submission of forms to initiate payments and avoid the risk of a grant lapsing.
d)The preparation and approval of all final claim submissions to external sponsors working closely with grant holders and departmental administrators to maximise the total financial return to the College.
e)Responsible for the setting up and project closure procedures on the finance system for all new grants and contracts, ensuring accuracy of data for reporting management information to the College Management.
f)Informing Heads of Departments, grant holders and departmental administrators of new awards and extensions in a timely manner to prevent potential delays in the appointment of research staff employed on individual projects.
g)Authorising staff appointment forms/studentship forms confirming available funding and where required providing salary forecasts to assist grant holders with the financial planning of their projects.
h)To carry out responsibilities with due regard to the College’s Equal Opportunities & Health & Safety Policies
i)To undertake any other duties as may be reasonably expected by the line manager or Head of Department.
Working Environment
  • In-depth knowledge of sponsor rules and regulations
  • Authorised signatory for Research Appointment / Studentship forms.
  • Authorised signatory for financial expenditure statements and sponsor claims.
  • Approving final payments to collaborative partners.
  • Joint responsibility for the administration of 1,600 active grants.

Freedom to Act & Decision Making
  • Prioritising own workload with an overview of the workload of other team members
  • Authorising final expenditure statements and invoices for submission to external sponsors by agreement with the grant holders. Checking that any virement of funds is in accordance with sponsor rules & regulations.
  • To assess available funding in order to authorise research staff and studentship appointments, paying particular attention to salary and stipend levels and ensuring that sponsor regulations are adhered to.
  • Offering advice to grant holders on the financial management of their projects.
  • Deciding on the impact of future salary costs to the financial management of the project.
  • To act as intermediary between grant holders and sponsors in order to reach satisfactory outcomes of various financial abatements.

Communication & Networking
  • Advising academics on budget amendments and virement of funds, including the resolution of financial issues on large rolling grants & centre grants. The liaison and authorisation of issues pertaining to the amendment or alteration of award values.
  • To liaise with Human Resources to establish and advise on applicable grading for externally funded appointments with due regard to institutional employment policy and any special contract terms of the funding body.
  • Regular written and verbal communications with grant services from various funding bodies.
  • Close working relationships with other central administration offices including Human Resources, Registry, Financial and Management Accounts.
  • To initiate regular meetings with departmental administrators to improve efficiency and review current procedures with a view to recommending possible procedural changes.
  • To advise the internal auditors on current research procedures and work flow processes.
  • Working closely with grant holders to ensure that financial sanctions are not imposed by sponsors for late submission of financial date and technical reports.

Finance/Resource Management
  • To monitor budget control and expenditure throughout the duration of the project ensuring compliance of external rules and regulations that will vary between individual sponsors.
  • To provide salary forecasts to assist the grant holder with the financial management of their project.

People Management
  • To supervise, train, offer advice and guidance to administrators within the team.

This job description sets out the duties of the post at the time it was drawn up. Such duties may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the duties or level of responsibility entailed. Such variations are a common occurrence and cannot of themselves justify a reconsideration of the grading of the post.
Organisation Chart
See attached

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