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Research Administrative Specialist

University of Wisconsin Madison
life insurance, paid time off
United States, Wisconsin, Madison
21 North Park Street (Show on map)
Jan 15, 2026
Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Jobs Hub to apply through the internal application process. Job Category:Academic Staff Employment Type:Regular Job Profile:Research Administrative Spec Job Summary:

Join the College of Letters & Science (L&S) for an exciting role as a Divisional Research Administrative Specialist. You'll have an opportunity to make a positive impact by being responsible for general research admin support and serving as grant worktag manager for your assigned unit, the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP). IRP is a nonpartisan, interdisciplinary research institution dedicated to producing and disseminating rigorous evidence to inform policies and programs to combat poverty, inequality, and their effects in the United States.

This position works under the general direction of the Assistant Dean for Research Services, reports to an Administrative Regional Team (ART) Research Administration Manager, and works closely with IRP's Research Administration Director. Join our friendly, supportive, and dynamic team, to provide lifecycle research administration support to faculty and staff investigators. The main responsibilities include working closely with principal investigators and research staff to prepare, route, and submit funding proposals to sponsors, and then managing awards by monitoring expenditures, reconciling financials, and providing reporting for awarded funding.

As part of the support team for IRP, you will work closely with other IRP research administrators, the IRP Research Administration Director, the Associate Director for Programs and Management, and the IRP Director. You will also work with the UW Research and Sponsored Programs office and other schools/colleges to foster research collaborations, and ensure compliance with federal, state, agency, and university policies and procedures. You will be expected to become a Workday subject matter expert and to serve as a key point of contact between the ART and IRP. This role is perfect for professionals who are passionate about building effective relationships and applying equitable practices that foster a community of belonging, while supporting a world-class research institute. Your work will directly support the IRP comprehensive research portfolio and indirectly help to combat poverty and inequality!

Key Job Responsibilities:
  • Reviews and approves programmatic transactions spanning the life-cycle of sponsored projects to ensure compliance with institutional and/or sponsor policies and procedures

  • Provides training to faculty, staff, and/or administrators within the unit regarding policy, procedure, and/or execution of sponsored project administration

  • Serves as a liaison and expert resource for researchers regarding the interpretation of policy and procedure related to overall sponsored project management
  • May have authority to submit proposals, agreements, or invoices to a sponsor on behalf of the principal investigator or project director

  • May identify funding opportunities and disseminate to principal investigators
  • Works collaboratively with researchers to prepare non-technical materials for proposals, drafting contracts or agreements for review, and/or advising award setup
  • Leads researchers in the preparation and/or maintenance documentation, financial management, and/or reporting requirements related to sponsored grants, contracts, or agreements
  • Maintains and monitors grants and contract budgets
  • Assures compliance with grant, contract or agreement requirements and determine whether objectives are being met
  • Executes research administration operational policies and procedures including financial, administrative, staffing, and compliance on behalf of a unit

Department:

College of Letters & Science, Research Administration

L&S is the heart of UW-Madison and home to a tremendous breadth and depth of departments and degree-granting programs in the social sciences; arts and humanities; natural, physical, and mathematical sciences; and computing, data, and information sciences.

Compensation:

The expected salary range for this position is $70,000 up to $80,000 for highly experienced candidates. Actual pay within this range will depend on experience and qualifications. This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund. For a summary of benefits, please see https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/fasl.pdf.

Required Qualifications:

  • At least two years of experience in research administration

  • Experience in research administration at an institution of higher education

  • Knowledge of and experience working with federal and other research funding mechanisms

  • Experience interpreting and analyzing financial data and effectively communicating summarized results

  • Strong interpersonal, customer service and communication skills; experience identifying and solving problems using sound judgement and discretion while applying and interpreting laws, rules, policies, and procedures

  • Excellent administrative and organizational skills prioritizing and delegating tasks, managing competing deadlines, and paying attention to detail

  • Experience working with complex, automated accounting systems and processes


Preferred Qualifications:

  • Three years or more experience in research administration

  • Knowledge of and experience with University of Wisconsin policies and related research administration and financial management systems

  • Experience working with systems such as: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)-like systems, like PeopleSoft or Workday, accounting systems, proposal routing systems like RAMP, and sponsor systems like grants.gov or eRA Commons

  • Experience offering guidance, outreach and monitoring for compliance regarding complex research admin and/or fiscal policies in higher education, government or other highly regulated settings

  • Familiarity with Uniform Guidance, UW research administration policy, and sponsor guidance like the NIH Grants Policy Statement and NSF PAPPG; familiarity with reading and interpreting calls for proposal

  • Experience with improving processes and/or managing change


Education:

Required: Associate's Degree or higher

Preferred: Bachelor's degree or higher

Preferred focus in financial, project planning or related degree area

How to Apply:

Click the "Apply" button to start the application process.

You will be prompted to upload the following documents:

-Resume

-Cover letter

Applicants should attach a cover letter and resume detailing their training and experience relating to the required and preferred qualifications referenced above. The application reviewers will be relying on written application materials to determine which qualified applicants will advance in the recruitment process. Please note, there is only one attachment field. You must upload all of your documents in the attachment field. Incomplete applications will not be considered - both cover letter and resume must be included.

Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment.

Contact Information:

Maria Antezana, maria.antezana@wisc.edu

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.

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