Post-Award Specialist

Job Summary:

This position will serve as a post-award specialist in the department, providing day-to-day management and oversight of a diverse portfolio of sponsored projects for faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. The role is responsible for ensuring accurate financial stewardship from award setup through closeout, including monitoring expenditures and cost share, reconciling project accounts, supporting payroll distribution and cost transfers as needed, and coordinating timely reporting and deliverables in accordance with sponsor terms and conditions as well as Department, School of Medicine, and University policies.

In collaboration with the Finance Office, Office of Grants & Contracts, and departmental leadership, this position provides proactive guidance on allowability and compliance, develops funding projections and spend plans, and identifies risks or issues requiring resolution (e.g., overdrafts, unallowable costs, rebudgeting needs, subaward invoicing concerns, or effort alignment). The incumbent serves as a key customer-service resource for investigators and trainees by translating complex sponsor and institutional requirements into clear recommendations, maintaining complete and audit-ready documentation, and contributing to continuous process improvement for post-award operations within the department.

Key Responsibilities:

Post Award & Finance:

• Responsible for oversight and seeing assigned sponsored projects for the department through completion, including both federal and non-federal sponsored projects

• Ensure compliance with all applicable federal guidelines (including OMB Circular A-21 and OMB Uniform Guidance), sponsor-specific rules and restrictions (AHA, ACS, ADA, JDRF, etc.), state regulations and University fiscal policies.

• Schedule and participate in regular meetings with departmental faculty members, to provide and analyze funding forecasts and to discuss future business decisions/plans.

• Reconcile direct and indirect costs for all projects to ensure all appropriate expenditures have been posted to project speedtype before close-out process and to prevent any overages/deficits.

• Work with the Finance Office and Office of Grants & Contracts to process journal entries for projects

• ePERs monitoring; run the outstanding ePERs report for the department, contact faculty and staff to ensure compliance, perform PETs to correct as necessary and ensure accurate effort reporting on projects.

• Contact sponsors regarding all re-budgeting requests, carry-forward requests, special permission requests and guidelines/restriction clarifications.

• Efficiently maintain all subcontract activities for assigned faculty, including initiating subcontract setup process, interfacing between OGC and subcontract sites, performing monthly tracking of all contract and subcontract invoicing and payments for all sponsored projects and contracts.

• Reconcile Federal Financial Reports and Final Expenditure Reports to the general ledger prior to Office of Grants & Contracts submission to sponsor. Work with the OGC Post-Award manager to close out projects in a timely manner and prepare all reports for the close-out process.

• Monitor changes in University, state, and federal regulations and recommend updates to departmental post-award procedures to maintain compliance and improve efficiency.

• Support the Director of Finance & Administration in identifying and evaluating future funding needs (e.g., bridge funding scenarios) using projections and historical spending trends.

Payroll & Effort Management:

• Monitor payroll funding distributions and salary charges monthly for sponsored and departmental accounts; adjust funding, compensation, and job codes as needed to align with awarded budgets and effort commitments.

• Coordinate with the Pre-Award team on personnel effort reporting to ensure submissions are accurate, timely, and compliant with sponsor requirements.

• Process payroll expense transfers (PETs) and funding distribution updates for assigned speed-types to address revised budgets, late awards, overages/surpluses, and payroll-related adjustments needed for FFRs.

Work Location:

Hybrid - this role is eligible for a hybrid schedule of # days per week on campus and as needed for in-person meetings.

Why Join Us:

Why work for the University?

We have AMAZING benefits and offer exceptional amounts of holiday, vacation and sick leave! The University of Colorado offers an excellent benefits package including:

• Medical: Multiple plan options

• Dental: Multiple plan options

• Additional Insurance: Disability, Life, Vision

• Retirement 401(a) Plan: Employer contributes 10% of your gross pay

• Paid Time Off: Accruals over the year

• Vacation Days: 22/year (maximum accrual 352 hours)

• Sick Days: 15/year (unlimited maximum accrual)

• Holiday Days: 10/year

• Tuition Benefit: Employees have access to this benefit on all CU campuses

• ECO Pass: Reduced rate RTD Bus and light rail service

There are many additional perks & programs with the CU Advantage.

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in public health, public administration, social/behavioral sciences, physical sciences, nursing, healthcare, finance, accounting, business administration, business, or a directly related field from an accredited institution and 1 year of professional experience in post-award management.

  • Substitution: A combination of education and related technical/military/paraprofessional experience may be substituted for a bachelor's degree on a year for year basis.

Applicants must meet minimum qualifications at the time of hire.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Intermediate to advanced computer skills, especially in Microsoft Excel.

• Experience with sponsored programs accounting

• Experience with managing T32 training grants

• Experience in an academic medical/research setting or higher education institution.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and orally.

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees at all levels throughout the institution.

• Outstanding customer service skills.

• A thorough understanding of University fiscal policy and State and Federal rules and regulations

• Able to manage multiple projects and prioritize tasks with competing deadlines

• Able to identify and address problems using independent judgement and critical thinking

• Strong organizational skills and accurate attention to detail

• Good interpersonal communication skills and able to work as part of a team

• Knowledge of standard accounting policies and procedures

• Knowledge of CU operating systems PeopleSoft, Concur, CU Marketplace, CU Data

Conditions of Employment:

• Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without requiring sponsorship. We are unable to provide work visa sponsorship or employment authorization for this position now or in the future.

How to Apply:

For full consideration, please submit the following document(s):

1. A letter of interest describing relevant job experiences as they relate to listed job qualifications and interest in the position

2. Curriculum vitae / Resume

3. Three to five professional references, including name, address, phone number (mobile number if appropriate), and email address

Questions should be directed to: Kalyn Barton - kalyn.barton@cuanschutz.edu

Screening of Applications Begins:

Immediately and continues until three weeks after requisition is posted.

Anticipated Pay Range:

The starting salary range (or hiring range) for this position has been established as

• $55,586 to $73,145

The above salary range (or hiring range) represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. This position may be eligible for overtime compensation, depending on the level.

Your total compensation goes beyond the number on your paycheck. The University of Colorado provides generous leave, health plans and retirement contributions that add to your bottom line.

Total Compensation Calculator

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

ADA Statement:

The University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities throughout the employment application process. To request an accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact the Human Resources ADA Coordinator at hr.adacoordinator@cuanschutz.edu.

Background Check Statement:

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our faculty, staff, students and visitors. To assist in achieving that goal, we conduct background investigations for all prospective employees.

Vaccination Statement:

CU Anschutz strongly encourages vaccination against the COVID-19 virus and other vaccine preventable diseases. If you work, visit, or volunteer in healthcare facilities or clinics operated by our affiliated hospital or clinical partners or by CU Anschutz, you will be required to comply with the vaccination and medical surveillance policies of the facilities or clinics where you work, visit, or volunteer, respectively. In addition, if you work in certain research areas or perform certain safety sensitive job duties, you must enroll in the occupational health medical surveillance program.