Research Grant Specialist Ii - Smidt Heart Institute - Albert Lab

Grow your career at Cedars-Sinai!

The Smidt Heart Institute reflects Cedars-Sinai's steadfast dedication to heart disease and research innovation giving patients access to the highest level of care. Year after year, thousands of people trust their hearts to Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Our cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and niche care teams treat the full spectrum of heart disease and disorders, while our investigators continue to advance the field with groundbreaking, life-saving research. From genetic counseling and targeted drug therapies to a growing array of minimally invasive procedures, Cedars-Sinai continues to stand at the forefront of technology, innovation and discovery improving patient outcomes.

Join our team and use your skills with an organization known nationally for excellence in research!

We are looking for a Research Grant Specialist who will work with principal investigator to complete and submit federal and non-federal grants and serves as the liaison between department or research groups and sponsored research funds administration, accounting, and finance departments. This role performs all Pre and Post award administrative functions, including, but not limited to, preparing and routing internal documents for signature and processing, supervising grant accounts, tracking all expenses, providing grant and financial reconciliation, and research-related financial reporting. Ensures compliance with all federal and local agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and local Institutional Review Board.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Monitors grant accounts, supervises all expenses, provides grant and financial reconciliation, and research-related financial reporting.
• Performs vital funding corrections via direct cost transfer requests.
• Identifies opportunities for research funding opportunities.
• May assist with patient research billing.
• Maintains research practices using Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines.
• Maintains strict patient confidentiality according to HIPAA regulations and applicable law.
• Participates in required training and education programs.
• Assumes primary responsibility for all pre-and post-award activities: responsible for maintaining solvency of all funds within the Department. This includes being familiar with approving all expenditures, assigning cost centers, supervising compliance with budgets, and identifying and investigating potential problem areas and proposing solutions. Makes recommendations for cost savings and re-budgeting, based on thorough understanding of study requirements and funding agency's regulations. Directly manages a portfolio of faculty and attendant grants and cost centers.
• Works with financial staff to provide monthly, annual and ad hoc financial reports on all funds. These reports include current expenditures, projections of future expenses, and variances from budgeted line item expenses.
• Serves as primary liaison to Cedars-Sinai, NIH and other sponsoring agencies with regard to fiscal administrative concerns. Prepares data for submission to same.
• Creates and maintains spreadsheets for each staff member detailing annual salary support sources and duration of support.
• Interacts extensively with Cedars-Sinai Research Administration to ensure compliance with all hospital, government (NIH) and funding agency policies.
• Prepares and submits all EDC (PeopleSoft) salary sheets for faculty, fellow and staff members.
• Coordinates all PeopleSoft and time-keeping functions, as well as requisitions for new employees, change of status forms and termination reports. Notifies' supervisors of probationary and quarterly evaluation deadlines, annual mandatory training, and ensures that the appropriate paperwork is completed.
• Performs numerous personnel matters including writing job descriptions, discussions with Compensation to determine grades for new positions, annual rates of pay for new hires, increases for employees who are promoted, and advises supervisors with regard to personnel policies and procedures.
• Serves as liaison to Accounts Payable, Payroll, Purchasing and other hospital departments. Represents particular needs of research studies and works to ensure that these needs are met. Also, works with outside vendors to acquire products and services vital to the operation of the research group.
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with all hospital and government regulations for research involving human subjects. Monitors status of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for pending and ongoing studies, works with investigators to submit new applications, annual reviews and notification of changes to study design and methods.
• Provides facilities management of off-site office space for the research group. Coordinates maintenance requests, telephone and computer network service changes, security issues, interactions with cleaning companies and other outside vendors.
• Assists Director in certifying quarterly Time and Effort reports.
• Interacts extensively with Director, Chair and other staff to assess administrative and financial needs of research group, and to revise policies and procedures to meet changing needs of Department

Educational Requirements:

Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree

Licenses:

ACRP/SoCRA (or equivalent) certification preferred

Experience:

• Five (5) years minimum experience in administration of Research Grants, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience with and proven track record with research administration and grants management activities.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to manage many competing timetables and responsibilities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to communicate effectively with Department personnel, members of other Cedars-Sinai offices, and outside funding agencies (NIH, industry and foundations) and vendors
• Ability to work independently and to accept responsibility for sophisticated and sensitive decision-making as it relates to the overall conduct of the Department.
• High degree of analytic ability to manage the financial aspects of the position.

Physical Demands:

• Able to perform moderate lifting.
• Able to sit, stand and walk for prolonged periods of time.
• Able to read papers and online documents.
• Able to operate standard office equipment.
• Able to exercise physical ability and perspective acuity to satisfactorily perform crucial job functions.