PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:
Outgoing Award & Subrecipient Review
· Lead review and classification of proposed downstream relationships, ensuring that subrecipient-versus-contractor or consultant determinations are based on the substance of the relationship and are documented before a subaward is issued.
· Ensure required proposal- and award-stage subrecipient documentation is complete, current, and consistent with the approved scope, budget, period of performance, prime award, sponsor requirements, and institutional approvals.
· Oversee preparation, review, negotiation, execution, and amendment of domestic and foreign outgoing subawards using University-approved, Federal Demonstration Partnership, sponsor, or other appropriate agreement templates and required flow-down provisions.
· Review subaward terms and proposed actions for sponsor prior approvals, fixed-amount or cost-reimbursement requirements, cost share or other institutional commitments, changes in scope or key personnel, special conditions, and other matters requiring institutional action.
· Apply approved institutional positions and escalation pathways; coordinate with leadership, Office of General Counsel, Compliance, Finance, or other responsible offices when non-standard terms, legal issues, sponsor restrictions, or material institutional risks arise.
Portfolio Ownership, Staff Leadership & Workflow Control
· Manage the outgoing awards portfolio and team workload, ensuring each matter has a current status, next action, responsible party, dependencies, and expected timing in the designated institutional system of record.
· Establish clear performance expectations, review work for technical quality and completeness, coach and cross-train staff, and address recurring errors, capacity concerns, or performance issues through appropriate management action.
· Meet established SPO response and processing standards; proactively manage aging, follow up on outstanding items, distinguish SPO processing time from external dependencies, and escalate stalled matters before sponsor, institutional, or regulatory deadlines are jeopardized.
· Do not report or close a matter as complete until required classification, risk review, agreement actions, approvals, documentation, system updates, applicable reporting, and downstream handoffs are complete and can be verified.
Compliance, Risk Assessment & Pre-Issuance Controls
· Oversee and document required pre-issuance subrecipient risk assessments and due diligence for applicable federal and federal flow-through subawards, including review of organizational status, exclusions, audit information, prior performance, financial or operational concerns, foreign involvement, and other relevant risk indicators.
· Ensure identified risks are translated into a documented monitoring approach or special conditions proportionate to the assessed risk and that material concerns are resolved, escalated, or formally accepted through the appropriate institutional authority before execution.
· Oversee applicability determinations and timely completion of required federal transparency reporting for first-tier subawards and modifications, including retention of reporting evidence and correction or reconciliation of identified exceptions.
· Research and apply 2 CFR Part 200, sponsor terms, applicable FAR/DFARS provisions, institutional policy, and established guidance; escalate matters requiring specialized review with a concise issue summary, governing requirement, identified risk, and recommended options.
Systems, Documentation & Data Integrity
· Use and enforce the designated systems of record and workflow tools, including Cayuse, Workday, ticketing or case-management tools, sponsor systems, and approved repositories, to maintain complete and current records for outgoing award matters.
· Maintain audit-ready records containing classification decisions, subrecipient documentation, risk assessments, approvals, negotiation history, executed agreements and amendments, applicable federal reporting evidence, material correspondence, and documented handoff information.
· Accurately enter, update, and reconcile subaward data so institutional systems reflect current amounts, periods of performance, organizations, agreement status, key terms, special conditions, reporting requirements, and downstream management needs.
· Develop and maintain management reporting, aging data, exception tracking, quality-review results, and other evidence needed to assess workload, control performance, data quality, and audit readiness; email or personal tracking tools are not substitutes for the designated institutional record.
Stakeholder Communication, Execution & Handoffs
· Serve as the primary operational liaison for outgoing awards among Pre-Award, Post-Award/Compliance, Office of General Counsel, Research Compliance, Finance, Procurement, Accounts Payable, principal investigators, department administrators, subrecipients, and sponsors when sponsor action is required.
· Communicate clearly, accurately, professionally, and within established service standards regarding outstanding items, risk or compliance holds, negotiation issues, sponsor questions, expected timing, ownership, dependencies, and required next steps.
· Identify and escalate requests for work to begin before execution, retroactive subawards, unauthorized commitments, or other exceptions, and ensure no exception is treated as routine or advanced without the required institutional authorization and documentation.
· Complete and document the required handoff to Post-Award/Compliance and other downstream owners, including the executed agreement, approved risk assessment, monitoring approach, special conditions, deliverables, reporting requirements, and other information necessary for ongoing administration.
· Lead or co-facilitate award kickoff, transition, exception-review, or high-risk subrecipient meetings when early alignment is necessary to establish roles, responsibilities, monitoring expectations, and next actions.
Process Improvement, SOPs, Training & Quality Assurance
· Translate approved policy into operating practice through controlled SOPs, workflows, clear ownership, job aids, training, monitoring, and evidence that controls are functioning as designed; raise ambiguity or conflicts through established governance rather than relying on undocumented workarounds.
· Conduct or oversee periodic quality reviews of outgoing award files and workflow performance; identify recurring issues and root causes across people, process/governance, technology/data, and institutional behaviors or dependencies, and recommend sustainable corrective action.
· Recommend and implement workflow, system, governance, documentation, and service improvements based on audit findings, quality-review results, aging patterns, sponsor requirements, recurring stakeholder pain points, and operational data.
· Develop and deliver role-specific training and guidance for outgoing award staff and contribute to training for principal investigators, department administrators, and institutional partners concerning subrecipient classification, risk, documentation, execution, and handoff requirements.