Contracts and Grants Coordinator

The University of Southern California’s Pullias Center for Higher Education is seeking a Contracts and Grants Coordinator to support all phases of grant administration, from pre-award preparations to post-award processes.

The Contracts and Grants Coordinator will collaborate with faculty, staff, and graduate students within the Center and interact with various staff and administrators within the Rossier School of Education, the Department of Contracts and Grants, Sponsored Projects Accounting, Procurement and other university support areas. Applicants should have experience in grants management, project management, university budgeting and expense processes.

Ideal candidates will:

• Serve as a subject matter resource for non-profit and university proposal submissions (expertise with federal grants desired), offering guidance on various proposal types, knowledge of submission systems, common challenges, and effective navigation processes for successful proposal submissions.

• Provide comprehensive post-award administrative support, processing expenditures, establishing contracts, compliance with internal and external reporting requirements.

• Reconcile and generate financial reports. Provide faculty with account summaries and projection reports on regular and as-needed basis. Prepare financial and/or progress reports requested by agencies for award continuation and/or final reports.                      

• Demonstrate ability to quickly integrate into a dynamic workload, assume key responsibilities, and build strong, collaborative relationships across varied personnel, departments and units.

• Have experience interacting with various university personnel including faculty, administrators, staff and students.

• Have multi-tasking experience, with ability to adapt and adjust priorities as required for successful completion of tasks.

• Have meticulous detailed record-keeping capabilities tracking multiple projects with varying needs, distinctive budgets, over assorted timeframes.

• Stay well-informed with center funding needs and university policies.

• Cultivate strong, collaborative relationships with school representatives, central unit representatives, faculty, and staff.

• Other duties as assigned.

The mission of the Pullias Center for Higher Education is to bring a multidisciplinary perspective to complex social, political, and economic issues in higher education. Our work is devoted to the key issues of college access and admissions/enrollment, retention, and accountability for underserved students, and the effectiveness of the colleges and universities — and their faculty — that serve them. In addition, our College Advising Corps delivers direct college advising services to more than 10,000 high school students in Los Angeles each year. Both directly and through our research, policy development and practice, we engage with institutional leaders, policymakers and the community at large to address major challenges in educational equity today.

The position will begin in April 2025. It is a temporary, fixed-term, position renewable based on grant funding. Hybrid arrangements for this full-time (37.5hr/week) position will be considered.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree; combined experience/education may be a substitute for minimum education.

• Minimum of two years of contracts and grants administration experience or specialized administrative support experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 3 or more years of contracts and grants administration experience or specialized administrative support experience

• Experience working with contracts and grants awards

• Experience with financial/budget forecasting and reporting

• Experience working with Workday financials

• Advanced proficiency in Excel

Anticipated Hiring Range:

This position's annual base salary range is $78,000 - $83,000.  When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

Required Documents and Additional Information:

Applications should be submitted via usccarreers.usc.edu and should include the following:

Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file). Please do not submit your application without these documents.

USC has excellent benefits, including health benefits for staff and their family with access to the renowned university medical network; eligibility for retirement plans with employer contributions; tuition benefits for staff and their family; free professional development classes; central Los Angeles location with easy access to commuter trains, buses and free tram pick up services; discounts to sporting and other campus events.

Minimum Education: Related undergraduate study, Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education Minimum Experience: 2 years, Combined education/experience as substitute for minimum experience Minimum Field of Expertise: Contracts and Grants Administration experience or administrative support experience