Job Details

Pre-Award GCO

Position Number: 9722756
Location: Salt Lake City, United States
Position Type: Sponsored Programs, Grants, and Contracts

Pre-Award GCO

Job Summary

The Price College of Engineering seeks a collaborative and service-oriented Pre-Award Grants & Contracts Officer (GCO) to join a centralized college research administration team supporting pre-award activities across multiple engineering departments, centers, and research initiatives. This position provides comprehensive proposal development and research administration support to faculty pursuing external funding from federal agencies, industry sponsors, foundations, and other entities.

Working closely with Principal Investigators (PIs), department leadership, the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP), and college research administration partners, the GCO assists with all aspects of the pre-award lifecycle, including proposal preparation, budget development, sponsor guideline interpretation, compliance certification, external partner documentation, submission management, and award transition support.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, collaborative, and able to manage multiple complex deadlines in a fast-paced research environment. This role requires strong communication skills, analytical thinking, and the ability to provide excellent customer service to faculty and research teams across a broad portfolio of engineering disciplines.

The Price College of Engineering is home to a dynamic research enterprise spanning multiple disciplines, centers, and industry partnerships. As part of a centralized college pre-award support model, this position partners with departments across the college to expand research capacity, improve consistency in proposal development processes, and enhance the faculty experience in securing external funding. The role offers the opportunity to work closely with innovative faculty and research teams advancing impactful engineering research and technology development within a collaborative environment that emphasizes professional growth, operational excellence, and high-quality faculty support.

Learn more about the great benefits of working for University of Utah: benefits.utah.edu

Responsibilities
Responsibilities:

Coordinate and facilitate the full pre-award proposal development process for faculty and research teams across the Price College of Engineering.
Assist Principal Investigators with the preparation, review, and submission of grant applications, contracts, cooperative agreements, subawards, and other sponsored project proposals.
Develop detailed proposal budgets and budget justifications in accordance with sponsor guidelines and University policies.
Interpret sponsor requirements, funding opportunity announcements, and University policies to ensure proposal compliance and timely submission.
Serve as a liaison between faculty, departments, the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP), Office of the Vice President for Research, IRB, IACUC, Technology Licensing Office, and other research administration entities.
Coordinate proposal timelines, collect required documentation, and ensure completion of all administrative components of submissions.
Assist with preparation and maintenance of biosketches, current and pending/other support documents, facilities statements, and other proposal-related materials.
Support complex proposal submissions, including interdisciplinary, multi-investigator, multi-institutional, center-level, and industry-sponsored projects.
Provide guidance regarding sponsor regulations, federal compliance requirements, and University policies related to sponsored projects.
Collaborate with departmental and post-award staff to support smooth transitions from proposal submission to award setup and management.
Maintain accurate proposal records and documentation in University and sponsor systems.
Monitor sponsor deadlines and proactively communicate requirements and timelines to faculty and research teams.
Contribute to the development of standardized processes, templates, training materials, and continuous improvement initiatives for the college's centralized research administration services.
Participate in special projects and collaborative initiatives that support the research mission of the Price College of Engineering.
Maintain current knowledge of evolving federal regulations, sponsor policies, and University research administration procedures.

Disclaimer:This job description is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to the position. Duties and responsibilities may change based on organizational needs.

Minimum Qualifications
EQUIVALENCY STATEMENT: 1 year of higher education can be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience (Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related work experience).
Department may hire employee at one of the following job levels:
Pre-Award Grants & Contract Officer (GCO), III: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 6 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 4 years of directly related work experience.
Pre-Award Grants & Contract Officer (GCO), IV: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 8 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 6 years of directly related work experience.
Pre-Award Grants & Contract Officer (GCO), V: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 10 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 8 years of directly related work experience.

Preferences
Preferences:

Experience supporting pre-award sponsored research activities in a university or research environment.
Familiarity with federal sponsors such as NSF, NIH, DoD, DOE, NASA, or other federal agencies common within engineering research.
Experience with electronic research administration and sponsor submission systems (e.g., Research.gov, Grants.gov, ASSIST, Cayuse, Workspace).
Knowledge of University of Utah research administration policies and systems.
Experience supporting complex, interdisciplinary, or multi-institutional proposals.
Ability to work independently while contributing effectively within a collaborative team environment.

Special Instructions

Requisition Number: PRN45736B
Full Time or Part Time? Full Time
Work Schedule Summary: Monday Friday, 8am 5pm, Hybrid
Department: 00051 - College of Engineering-Dean
Location: Campus
Pay Rate Range: $60,000 - $80,000
Close Date: 09/30/2026
Open Until Filled:

To apply, visit <a href=""https://apptrkr.com/9722756"">https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/206018