Research Administration Manager

Position Number: 41209966

Payroll Title: RSCH ADM 3 (006206)

Job Code: 006206

Job Open Date: 10/23/25

Application Review Begins: 11/7/25

Department Code (Name): MECE (MECHANICAL ENGINEERING)

Percentage of Time: 100

Union Code (Name): 99 - Non-Represented (PPSM)

Employee Class (Appointment Type): Staff: Career

FLSA Status: Exempt

Classified Indicator Description (Personnel Program): PSS

Salary Grade: Grade 21

Pay Rate/Range: The budgeted salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $71,600 to $100,000/year. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience; the budget for the position; and the application of fair, equitable, and consistent pay practices at the University. The full salary range for this position is $71,600 to $127,400/year.

Work Location: Engineering II 2355

Working Days and Hours: M-F, 8am-5pm

Benefits Eligibility: Full

Type of Remote or Hybrid Work Arrangement, if applicable:

Hybrid or fully remote work schedule may be considered

Special Instructions:

For full consideration, please include a resume and a cover letter as part of your application.

Department Marketing Statement:

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara was founded in 1964. Our world-class faculty offers accredited programs leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Master of Science (M.S.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D). The outstanding educational and research opportunities in our department are further enhanced by the many interdisciplinary activities that abound at UCSB. We offer an education that prepares our students to become leaders of the engineering profession and one which empowers them to engage in a lifetime of learning and achievement.

Benefits of Belonging

Working at UC means being part of this vibrant institution that shines a light on what is possible. People make UC great, and UC recognizes your contributions by making this a great place to work. Excellent retirement and health are just one of the rewards. Learn more about the benefits of working at UC

Brief Summary of Job Duties:
Under the direction of the Business Officer, the Research Administration Manager is responsible for overseeing and managing all financial operations for the Mechanical Engineering Department, including financial administration, purchasing, post-award contract and grant administration, gift processing and administration, and personnel and payroll management. Collaborates with the Business Officer to develop and implement financial systems and procedures; Independently manages post-award financial administration for a complex portfolio of sponsored research awards, including budget setup, expenditure monitoring, award reconciliation, and closeout. Ensures compliance with university, federal, and sponsor regulations. Supports Principal Investigators (PI) with spending projections, financial planning, and audit-ready documentation. Provides financial guidance to faculty and staff and interprets university policies to ensure best practices. Develops departmental procedures and internal controls to support high service standards and compliance with audit and record retention requirements. Maintains strong knowledge of UC accounting policies, federal guidelines, and campus financial systems (Gateway/Flexcard, Concur, Oracle Cloud Financials (OFC), UCPath, Kronos, PGM). Demonstrates adaptability to new policies and systems. Supervises Pre-Award Research Analyst, sets priorities, provides training, and manages performance. Serves as a resource for research administration and financial compliance, maintaining strong working relationships with PIs, staff, central offices, and external partners.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training
• 4-6 years Financial and budgetary management experience, including fund accounting.
• 4-6 years Experience producing complex financial reports and providing analytical summaries.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 1-3 years Prior supervisory and/or leadership experience, including the ability to train, assign work, motivate, and evaluate staff.
• 1-3 years Experience in research administration within a university setting.
• 1-3 years Experience optimizing finance processes for speed, agility and insight.

Special Conditions of Employment:

• Satisfactory criminal history background check
• UCSB is a Tobacco-Free environment

Misconduct Disclosure Requirement:

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegation or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

Job Functions and Percentages of Time:

• 75% Post-Award Research Financial Management - Working in the Projects and Grants Management (PGM) module, the Research Administration Manager serves as the Research Finance Analyst (RFA) for Mechanical Engineering and plays a critical role in the post-award administration of sponsored research funding, ensuring compliance with federal regulations, sponsor terms, UC policies, and accounting standards while supporting faculty in the fiscal management of research portfolios. Independently manages the financial lifecycle of complex awards, including budget setup, fund allocation, expenditure monitoring, and award reconciliation and closeout. Confirms that spending aligns with approved budgets and funding periods, baselines project budgets prior to expenditures, and ensures all project roles and configurations are accurately maintained in UCSB's financial systems. Coordinates the setup of sponsored awards by verifying project configurations, chart fields, and award attributes for alignment with sponsor agreements. Manages Requests for Advance Spending (RAS) when funding is anticipated but not yet finalized. Ensures baseline budgets are established prior to the commencement of spending and that funding allocations are properly distributed across projects, including fabrication and cost-sharing components. Reviews financial transactions in boundary systems (Gateway, Concur, Transfer of Expense (TOE), Flexcard, UCPath)) for allowability, allocability, and availability of funds. Verifies General Ledger and project expenditures to ensure that they are allowable and reported accurately and timely, including monitoring pending transactions and resolving errors as necessary. Initiates compliant cost transfers as needed. Ensures salary cost transfers align with certified effort reporting and monitors for necessary recertifications. Oversees accurate tracking and fulfillment of cost-sharing obligations, including both payroll and non-payroll components. Prepares financial reports for Principal Investigators, including burn rate analysis, spending projections, and supports scenario modeling and spend planning. Maintains detailed documentation to support audit readiness. Monitors subrecipient invoicing to ensure compliance with sponsor terms, federal regulations, and UC policy by reviewing each invoice against the subaward agreement, budget, and period of performance to verify that expenditures are allowable, reasonable, and within the approved budget, and flags any discrepancies or unallowable charges for resolution. Confirms that cumulative billing does not exceed authorized funding and ensures timely PI review and approval. For final invoices, coordinates with the Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) to complete additional reviews, initiates subaward closeout procedures, and ensures commitments are released in UCSB's financial systems. Initiates award closeout procedures by monitoring end dates and ensuring timely action. Verifies the allowability of expenditures, reconciles payroll and non-payroll charges, and confirms submission of final invoices. Coordinates with central offices to finalize sponsor invoicing, prepares or supports required financial reporting, closes out commitments and subawards, and submits all necessary documentation in compliance with university and agency requirements. Provides guidance and training to departmental staff and junior RFAs on current research administration policies and procedures. Requires access to sensitive business and confidential information, and requires obtaining and maintaining campus delegation for the role. Requires strong financial acumen, meticulous attention to detail, and proactive communication to ensure sound financial stewardship in support of UCSB's research enterprise.
• 15% Department Financial Administration - Responsible for overseeing and managing the financial and personnel operations for the Mechanical Engineering Department. In consultation with the Business Officer, institutes changes to department procedures to accommodate changes in campus policies and procedures and system conversions. Ensures departmental staff understand and appropriately use central campus financial tools and dashboards (e.g., Faculty Financial Reports) to support transparency and planning. Responsible for processing gifts that are received by the department from individuals and private industrial sponsors. Responsible for overseeing department payroll activities. Works closely with academic personnel matters, assessing title and pay structure for academic research titles, students and various employees ensuring policies and procedures and collective bargaining requirements are met. Acts as liaison in disseminating student funding instructions for faculty to various campus administrative units. Acts as Payroll Manager in Kronos and verifies monthly and biweekly payroll processing; Calculates and inputs summer salary calculations and related funding entries into UCPath. Coordinates reconciliation of general and payroll ledgers to verify that expenses are accurate, allowable, and appropriately charged; coordinates expense corrections or salary cost transfers when discrepancies are identified. Oversees recharge processes, ensuring internal and external recharges are timely, accurately recorded, and posted to the correct CCOA elements. Under the direction of the Business Officer, responsible for the management of all recharge activity for the department's three recharge units (Microscopy, Course Material Fee and Mechanical Test Lab). Oversee the processing of the monthly recharges. Verifies accuracy of recharges prepared by the financial analyst. Responsible for the establishment and maintenance of all rate and recharge accounts. Oversees tasks related to the pre-award phase of a sponsored project, including working with PIs to ensure that documents are in compliance, developing the budget, assisting with the completion of non-technical documents, handling compliance requirements, working on cost share requests, coordinating with subawardees. Works with PI to adhere to SPO proposal submission timelines.
• 10% Management and Supervision - Supervises Pre Award Administrator (PRA) - 1.0 staff FTE. Establishes workload priorities and deadlines for PRA. Monitors workload and performance, and conducts performance evaluations annually. Establishes work performance standards and redistributes workload and duties as necessary. Consults with the Business Officer for direction on HR issues as needed. Assists Pre-Award Administrator (PRA) with complex proposals and steps in to cover for PRA in times of absences. Provides direction and training to staff in all accounting areas, including purchasing, recharge systems, gift administration, accounts payable, accounts receivable, travel and reimbursements, and others as required.

UC Vaccination Programs Policy:

As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccinations Programs.

As a condition of Physical Presence at a Location or in a University Program, all Covered Individuals* must participate in any applicable Vaccination Program by providing proof that they are Up-to-Date with any required Vaccines or submitting a request for Exception in a Mandate Program or properly declining vaccination in an Opt-Out Program no later than the Compliance Date (Capitalized terms in this paragraph are defined in the policy.). Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

For more information, please visit University of California Policy on Vaccinations - https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/5000695/VaccinationProgramsPolicy

*Covered Individuals: A Covered Individual includes anyone designated as Personnel or Students under this Policy who physically access a University Facility or Program in connection with their employment, appointment, or education/training. A person accessing a Healthcare Location as a patient, or an art, athletics, entertainment, or other publicly accessible venue at a Location as a member of the public, is not a Covered Individual.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

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