Taña Spencer
Research Administrative Manager, Research Administration
Manages the pre- and post-award sponsored-research activities for the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Job Description
Taña supervises the research award specialists and support staff working on sponsored-research grants and contracts for the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She provides analytical and financial support in proposal processing, complex grant and contract administration, and budget development. She also manages post-award funds and closeout activities for a variety of federal, state, local and private sponsors.
Key Job Functions
- Works with department chair and the dean's office to develop short- and long-term strategic plans for a variety of research portfolios
- Develops forecasting models to monitor current funding and to determine future funding needs, including cost principles, reimbursements, cost transfers, allocation of costs, financial monitoring and reporting, and project close-out
- Leads a team of research award specialists and support staff who provide pre- and post-award contract and grant management; allocates resources, set priorities and monitors all activities within the research support team
- Develops and monitors policies and procedures for Research Administrative Support operations; institutes best practices that effectively and efficiently support the research administration of the engineering school
- Manages contract and grant proposal preparation processes for the more demanding and reporting-intensive sponsors with varying policies, restrictions, and deliverables.
- Approves all proposals prepared by the team prior to delivery to the university’s Office of Sponsored Projects Research; ensures that all proposals adhere to the proposal requirements that have been set the sponsor
- Advises faculty on complex contract and grant terms that may impact the administration of a project involving multiple institutions in both the U.S. and international sites
- Facilitates the terms and conditions of awards, budget augmentation and project period with the principles; ensures compliance with all state and federal agency regulations, industry, non-profit organizations and university procedures
- Provides post-award financial administration and management for the more complex research funds
- Act as liaison to other research units involved in research administration