Coordinator, Sponsored Research

Job Summary: 

The Coordinator, Sponsored Research provides support for sponsored research activities within the Research Administration team. Working closely with the Research Administration team, including the Director of Sponsored Research, Manager, Research Administration, and colleagues across the division and School, the Coordinator supports proposal preparation, budget documentation, award tracking, and compliance documentation collection. The role focuses on accurate execution of established processes under guidance, maintenance of documentation integrity, support for school-level review workflows, and timely completion of recurring administrative tasks across the sponsored research lifecycle.

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

Reporting to the Director, Research Facilitation, the Coordinator provides a broad range of funder, pre-award, and post-award process expertise and support to HBS faculty and researchers engaged in sponsored research and to other staff working to support research initiatives and projects throughout the School. Specific responsibilities include:

Proposal Support

• Work with PIs and their research teams for end-to-end proposal development and submission, and ensure formatting, editing, and all other sponsor- and opportunity-specific requirements for proposal submission are met.

• Help facilitate school-level review and approval processes for externally funded proposals.

• Collect required compliance documentation and supporting materials, including disclosures and certifications.

• Enter and update data in institutional and sponsor submission systems.

• Review and assemble complete proposal package (e.g., biosketches, current and pending support, facilities & resources) for completeness and routing under guidance of the Director of Sponsored Research and Manager, Research Administration.

Budget & Documentation Support

• Assist with budget preparation using established templates and guidance from Sponsored Research team.

• Validate fringe, indirect rates, and standard cost elements using approved institutional and sponsor rates.

• Support preparation of budget justifications and required sponsor forms.

• Assemble subcontract and subaward packets and supporting documentation.

• Support administrative and financial documentation associated with proposal submissions.

Award Administration Support

• Track submission, reporting, day-to-day grants management tasks, and compliance deadlines.

• Maintain proposal and award records in shared systems and institutional platforms.

• Update grant tracking systems and databases with submission and award activity.

• Prepare grant budget forecasts, routine reports, data summaries, and status updates for faculty and stakeholders.

• Support coordination of subcontracts and subawards associated with sponsored funding, including ensuring consistency with Subrecipient Monitoring Policy.

• Assist with information collection for leadership and ad hoc reports on sponsored funding activity and trends.

Data & Systems Management

• Maintain documentation repositories and shared electronic filing systems.

• Ensure accuracy, completeness, and consistency of proposal and award records.

• Support compliance documentation tracking, including disclosures and reporting requirements.

• Collaborate on sponsored research-related intranet content, faculty communications and newsletters, as applicable.

• Stay informed of procedural, regulatory, and University updates and system changes related to sponsored research workflows.

Customer Service & Communication

• Respond promptly to routine faculty and staff inquiries regarding sponsored research processes.

• Provide basic guidance on process requirements and direct complex policy questions to appropriate team member(s).

• Assist with preparation and distribution of guidance materials and communications to the HBS research community.

• Support logistics and material generation for training sessions and informational meetings related to sponsored research administration.

• Escalate complex compliance, budgetary, or policy interpretation issues to appropriate team member(s), as appropriate.

• Builds trust and collaboration by being present on-site and engaging directly with colleagues and various constituents

• Responsible for other duties as assigned.