Departmental Overview

UC Berkeley was rated the number one public university in the US for 2026, with the Department of Chemistry rated the best program for chemistry in the world in 2023. Since 1946, UC Berkeley has won 19 Nobel Prizes for Chemistry, our most recent was awarded in 2025.

The Department of Chemistry is seeking a new Faculty Support Administrator to support our top-rated research. Our faculty address major scientific and technological challenges facing the world. Join us in our mission to advance society through education and research.

Position Summary

The Administrative Officer performs administrative services and manages the full general operations of one or more large, complex laboratories. This position carries out complex financial planning, management of contracts and grants, and research support functions. The Administrative Officer manages Professors' research funds with multi-million dollar annual funding from a variety of federal, state, and private sources, supporting the UC Berkeley administrative and financial needs of a broad range of research.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is: July 28, 2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

Responsibilities

Financial/Extramural Management - 30%

• Liaison to the College of Chemistry and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) business services support units. Formulate annual operating budgets including spending projections. Audit and analyze financial reports and forecast expenses to ensure Principal Investigator (P.I.) meets financial obligations of the research group.
• Integrate UCB and LBNL reports to create current and accurate comprehensive financial picture to ensure fiscal integrity. Anticipate and resolve operational, fiscal or other discrepancies. Work with both UCB and LBNL relevant personnel at the facility and in the central support offices to provide overall support to this function.
• Oversee the post-award administration of grants, contracts, and agreements. Ensure the terms and conditions of all awards are met and manage funds in compliance with university, LBNL, DOE, federal, and state policies and regulations. Confer with Sponsored Project Office (SPO), UCB and LBNL service units on terms and conditions of awards, budget augmentation, project period, and award extension.
• Ensure financial integrity of research funds by regularly reviewing expenditures and comparing to budget and ensuring funds are not in overdraft.
• Advise research unit and P.I. on how funds can be used optimally. Analyze expenses, develop cost projections, and provide financial tracking to fulfill reporting requirements to agencies. This includes reviewing of blanket purchase orders and comparing tracking worksheets to general ledger postings. Develop, implement, and maintain internal group operating policies and procedures for operation of research, and to comply with federal, state, private grant agency rules and regulations.
• Allocate resource levels according to project funding. Review all grant assignments of resources and equipment.

Contract and Grant Development, Preparation and Reporting - 25%

• Facilitate the pre-proposal preparation process compliance with UCB, LBNL, and agency announcements, policies, restrictions, and deliverables. Interpret and analyze agency proposal format, content, budgetary components, and funding guidelines. Provides input into non-technical portions of grant and contract proposals. Prepare documents for final submission. Coordinate submission with proposal coordinator and SPO.
• Liaison between PI, SPO, and LBL pre-award units to oversee the establishment, negotiation and administration of grants, contracts and subcontracts and the implementation of consultant agreements in coordination with the Financial Services Office.
• Resolve any problems or discrepancies that may include providing technical reports, research summaries, annual and final reports, additional financial reports, and invoice back-up.
• Maintain schedule of agency submission and reporting deadlines. Provide assistance to pre-doctoral and post-doctoral researchers with fellowship applications. Review applications for accuracy. Coordinate submissions through proposal coordinator, SPO and LBNL pre-award units.

Personnel Management - 15%

• Oversee the human resource activities (hiring, termination, change of status, etc.) of the research group personnel with the PI, the shared service units, respective academic and staff payroll offices, UCB, and LBNL administrators. Ensure proper documentation is obtained for foreign visitors/researchers on visa and work permit applications.
• Establish, implement, and maintain the groups application and interview process for orienting and hiring of postdoctoral scientists and visiting scientists, graduate student researchers, and undergraduate students, ensuring compliance with the policies and procedures of UCB, LBNL, and federal regulations.
• Establish, implement, and maintain the groups termination process and compliance of postdoctoral scientists and visiting scientists, graduate student researchers, and undergraduate students ensuring compliance with the policies and procedures of UCB and LBNL.
• May supervise a small staff of support employees and/or students.

Material and Facilities Management - 10%

• Work with the shared services units, and central procurement and receiving units at UCB and LBNL to coordinate the research groups ordering and delivery of all supplies, equipment and services, selecting local, campus or outside vendors.
• Define procedures for ordering and delivery of all supplies, equipment, and services using local campus sources and outside vendors. Evaluate purchasing options and institute practices based on the most economical and effective use of funds.
• Arrange purchases of highly specialized, often custom-made equipment, and manage repair and maintenance of existing equipment by outside vendors. Obtain price and availability quotes from outside vendors for supplies and equipment.
• Manage equipment maintenance agreements and warranty repairs. Work with research group to ensure materials are on hand for experiments. Ensure systems are in place for fax orders, freight shipments, special handling orders, special software orders, and controlled substance licenses. Identify laboratorys facilities problems, report problems, follow-up aggressively to ensure problems receive timely attention and are resolved to the P.I.s satisfaction.

Program/Office Management - 15%

• Manage the business affairs of the office; develop operational procedures to ensure efficiency in the administrative office and laboratories. Document and update the procedures on a regular basis.
• Serve as primary office contact to broad range of organizations and liaison to UCB and LBNL. Keep PI apprised of significant issues, events, requests, problems, and deadlines.
• Design, manage and keep updated databases, logs, and spreadsheets that facilitate efficient retrieval of a variety of information including laboratory alumni, personnel, publications, etc. Manage data and keep data updated on institution-wide databases such as UCBs academic personnel database. Edit and maintain PIs publication list for grant reporting requirements.
• Set up laboratory personnel travel arrangements, reimbursements for travel and entertainment, composing correspondence, processing personnel activities.
• May serve as safety coordinator for research group. Updates research group's website and assists in designing and drafting content including newsletters and other public-facing content.

Department Faculty Support Lead - 5%

• Develop subject matter expertise in Faculty Support Administration in order to assist FSA supervisor in creating unit staff meeting agendas, staff development opportunities, and training schedules for colleagues in the Faculty Support Unit.
• Serves on hiring committees for staff in the department. Assist FSA Supervisor in training other staff in job areas.

Required Qualifications

• Knowledge of a variety of administrative operational activities such as event planning, website design, accounting and payroll, and contracts and grants regulations and guidelines, purchasing, and etc.
• Ability to liaison with and integrate different policies, regulations, and procedures, for budget, fund, personnel, grant, and facility management, from different units on campus and between UCB and LBNL and/or the ability to learn.
• Extensive administrative experience managing an office for a senior scientist in a research and academic environment with minimal supervision.
• Ability to use discretion and maintain confidentiality.
• Experience in overall coordination and budget preparation for scientific and technical proposals for large, complex projects with subcontracting and collaborating institutions.
• Experience in budget management, expense forecasting, and financial analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with scientific, management, technical, and other staff from academic, public, and private sector environments.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, and manage multiple high priorities.
• Knowledge of current laboratory and office computer software with advanced skills in computer applications, including MS Office, wordpress, google applications, etc., and University-specific software and/or the ability to learn.
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills and ability to analyze data/problems and provide solutions.
• Excellent organizational, group communication, verbal, and writing skills.
• Thorough knowledge of University rules and regulations, processes, protocols and procedures for budget, accounting and fund management, and / or personnel management and/or the ability to learn.
• Thorough knowledge of financial analysis and reporting techniques, and/or human resources policies and procedures for staff and academic employees.

Education / Training

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training

Salary & Benefits

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted annual salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $97,572.24 - $123,734.88, Step 1 - 13. The full pay scale for this classification is $97,572.24 - $147,872.16, Step 1 - 22.

• This is an exempt, monthly-paid position.
• This is a full-time (40 hours/week) Career position eligible for UC benefits.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Other Information

• This position is eligible for up to 1 day/week of remote work within the United States. Exact arrangements are determined in partnership with your supervisor to meet role responsibilities and department needs and are subject to change.
• This is not a visa opportunity. This position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.
• This position is governed by the terms and conditions in the agreement for the Clerical & Allied Services Unit (CX) between the University of California and Teamsters Local 2010. The current bargaining agreement manual can be found at: http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/cx/index.html

Misconduct

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 allegations 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: