Principal Awards and Contracts Administrator

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Saudi Arabia; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading university in Saudi Arabia seeks a Principal Awards and Contracts Administrator to oversee contract negotiations and manage research agreements. The role requires extensive experience in research contracts, a Master's degree, and strong interpersonal skills. The successful candidate will lead a team and ensure compliance with ethical standards while representing the university in negotiations with global funding agencies.

Qualifications

• Over 10 years of relevant experience in contracts and awards.
• Expert in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating research contracts.
• Certified licensing professional (CLP) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Leads the Awards and Contracting Team.
• Drafts and negotiates complex research-related agreements.
• Guides Principal Investigators in contract terms review.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Decision making

Education

Master’s degree (law, science, engineering or business)

Job description

Position Summary

The Principal Awards and Contracts Administrator acts as the expert for KAUST in regard to Research Agreements. The Principal Awards and Contracts Administrator represents KAUST in all contract negotiations with funding agencies, industrial sponsors and academic institutions worldwide. The Principal Awards and Contracts Administrator is not only responsible for drafting and negotiating terms and conditions for all complex research-related agreements with industrial as well as public funders or institutions ensuring the highest ethical standards but also for sharing knowledge with the team on all challenging aspects of research contracts.

Major Responsibilities

• Leads the Awards and Contracting Team and support the recruitment of new members when necessary;


• Acts as the expert for KAUST in regards to Research Agreements terms and conditions (e.g. publications, intellectual property, handling of private data (GPCR regulation), indemnities, licensing).


• Mentors the senior awards and contracts specialists on complex terms and conditions;


• Drafts and negotiates all complex and non-standard research-related agreements (e.g. Master Research Agreements, Consortium Agreements, Memorandum of Understanding) and represents KAUST on all contract related matters with public funders, industry sponsors, academic institutions worldwide;


• In addition to the role of expert, continue to manage a large number of Principal Investigators to reflect and protect their research activities in any agreement;


• Ensures the involvement of all stakeholders at KAUST, including Technology Transfer and the General Counsel’s Office as appropriate in the drafting of agreements;


• Develops and maintains a library of template agreements with KAUST’s preferred terms and conditions;


• Lead the modifications of terms and conditions in research agreements when appropriate;

• Guides the KAUST Principal Investigators in the review and interpretation of sponsors’ terms and conditions;

• Negotiates contract extensions or amendments on behalf of the institution;


• Leads the development of procedures for research contracts and their implementations;


• Maintains a database of executed research agreements;


• Participates to the IBEC committee on behalf of Office of Research Administration;


• Oversees the budgetary element of all research related agreements;


• Leads the approval process for the acceptance of awards or research agreements from funders;


• Leads relations of Pre-Award and Contracts with the Office of the General Counsel and Technology Transfer Office;


• Organizes and runs training programs and workshops for faculty on all aspects of contracts management and compliance with funder terms (in coordination with OGC and TTO);


• Undertakes other tasks as may be required by supervisor.

Personal Requirements

Competencies

• Excellent understanding of academic research and of research processes;


• Excellent knowledge of all contractual issues and intellectual property issues that need to be addressed in research contracts;


• Excellent knowledge of the potential ethics and governance issues in research;


• Strong interpersonal, organizational, communications and presenting skills;


• Ability to work with staff at all levels;


• An effective team organizer;


• Ability to prioritize work in order to manage competing demands and be able to work under pressure to meet deadlines;


• A well-developed approach to decision making coupled to strong influencing skills;


• English proficiency in legal, business and scientific vocabularies;


• Cross cultural sensitivity and awareness.

Qualifications & Experience

• A Master’s degree (law, science, engineering or business) or a professional qualification of equivalent standing;


• over 10 years of relevant experience working in contracts and awards in a research or higher education environment;


• Expert in drafting, reviewing and negotiating research contracts;


• Certified licensing professional (CLP);


• Knowledgeable in the GPCR and other private data regulations;


• Excellent understanding of the complex nature of interdisciplinary research and intellectual property issues on research agreements is a requirement;


• Experience of working in an international context is a must;


• Line Management experience is a plus;


• Excellent knowledge of contractual legal principles and experience to interpret contracts and sponsors’ terms and conditions in an international context;