Associate Director of Research Operations

utaustin; Utah; On-site; USD 95,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

utaustin seeks an Associate Director of Research Operations to provide operational leadership for research administration across the College of Liberal Arts, ensuring compliant, efficient processes and strong infrastructure.

Reporting to college leadership, this role partners with department administrators, research centers, and university offices to standardize practices, support externally funded projects, and drive strategic initiatives that strengthen research capacity.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for research administration activities across the College of Liberal Arts.
• Develop strategies to improve research support services, increase operational efficiency, and strengthen institutional research capacity.
• Coordinate implementation of new policies, systems, and operational changes.
• Supervise research administration staff, including responsibility for hiring, training, workload management, performance evaluation, professional development, and establishment of service standards.
• Establish metrics and reporting mechanisms to monitor service quality, office performance, proposal activity, workload distribution, and research support outcomes.
• Provide college-level coordination and compliance oversight for research administration practices across college research units and departments.
• Collaborate with research administrators throughout the college to establish consistent procedures, promote best practices, and improve coordination.
• Develop and maintain systems, procedures, templates, and guidance materials that support consistent research administration activities across the college.

Job description

Job Posting Title:

Associate Director of Research Operations ----

Hiring Department:

College of Liberal Arts ----

Position Open To:

All Applicants ----

Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40 ----

FLSA Status:

Exempt from FLSA ----

Earliest Start Date:

Immediately ----

Position Duration:

Expected to Continue ----

Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS ----

Job Details:

General Notes

What benefits do I receive with UT? The university offers an impressive benefits package. For more details on benefits, please see: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits and https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/my-total-rewardsFor more information about the College of Liberal Arts, please visit: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/Our college seeks to build a supportive, growth-minded community and cultivate outstanding and courageous leaders. For more information on the college staff leadership academy, please visit: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/resources-for-faculty-staff/staff-leadership-academy/For more information on college staff professional development, please visit:https://wikis.utexas.edu/display/larc/Staff+Professional+Development+Fund

Purpose

The purpose of this position is to provide operational leadership and oversight for research administration activities across the College of Liberal Arts. Reporting to the Associate Dean for Research, the Associate Director of Research Operations serves as the college's lead research administration professional and works closely with college leadership, department administrators, research center staff, faculty, and university partners to strengthen research infrastructure, ensure compliance, improve operational effectiveness, and support the growth of externally funded research.This position manages the daily operations of the College Research Support Office and leads efforts to develop consistent research administration practices across the college. The Associate Director partners with the Director of the Office of Research and Scholarship and Associate Dean to identify organizational needs, implement strategic initiatives, improve processes, and advance college-wide research priorities.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership for research administration activities across the College of Liberal Arts. Develop and implement strategies to improve research support services, increase operational efficiency, and strengthen institutional research capacity. Evaluate existing processes and recommend improvements to align with evolving university priorities, sponsor requirements, and faculty needs. Serve as a strategic advisor to college leadership regarding research administration operations, risk management, resource allocation, workload distribution, and emerging research administration issues. Lead initiatives to centralize and standardize research administration practices across college departments, centers, and institutes. Coordinate implementation of new policies, systems, and operational changes.Manage operations of the College Research Support Office. Supervise research administration staff, including responsibility for hiring, training, workload management, performance evaluation, professional development, and establishment of service standards. Develop staffing strategies and workflows that ensure timely and effective proposal support, award administration assistance, agreement coordination, and faculty service. Establish metrics and reporting mechanisms to monitor service quality, office performance, proposal activity, workload distribution, and research support outcomes.Provide college-level coordination and compliance oversight for research administration practices across college research units and departments. Collaborate with research administrators throughout the college to establish consistent procedures, promote best practices, and improve coordination. Monitor changes in sponsor and university policies and communicate implications to stakeholders. Lead efforts related to research compliance, risk mitigation, internal controls, documentation standards, and audit readiness. Serve as a key liaison with the Office of Sponsored Projects, Sponsored Projects Award Administration, the Office of the Vice President for Research, University Compliance Services, COLA Finance, COLA HR, and other campus units.Provide expert guidance on complex proposals, award management issues, contracts, service agreements, research collaborations, subawards, non-funded agreements, and other sponsored project activities. Collaborate with faculty, departments, and research units to support the development and administration of large, multidisciplinary, and strategically significant projects. Develop and maintain systems, procedures, templates, and guidance materials that support consistent research administration activities throughout the college.Develop and coordinate training programs, professional development opportunities, and resource materials for research administrators and related staff across the