Director of Research Administration

NORDP, Inc.; Raleigh (NC); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

NordP, Inc. is seeking a Director of Research Administration to lead the new hub operating model for a College of Engineering.

You will shape strategy, governance, and capacity planning across a distributed team of professionals, coordinating with senior leaders to advance research portfolios and compliance. The role emphasizes executive leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and scalable service delivery, with a focus on improving proposal competitiveness and institutional stewardship

Qualifications

• Enterprise leadership and change management at scale.
• Regulatory knowledge across major funding frameworks.
• Experience overseeing multi-institutional research programs.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy and governance of the Research Administration Hub model.
• Advise senior leaders on capacity, risk, and research strategy.
• Oversee a distributed team supporting multiple units and centers.
• Develop metrics to measure service effectiveness and impact.

Skills

Enterprise Leadership

Regulatory Expertise

Large-Scale Initiatives Oversight

Systems Proficiency

Strategic Communication

Education

Master's degree or equivalent in Business Administration / Public Administration / Finance / Higher Education

8–10 years of progressive research administration experience

Tools

ERP platforms

Job description

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Director of Research Administration

About the Department:

The College of Engineering (COE) Office of Research Administration (ORA) provides comprehensive administrative infrastructure, regulatory governance, and strategic faculty and principal investigator support for one of the nation's premier engineering research enterprises. Managing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual research proposals and awards, COE ORA ensures strict compliance with university, state, federal, and sponsor guidelines across an ever-changing research landscape.

The College operates under a newly created Research Administration Hub (RA Hub) Operating Model. This shared-services structure combines centralized institutional oversight-such as workload balancing, standardized career progression ladders, and uniform compliance tracking-with embedded, face-to-face support tailored to the specific research portfolios of nine academic departments, three affiliated/joint academic departments across the university, specialized research centers, and extension/outreach units.

Essential Job Duties:

The College of Engineering's Director of Research Administration provides executive leadership, strategic direction, and operational governance across the full research lifecycle. Reporting to the Assistant Dean for Personnel and Administration & Interim Assistant Dean for College Operations, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Associate Dean for Research and Infrastructure, the Director leads the implementation and evolution of the College's new Research Administration Hub Operating Model-a shared-services approach designed to strengthen and scale research administration across the College. The Director oversees a distributed network of approximately 50 research administration professionals, including Associate Directors, Hub Managers, and Sponsored Research Administrators, supporting academic departments, affiliated units, major research centers, and extension and outreach programs. In partnership with college leadership, the Director will anticipate and forecast research administration capacity and support needs as the college's research portfolio, faculty and principal investigators, staff, and student population grow.

In the role, you have the opportunity to shape how this new model operates and evolves at scale, partnering with senior College leadership to align research administration strategy, organizational capacity, workload, and risk with the College's research priorities. Your proven leadership will help create a more consistent and scalable faculty and principal investigator experience, strengthen service delivery, improve proposal competitiveness, and position the College to effectively manage increasingly complex research portfolios with strong financial and regulatory stewardship.

Executive Leadership, Research Administration Hub Governance & Strategic Initiatives:

• Lead the strategy, evolution, and operational governance of the College's Research Administration Hub model, aligning research administration with College research priorities, faculty and principal investigator needs, and long-term growth.
• Advise the Dean, Associate Dean for Research and Infrastructure, and other senior leaders on research administration strategy, organizational capacity, emerging needs, and risk.
• Shape the administrative infrastructure for large-scale, multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research initiatives, including major center proposals, complex subrecipient relationships, institutional cost sharing, and industry partnerships.
• Establish enterprise-wide standards, service expectations, professional development, and leadership pathways that strengthen consistency, accountability, and long-term capacity across the research administration organization.

Enterprise Capacity, Resource Allocation & Service Delivery:

• Lead enterprise-wide workload and capacity planning across research administration hubs, centers, and affiliated units, using research activity and organizational needs to inform resource allocation.
• Direct strategic deployment of resources during high-volume sponsor deadlines, staffing transitions, and other periods of heightened demand to sustain faculty and principal investigator support and operational continuity.
• Identify and scale effective practices across the College while balancing standardized service delivery with the distinct needs of a complex research enterprise.

Research Intelligence, Analytics & Executive Reporting:

• Transform research administration and portfolio data into actionable intelligence by evaluating and adapting emerging tools, technologies, and approaches to integrate data, surface insights, and improve access to information that informs College strategy, resource decisions, research growth, and operational priorities.
• Lead executive-level reporting on research activity such as NSF HERD, USNWR, ASEE, proposal performance, sponsor trends, research strengths, interdisciplinary activity, and center performance.
• Establish meaningful performance measures that assess service effectiveness, identify opportunities for improvement, and demonstrate the impact of the Research Administration Hub model.

Research Compliance, Risk Management & Institutional Stewardship:

• Provide strategic oversight of complex research administration requirements, financial stewardship, effort commitments, cost sharing, project modifications, and other regulatory obligations.
• Anticipate and mitigate operational and compliance risks while guiding College leaders through complex, high-impact research administration matters.
• Represent the College with central research administration offices and university-wide initiatives, strengthening institutional alignment and advocating for effective, scalable research administration practices.

We are seeking a leader who can communicate with clarity, build trust, influence across organizational boundaries, and turn a compelling vision into an effective and sustainable research administration enterprise. If you are energized by the opportunity to shape a new model for research administration and lead meaningful change at the College level, we invite you to bring your perspective and leadership to this role.

Minimum Education and Experience:

Require post-baccalaureate credentials (Master's degree) or a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Higher Education, or a related field plus alternative or equivalent professional training and experience (8-10 years of progressively responsible research administration experience in a large research university or complex enterprise, including at least 5 years of senior management experience)

Other Required Qualifications:

• Enterprise Leadership: Demonstrated success managing large, matrixed, or distributed teams and driving organizational change within a Tier-1 (R1) research university or complex academic or business enterprise.
• Regulatory Expertise: Comprehensive knowledge of federal circulars (Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200), FAR, CAS, public fund accounting, and major funding agency frameworks (NSF, DoD, DOE, NIH, State, Industry).
• Large-Scale Research Initiatives Oversight: Demonstrated ability to manage multi-institutional center proposals, complex subrecipient structures, and cost-share commitments.
• Systems Proficiency: High proficiency with electronic research administration portals, effort reporting tools, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms.
• Strategic Communication: Verbal and written communication skills with proven ability to build collaborative relationships with Deans, Department Heads, faculty and principal investigators, central administrators, and external sponsors.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 10+ years of senior-level research administration experience within an R1 Engineering program.
• Direct experience designing, implementing, or managing shared-service/hub-based research administration operating models.
• Direct experience staging and managing multi-million-dollar center grants (e.g., NSF Engineering Research Centers).
• Active Certified Research Administrator (CRA) credential.

Anticipated Hiring Range: Commensurate with education and experience