Director, Research Administration & Operations

HU101 The Howard University; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & Wellness

PTO & Holidays

Competitive salary

403(b) with company match

Tuition reimbursement

Career development

Wellness programs

Commuter benefits

Job summary

Howard University’s Office of Research seeks a Director of Research Administration to lead and build the College Research Administration program, advancing compliance, training, and data systems across the university.

You will supervise the Associate Director, partner with colleges, manage pre/post‑award functions, and drive process improvements using Cayuse and Workday to support high‑level research activity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a related field.
• Eight+ years of progressively responsible research administration experience in higher education.
• Prior supervisory or team leadership experience.
• Working knowledge of the full sponsored project lifecycle.
• Proficiency with Cayuse, Workday and advanced Excel.

Responsibilities

• Build and strengthen Howard's department-level research administration layer with standards, workflows, and support structures.
• Partner with academic departments to embed compliant research administration practices across research activities.
• Design and implement controls, tools, and documentation to remediate findings and prevent recurrence.
• Perform hands-on analysis, troubleshooting, and process building alongside the CRA team.

Skills

Leadership

Analytical thinking

Systems & data fluency

Stakeholder engagement

Change leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Cayuse

Workday

Excel

Job description

Howard University’s Office of Research seeks a Director of Research Administration to lead and build the College Research Administration program, advancing compliance, training, and data systems across the university.

You will supervise the Associate Director, partner with colleges, manage pre/post‑award functions, and drive process improvements using Cayuse and Workday to support high‑level research activity.