Director, Research Agreements & Negotiations

University of Tennessee; Memphis (TN); On-site; USD 68,000 - 96,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Tennessee in Memphis is seeking the Associate Director, Research Agreements to lead negotiation and execution of incoming and outgoing research agreements, including sponsored research, clinical trial, subawards, and data use agreements.

The role requires strong knowledge of intellectual property, publication rights, indemnification, data rights, and governing law, with the ability to allocate work by complexity and drive process improvements across offices.

Qualifications

• Seven (7) years of related responsible experience negotiating research agreements; OR Master’s Degree and five (5) years; OR a combination equaling eleven (11) years.
• Expert knowledge of research agreement negotiation, including clinical trial agreements and subawards.
• Knowledge of IP, publication rights, indemnification, data rights, and governing law for public institutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead negotiation and execution of incoming and outgoing research agreements (sponsored, clinical trial, subawards, data use, confidentiality).
• Allocate agreements by complexity tier and maintain backup coverage across officers.
• Coordinate with clinical operations on trial startup timelines and with compliance on human subjects and biosafety.
• Identify opportunities to automate routine agreement types and improve contracting efficiency.

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration / Public Administration / Research Administration

Master's Degree preferred

Job description

University of Tennessee in Memphis is seeking the Associate Director, Research Agreements to lead negotiation and execution of incoming and outgoing research agreements, including sponsored research, clinical trial, subawards, and data use agreements.

The role requires strong knowledge of intellectual property, publication rights, indemnification, data rights, and governing law, with the ability to allocate work by complexity and drive process improvements across offices.