Grants Contracts Negotiator

Universities of Wisconsin; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 67,000 - 82,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Wisconsin–Madison is seeking a Grants Contracts Negotiator to support proposal development, budgeting, and agreement negotiation for pre-award activities. You will help ensure timely, compliant submissions and oversee pre-award operations, establishing workflows for tracking proposals to grow the research portfolio.

The role involves creating budgets, reviewing agreements, and potentially supervising research administration staff, with emphasis on regulatory compliance and

Qualifications

• Minimum of three years of experience in contract negotiation, research administration, sponsored programs, grants and contracts administration, or a related field.
• Experience reviewing, negotiating, and administering research-related agreements, including sponsored research agreements, subawards, confidentiality agreements, data use agreements, material transfer agreements, and other research contracts.
• Experience interpreting and applying contractual terms and conditions, sponsor requirements, federal regulations, and institutional policies.
• Knowledge of applicable regulations governing sponsored research and research agreements, including Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), CFR, FAR, research security requirements, export controls, cybersecurity, IP, and data management.
• Experience supporting agreements funded by federal sponsors, including NSF, NIH, DOE, and DOD, and/or industry sponsors.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze contractual risk and negotiate terms aligned with policies and objectives.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to explain complex requirements to diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and customer service skills.

Responsibilities

• May be responsible for new account setup.
• Develops, implements, and evaluates pre-award research administration operational policies and procedures including financial, administrative, staffing, and compliance.
• Serves as a key resource to leadership and staff in the unit as well as a liaison to partners and stakeholders.
• Works with researchers and prepares budgets, proposal submissions, agreements, or other agreements for sponsor consideration.
• May review and negotiate agreements on behalf of the unit.
• May supervise activities of research administration staff.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Research administration

Sponsored programs administration

Regulatory knowledge

Contractual risk analysis

Written and verbal communication

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, research administration, public administration, law, life sciences, finance, or a related field

Tools

RAMP

Cayuse

Research.gov

Grants.gov

eRA Commons

Job description

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category:

Academic Staff

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Profile:

Pre-Award Sponsored Programs, Grants & Contracts Manager

Job Summary:

The Grants Contracts Negotiator will support proposal development and submission, budgeting, agreement negotiation, and award setup activities. This role would help ensure timely and compliant submissions, provide oversight of pre-award operations, and establish consistent workflows for tracking, monitoring, and managing proposal submissions to support the continued growth of the research portfolio.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• May be responsible for new account setup
• Develops, implements, and evaluates pre-award research administration operational policies and procedures including financial, administrative, staffing, and compliance
• Serves as a key resource to leadership and staff in the unit as well as a liaison to partners and stakeholders
• Works with researchers and prepares budgets, proposal submissions, agreements, or other agreements for sponsor consideration
• May review and negotiate agreements on behalf of the unit
• May supervise activities of research administration staff

Department:

UW-Madison, College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Research Administration

Compensation:

The minimum salary is $74,154, depending on qualifications and experience.

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as:

• Generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off
• Competitive insurances and savings accounts
• Retirement benefits

More Benefits information can be found here.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum of three years of experience in contract negotiation, research administration, sponsored programs, grants and contracts administration, or a related field.
• Experience reviewing, negotiating, and administering research-related agreements, including sponsored research agreements, subawards, confidentiality agreements, data use agreements, material transfer agreements, and other research contracts.
• Experience interpreting and applying contractual terms and conditions, sponsor requirements, federal regulations, and institutional policies.
• Knowledge of applicable regulations governing sponsored research and research agreements, including Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), research security requirements, export controls, cybersecurity requirements, intellectual property, and data management and sharing requirements.
• Experience supporting agreements funded by federal sponsors, including NSF, NIH, DOE, and DOD, and/or industry sponsors.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze contractual risk and negotiate terms and conditions that align with institutional policies and objectives.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex contractual and regulatory requirements to a variety of stakeholders.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and customer service skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet competing deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Five or more years of experience negotiating and administering research-related agreements in a higher education, academic medical center, research institution, or similar environment.
• Experience negotiating sponsored research agreements, industry-sponsored research agreements, subawards, confidentiality agreements, data use agreements, and other research-related contracts.
• Experience working with federal sponsors, including NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD, and other federal agencies, as well as industry and nonprofit organizations.
• Experience identifying, assessing, and mitigating contractual, intellectual property, regulatory, and research compliance risks.
• Experience collaborating with principal investigators, research administrators, legal counsel, technology transfer offices, and other administrative partners.
• Experience using electronic research administration and contract management systems such as RAMP, Cayuse, Research.gov, Grants.gov, eRA Commons, or similar systems.
• Juris Doctor (J.D.), Certified Research Administrator (CRA), Certified Federal Contracts Manager (CFCM), Certified Commercial Contracts Manager (CCCM), or other relevant professional certification.

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, research administration, public administration, law, life sciences, finance, or a related field.

Contact Information:

Meghan Cobb

[e-mail]

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal OpportunityEmployer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgroundsand encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR)in the division you are applying to.Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.