Research Administration Director

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 117,000 - 144,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Wisconsin–Madison’s College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence seeks a collaborative and strategic Research Administration Director to lead pre- and post-award activities for sponsored research. This senior role reports to the ADR and shapes an organization designed to scale with the college’s growing research portfolio.

The director will build infrastructure, recruit and mentor staff, establish scalable processes, and drive continuous improvement across research

Qualifications

• Three to four years of progressively responsible research administration experience.
• Professional experience supervising, mentoring, and developing professional staff.
• Experience applying fiscal and administrative rules, regulations and procedures for administering sponsored projects.

Responsibilities

• Directs and coordinates staff, systems, and procedures related to the processing of sponsor supported grants, contracts, and agreements on a daily basis.
• Oversees pre-award and/or post-award research administration activities.
• Develops, conducts, and administers training initiatives for faculty, staff, and other stakeholders in areas related to research administration.
• Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent(FTE) employees.
• Facilitates internal or external audits of grants and contracts.
• Serves as a liaison to internal and external leadership and stakeholders. Advises principal investigators, leadership, and central grants administration, interacts with granting agencies regarding policy interpretation, and provides recommendations for successful outcomes.
• Establishes, implements, and maintains policy and procedures for sponsored project administration.
• Oversees division compliance related to sponsored grants and contracts

Skills

Research administration

Staff supervision

Budget administration

Education

Bachelor's degree in B,A,R,A or Finance

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Workday ERP

UW RAMP

Job description

Salary:

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

Job Category: Limited

Employment Type: Regular

Job Profile: Research Administration Director (B)

Job Summary:

The College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence (CAI) seeks acollaborative and strategic Research Administration Director toserve as the senior operational leader for the College's researchadministration enterprise. Reporting directly to the Associate Deanfor Research (ADR), this position provides leadership and oversightfor all pre-award and post-award research administrationactivities, ensuring the efficient, compliant, and effectiveadministration of the College's sponsored research portfolio.

As a founding leader within the College's Research Office, theResearch Administration Director will design, build, and scale amodern research administration organization that grows incapability alongside the College's expanding research enterprise.This position is responsible for developing the operationalinfrastructure, professional staff, and service model necessary tosupport faculty success, enable increasingly ambitious researchprograms, and provide exceptional stewardship of sponsored researchinvestments.

The successful candidate will lead a high-performing teamresponsible for the full lifecycle of sponsored projects, includingproposal development and submission, budget preparation, awardnegotiation and acceptance, financial administration, sponsorreporting, compliance coordination, and award closeout. Workingclosely with faculty, department leadership, and campusadministrative partners such as division level researchadministration offices, Research and Sponsored Programs and theOffice of Vice Chancellor for Research, the Research AdministrationDirector will establish operational priorities, implement scalableprocesses, recruit and mentor staff, and drive continuousimprovement across research administration services.

Through data-informed management and a commitment to serviceexcellence, this position will build organizational capacity tosupport sustained growth in research volume, complexity, and impactwhile reducing administrative burden on faculty researchers.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Directs and coordinates staff, systems, and procedures relatedto the processing of sponsor supported grants, contracts, andagreements on a daily basis
• Oversees pre-award and/or post-award research administrationactivities
• Develops, conducts, and administers training initiatives forfaculty, staff, and other stakeholders in areas related to researchadministration
• Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct andperformance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining,and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent(FTE) employees
• Facilitates internal or external audits of grants andcontracts
• Serves as a liaison to internal and external leadership andstakeholders. Advises principal investigators, leadership, andcentral grants administration, interacts with granting agenciesregarding policy interpretation, and provides recommendations forsuccessful outcomes
• Establishes, implements, and maintains policy and proceduresfor sponsored project administration
• Oversees division compliance related to sponsored grants andcontracts

Department:

College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence

Compensation:

The minimum salary for this position is $130,529; Actual pay isdetermined at time of hire and is based on experience andqualifications.

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, includinggenerous paid time off, competitively pricedhealth/dental/vision/life insurance, tax advantage savings accountsand participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin RetirementSystem (WRS) pension fund. For a summary of benefits, please see https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/fasl.pdf

Required Qualifications

• Three to four years of progressively responsible researchadministration experience.
• Professional experience supervising, mentoring, and developingprofessional staff.
• Experience applying fiscal and administrative rules,regulations and procedures for administering sponsoredprojects.

Preferred Qualifications

• Five or more years of progressively responsible researchadministration experience.
• Demonstrated track record of working collaboratively withmultiple groups/stakeholders.
• Demonstrated organizational, analytical, and problem-solvingskills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience building, growing, or scaling a researchadministration organization.
• Experience supporting large, multidisciplinary researchproposals, centers, or strategic initiatives.
• Experience leading organizational change or process improvementinitiatives.
• Experience working with federal sponsors, including NIH, NSF,DOE, DoD.
• Experience with Workday ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)& UW RAMP (Research Administration Management Portal.

bachelor's degree in Business Administration, PublicAdministration, Research Administration, Finance, or a relatedfield required

Master's Degree Preferred Minimum

Contact Information:

Jonathan Wolf

[e-mail]

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

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

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission bycreating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from everybackground - people who as students, faculty, and staff serveWisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal OpportunityEmployer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employmentwithout 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 asdefined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promoteexcellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from allbackgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. Formore information regarding applicant and employee rights and toview federal and state required postings, visit the HumanResources Workplace Poster website .

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

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may alsorequire your references to answer questions regarding misconduct,including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identitiesof applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except thatthe identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis.Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

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