Vice President, Office of Sponsored Programs

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Cold Spring Harbor (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is seeking a strategic leader to serve as Vice President, Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). The role will shape opportunities, manage the full lifecycle of sponsored research, and partner with faculty and leadership to ensure compliant, high-impact proposals and awards.

The position requires a minimum of 10 years in research administration, a strong track record in funding growth, and the ability to lead a high-performing team in a dynamic research environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in sponsored research administration.
• Experience overseeing complex federal and non-federal grants, contracts, and sponsored agreements through the full award lifecycle.
• Experience partnering directly with faculty, principal investigators, and scientific leadership in a research-intensive environment.
• Experience identifying and advancing complex funding opportunities, including center grants, program project grants, multi-PI awards, consortium-based initiatives, or other large-scale sponsored programs.
• Demonstrated success expanding and diversifying funding portfolios across federal agencies, foundations, industry sponsors, and other funding sources.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing teams through periods of growth and change.
• Experience leading organizational change, process improvement, and systems implementations within a research administration environment.
• Experience building relationships with federal agencies, sponsors, research institutions, and professional associations relevant to sponsored programs.
• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in a related field preferred; Ph.D. strongly preferred; CRA credential highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the full lifecycle of grants, contracts, and other sponsored agreements, including pre-award and post-award administration.
• Identify emerging funding opportunities and shape competitive proposals.
• Lead and develop the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) team and promote efficient research administration practices.
• Collaborate with faculty, institutional leadership, Finance and Legal to ensure sponsor requirements and institutional policies are met.
• Support development and submission of competitive proposals and multi-institutional awards.

Skills

Sponsored research administration

Grant lifecycle

Leadership

Team development

Funding opportunities

Proposal development

Stakeholder collaboration

Budget oversight

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Ph.D. in biological sciences

CRA credential

Job description

About the Laboratory

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is a world-renowned not-for-profit bioscience research and education institution. Founded in 1890 and home to eight Nobel laureates, CSHL inspires curiosity, discovery and innovation in genetics, neuroscience, AI, and molecular biology to generate knowledge that will advance the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, neurological diseases, and other major causes of human suffering. United by this mission, CSHL’s researchers and technicians focus on four core areas: cancer, neuroscience, genomics & quantitative biology, and plant biology, while CSHL’s Education Division focuses on the communication, advocacy and education of bioscience through a variety of programs, publications and events.
As one of the leading basic research institutions in molecular biology and genetics, CSHL is consistently ranked among the best in the world in research output by Thomson Reuters, and the journal Nature. The Laboratory is led by Dr. Bruce Stillman, a biochemist and cancer researcher who has served as President & CEO since 2003.
CSHL is located on the North Shore of Long Island, about 30 miles east of New York City. The Laboratory employs approximately 1,000 people, including 600 scientists, students, and technicians, and is consistently ranked as one of Long Island’s Top Workplaces. To learn more, visit https://www.cshl.edu/

Position Summary

The Vice President, Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) provides strategic and operational leadership for CSHL's sponsored research enterprise. Building on a strong foundation of research administration and faculty service, the VP will position OSP as an increasingly proactive partner to investigators by identifying emerging funding opportunities, shaping competitive proposals, and helping assemble teams for complex, multidisciplinary, and multi-institutional awards.
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer and with direct and regular exposure to the President and Director of Research, the VP oversees the full lifecycle of grants, contracts, and other sponsored agreements, including pre-award and post-award administration, award negotiation and acceptance, subrecipient monitoring, financial oversight, reporting, and closeout. Working closely with faculty, institutional leadership, Finance, Legal, and other administrative partners, the VP supports the development and submission of competitive proposals, identifies emerging funding opportunities, and ensures that sponsored research activities are administered in accordance with sponsor requirements, applicable laws and regulations, and institutional policies and priorities. Importantly, the VP will lead and develop the OSP team, promoting consistent and efficient research administration practices, and advancing systems and processes that support CSHL’s research, education, and scholarly mission.

Ideal Experience

• A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in sponsored research administration within a research institution, university, academic medical center, non-profit research organization or comparable environment.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing complex federal and non-federal grants, contracts, and sponsored agreements through the full award lifecycle.
• Experience partnering directly with faculty, principal investigators, and scientific leadership in a research-intensive environment.
• Experience identifying and advancing complex funding opportunities, including center grants, program project grants, multi-PI awards, consortium-based initiatives, or other large-scale sponsored programs.
• Demonstrated success expanding and diversifying funding portfolios across federal agencies, foundations, industry sponsors, and other funding sources.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing teams through periods of growth and change.
• Experience leading organizational change, process improvement, and systems implementations within a research administration environment.
• Experience building relationships with federal agencies, sponsors, research institutions, and professional associations relevant to sponsored programs.
• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in research administration, business administration, public administration or a related field preferred; Ph.D. in biological sciences strongly preferred. Certified Research Administrator (CRA) credential highly desirable.

The position is based in Cold Spring Harbor, NY and will require onsite presence.