Senior Director, Research Administration

Department: WCAS Administration
Salary/Grade: EXS/12

Job Summary

Reporting to the Associate Dean for Research, the Senior Director of Research Administration leads the Office of Research Administration in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, supervising a team of seven. The Sr. Director develops the vision, mission, and operating principles for the team and for the execution of research administration throughout Weinberg College, collaborating with faculty, other researchers, and research administration staff. Develops collaborative, productive relationships with partner offices at the University and serves on leadership committees. Oversees teams submitting over $400 million of funding in proposals and managing $76 million in awards.

With over 700 faculty, the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences pursues cutting-edge research across the physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The Senior Director will join a high-performing, collaborative Dean's Office and will have the opportunity to positively impact research operations across the College.

This is a full-time staff position based in Evanston. This position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule, with a blend of onsite and remote work. The target hiring range for this position is $110,260 - $155,055 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Specific Responsibilities:

Leadership:

• Leads the Office of Research Administration, developing the vision, mission, and operating principles, collaborating with researchers and research administrators. Serves as the College's chief subject matter expert in the area of research administration. Develops collaborative, productive relationships with partner offices at the University. Makes recommendations to Weinberg's senior leadership regarding research administration policies, practices, and resources.

Service Delivery:

• Structures research administration support to best serve researchers, continually assessing organizational structure, policies, procedures and practices to determine strengths and opportunities for improvement. Advises department chairs and business administrators as to the optimal organizational structure for departments' research administration teams.

Policy:

• Stays abreast of research administration regulatory and policy changes. Recommends, implements, and communicates policy and procedural changes.

Finance and Budget:

• Manages annual budget process. Oversees cost share commitment tracking and funding. Manages academic salary recovery process and oversees indirect cost recovery process for the college. Coordinates lab setup budgets for faculty recruiting and retentions.

Staff Management and Leadership:

• Oversees a team of seven professional staff, ensuring effective recruitment, development, and management of team. Creates training and networking opportunities for 30+ departmental staff across the College to ensure that staff have capabilities and knowledge to effectively perform their roles.

Reporting and Analysis:

• Oversees preparation of research reporting and analysis. Works to improve resources for administrators and identifies key reporting metrics.

Compliance:

• Ensures institutional and regulatory compliance in research, graduate, and financial matters, including Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training, effort reporting, cost sharing, sub-recipient monitoring, salary caps, academic salary recovery, conflict of interest management plans, etc.

Collaboration:

• Represents Weinberg interests in university-wide initiatives to improve processes for researchers and staff. Develops positive, collaborative relationships with peers in the College, in central offices, and across other academic units.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree
• At least seven years' experience in research administration with progressively larger responsibilities
• At least five years' successful staff management and supervisory experience including mentoring and training experience
• Experience in financial management and budget planning
• Demonstrated competency in senior management responsibilities including strategic planning, leadership, financial stewardship and organizational teamwork
• Working knowledge of OMB Circulars affecting an institution of higher education, the Federal Demonstration Partnership/Research Terms and Conditions and other relevant federal agencies' specific terms and conditions
• Excellent written and verbal communication, interpersonal, and analytic skills
• Proven success as a problem solver and in managing multiple projects
• Adept at data analysis and interpretation to inform decision-making
• Professional maturity, personal integrity, and proven ability to approach matters with diplomacy
• Effective training and presentation skills
• Knowledge of academic business enterprise systems such as People Soft, InfoEd, ERS, Cognos.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage.

The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Click for information on EEO is the Law.

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