Administrative Director - Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism (iBAM)

The Administrative Director serves as a primary point of contact and senior level management for the Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism (iBAM) iBAM is an internationally renowned Research Institute doing pre-clinical and clinical research on aging biology and developing approaches to target that biology in order to extend health and independence as we age. The iBAM organizational structure includes an administrative team and several technical research core teams.

The responsibilities of the Administrative Director include representing the Center Directors by providing direction to personnel as needed to maintain institutional operations efficiency, managing existing initiatives (commitments to Boards, Committees, federal and philanthropic funding agencies, faculty recruiting, and scientific collaborations) and to identifying and implementing new initiatives. The Administrative Director will have oversight of and assist the administrative support staff that maintain the function of iBAM including an Executive Assistant who manages events, travel, reimbursements, and scheduling, an Executive Assistant who manages the office, clerical tasks, and assists the Directors (both of the EA are internal to iBAM), and will partner closely with the human resources and financial grants experts in the BioGen Office (employed by other departments) who manage staff hiring, grant submissions, and budgets. The Administrative Director will be responsible for the administrative development and implementation of multiple core services that serve the entire campus and are led by faculty scientific experts. The Administrative Director will also work with the scientific project leaders and administrative project managers, who run large consortium grants. Finally, the Administrative Director will manage Institutional space requirements as needed for faculty recruitment, new funding initiatives, space design, and potentially moving to a new physical location. The iBAM staff currently includes ~100 members ranging from undergraduates to senior level Research Assistant Professors and supports research ranging from chemistry, to genetics, bioinformatics, and clinical trials.

Description of Duties:

35% - Operations Management

• Oversight of the entire administrative function of the institute and providing leadership and management to iBAM faculty and staff, with the support of two Executive Administrators, lab managers, and their support staff.
• Coordinate with the Directors to execute strategic objectives, often related to sensitive and complicated topics such as efficient use of research space, allocating funding and resources, and effective staff planning.
• Continuously evaluates institutional organization, research efficiency, economy, and impact; identifies and develops opportunities for workflow improvement and leads organizational change initiatives that will ensure continued success, growth, and the impact of iBAM in MN and globally.
• Develop and maintain methods for quantifying the impact of iBAM to ensure continued support from the medical school, state, philanthropies, and the federal government.
• Interfaces with the Heads of the Departments and Medical School space planners on all matters of space to ensure that iBAM research and recruitment is not limited by space allocation.
• Represent the center Directors at meetings and events with the supervisors and directors of the other Medical Discovery Teams (MDT) and all other meetings, as it pertains to iBAM business.
• Coordination of capital equipment purchases, including ascertaining user needs, sourcing equipment, collecting bids/quotes, and tracking throughout the purchasing process to delivery and setup, with the support of scientific experts and lab managers.
• Serve as point of contact for scientific vendors and coordinate solicitation and repair visits for iBAM faculty and staff with the help of lab managers.
• Responsible for the coordination of training events, equipment maintenance, repairs and replacement as well as notification of service interruptions to iBAM faculty and staff. Coordinates list of all common equipment and resources for grants and reporting purposes.
• Maintaining regulatory compliance for iBAM space and assisting faculty and laboratory staff with IBC, IRB, and IACUC protocol submissions with the assistance of lab managers and staff.
• Maintain an organizational chart of iBAM, individual labs, cores, and consortium grants to help anticipate strategic needs in terms of personnel, travel allowance, and budget.

25% - Team Leadership

• Supervise the iBAM administrative pool to ensure the cohesive functionality of all areas of research support, notably by helping managers develop their teams and ensuring strategic planning at all levels to support the Institute's regular staff turnover (normal to academic career development). This includes encouraging employee engagement with regular check-ins, staff meetings, etc. to facilitate communication across the institute and keep staff engaged in the iBAM mission.
• Identify gaps in administrative and management support and works with stakeholders to fill them; analyzes efficacy of administrative support and collaborates with the Directors of iBAM to ensure needs are being met.
• Collaborate with RBMS, Facilities Management, Biogen Administrative Center managers, including department administrators, finance, grant, and HR partners, to create unified processes for administrative issues that align with Center objectives as well as iBAM objectives, and enables projection of personnel and financial needs.
• Strategic planning with Executive Administration on effective time allocation of iBAM directors and Project Managers.
• Identify, organize, and implement team-building activities.
• Identify training opportunities for all iBAM employees in-line with their personal career development plans.

25%- Business Development & Program Development

• Establish core services structure including workflow processes spanning from project intake process, budget structure, through end-product delivery.
• Oversee sales operations development through partnership with finance to develop rates for core services for new lines of business.
• Facilitate program development on the front end of new programs to meet any unmet operational needs within iBAM and its numerous internal collaborators.

15% - Project and Risk Management

• Analyze progress toward goals for different work areas, review findings to identify areas of improvement, and develop plans to achieve them efficiently and economically.
• Review existing policies, and, as necessary, develop new policies and procedures to ensure compliance with all applicable building, departmental, institutional, local, and federal regulations and policies.
• Identify areas of potential risk related to research space (e.g. F&A recovery per square foot, assessing efficient use of square footage, equipment depreciation) and developing plans to mitigate concerns and achieve long-term objectives.
• Reorganize research space as needed; interfaces with Facilities Management, UCon, and RFSS to renovate space; work with faculty and building/compliance stakeholders to successfully place, relocate, and dispose of materials related to complex research programs.
• Work with the Environmental Health and Safety group to understand and translate processes related to research compliance to faculty and staff.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and at least 6 years of experience including some personnel management.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A background in any scientific discipline that provides some knowledge of laboratory operations.
• An advanced degree
• 10 years of experience in a leadership role, preferably in healthcare, academia, or research management
• Background in procurement, regulatory compliance (IBCs, IRBs, and IACUC), project management, budgeting and people/space/budget forecasting

The Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism: Focus on Healthy Aging

iBAM is part of the growing Geroscience movement that aims to attack the numerous debilitating diseases associated with old age through slowing or reversing the aging process itself. iBAM faculty study aging biology with the goal of developing drugs to target those processes. Our goal is to extend the period of time that we remain healthy, independent, and able to enjoy a high quality of life!

Working at the University

At the University of Minnesota, you'll find a flexible work environment and supportive colleagues who are interested in lifelong learning. We prioritize work-life balance, allowing you to invest in the future of your career and in your life outside of work.

The University also offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• University HSA contributions
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance
• Employee wellbeing program
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
• Financial counseling services
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website for more information regarding benefits.

Applications must be submitted online. To be considered for this position, please click the Apply button and follow the instructions. You will have the opportunity to complete an online application for the position and attach a cover letter and resume.

Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your "My Job Applications" page and uploading documents in the "My Cover Letters and Attachments" section.

This position will remain open until filled.

To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail employ@umn.edu or call (612) 624-8647.

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The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC)

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