Dean/Department Principal Research Administrator - 129059

• This position is open until filled. First Review Date 4/18/24.

Physical Sciences is a large and complex school within Academic Affairs and is overseen by the Dean of Physical Sciences with the assistance of an Assistant and Associate Deans. The School's organization is comprised of four departments: Chemistry & Biochemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy & Astrophysics. Each department is headed by a Department Chair who works to represent their department and as well as participates collaboratively with the Dean. The School has approximately 185 faculty FTE, ~30 professional researchers, ~100 postdoctoral scholars, ~45 Unit 18s/lecturers, ~100 staff in career/casual titles, and ~100 student workers and volunteers. Approximately 4,000 undergraduate students enrolled in our majors, with annual enrollments of 76,000, and approximately 700 graduate students. The school has approximately $184M in total annual expenditures, $100M in annual core budget, and ~$76M in sponsored project funds per year. The School occupies space in 8 buildings, totaling ~600,000 square feet, including class laboratories and instructional space, research labs, and multiple recharge facilities.

Serves as Dean/Dept. Principal Research Administrator within the Dean's Office of Physical Sciences, working directly with all four departments as needed. Supports the new Dean's initiatives for large-scale research projects, and major research projects within the departments, and also acts as a resource for departments when support for grant administration and training/best practice implementation is needed. Responsible for independently managing a portfolio of various types (detailed below) of Federal, State, and various non-federal or state sponsors (e.g. industry, private industry, donors, etc.) totaling ~$50M across all types of fund sources and agreements. This can range between 100-250 PPMs for between 50-100 proposals. The position serves as a strategic partner with Principal Investigators due to complex and unique issues of proposals/awards.

The School of Physical Science's diverse portfolio of sponsored projects focused on training, fellowships, and scholarship award types that range across federal agencies, state and local organizations, foundations, and private philanthropic sponsors, with the full range of various types of agreements and contracts. The numerous and varied agencies include, but are not limited to: NIH, DOD, NSF, DOE, private foundations, state and county agencies, and private funding. This requires a breadth and depth of experience in sponsored project administration across the full lifecycle of the award, as well as an understanding of the unique requirements for training grants and fellowships. Subject matter expert in all areas of sponsored project administration and is responsible for the analysis of the pre-award proposal and management of the post-award administration for portfolios.

Collaborates with the proposals and pre-award team to provide project and proposal management, financial analysis, budget preparation, cost estimates, interim financial reports, and other financial-related matters that are embedded within the pre-award process related to training and fellowship programs. The incumbent will act as a key member of the proposal team to ensure resources and financial impact are understood for the most complex proposals within the School, such as training grants, large-scale cooperative agreements, program project grants, and other complex and multifaceted proposals. This requires an intermediate knowledge of project management, along with an expert level of grants and research administration experience, as well as financial management and analysis.

Responsible for liaising with other teams that support trainees, scholars, and fellows. This position will need to have a detailed expert-level understanding of the graduate programs, stipends, and fee schedules and an ability to navigate complex funding issues related to graduate student researchers and will be responsible for developing cost projects for faculty with these populations. The position will lead the funding entry process for all student researchers, trainees, scholars, and fellows.

Provides expert fiscal management for a full range of sponsored projects, core, operating, and other restricted funds including large, complex contracts, industry service agreements, grants, cooperatives agreements, business agreements, gift funds proposals, training grants, and educational programs. Responsible for comprehensive training grant and fellowship pre-award analysis, support, and post-award administration. This position serves as the liaison between OCGA, SPF, General Accounting, AMAS, and other central offices. May participate in organizational committees for research administration.

Leads the development, training, and implementation of complex financial reporting and analysis of revenue and expenditures for training, fellowship, and educational-sponsored programs. Maintains internal controls and quality control for processes that allow for compliance and meet regulatory requirements of UC, UCOP, and the sponsors. The incumbent will need to understand and interpret large sets of data to provide guidance around business decisions for the School and faculty. May be an escalation point of contact for junior research administrator staff. Perform other duties as assigned.

• This is a hybrid position. Occasional evenings and weekends may be required.

• Submission of a cover letter along with a resume is required for a complete application.

• Experience with all types of award mechanisms, including grants, contracts, subcontracts, and cooperative agreements. Knowledge of complex funding sources for various projects, including DOD, DOE, DHS, NSF, NIH, NASA, and other federal and state agencies, Foundation or gift funds, and state funds. Ability to analyze which differences and similarities are important.

• Full knowledge of Federal Acquisition Regulation, Code of Federal Regulations, sponsor-specific policies, intellectual property policy, conflict of interest requirements, publication rights, application of indirect cost rates, and other complex concepts in research administration.

• Expert-level experience with sponsored project (pre- and post-award) management for student populations and educational-related award types.

• Demonstrated leadership skills and experience in providing work direction and training to professional staff, fostering innovation, service, and accountability, and giving clear instructions and guidelines. Ability to delegate and assign tasks and monitor production and quality of work. Ability to teach/train staff in all aspects of job duties/responsibilities.

• Experience working in higher education with faculty and researchers, preferably in the preparation of proposals. Extensive experience successfully preparing large and complex research proposals.

• Experience mentoring new researchers in sponsored project administration.

• Demonstrated experience working with training grants, fellowships, education-sponsored projects, and scholarship programs.

• Extensive knowledge of program administration guidelines of Federal and non-Federal sponsors supporting research and educational activities, preferably in a university environment.

• Advanced knowledge of applicable compliance requirements related to the use of human or animal subjects in research, financial conflict of interest, biosafety, etc.

• Ability to manage high volume and complex transactions.

• Ability to perform highly complex financial analysis and customized reporting.

• Demonstrated advanced competence in the use of spreadsheet and database software in financial analysis, fiscal management, and financial reports. Skill in using computers to enter, manipulate, and especially retrieve, aggregate, and analyze data. Strong proficiency in utilizing a variety of reports and queries, and ability to effectively use pivot tables utilizing computer programs such as Excel, Google Sheets, etc.

• Ability to maintain independent judgment; strong organization and communication skills; and a customer service focus across broad and diverse subject areas. Strong verbal, written, and electronic communication skills that facilitate professional and effective interaction with a diverse population.

• Maintains knowledge of and ability to interpret and apply sponsor, institutional, and departmental policies. Knowledge of current compliance regulations in all areas of research administration.

• Demonstrated advanced knowledge of generally accepted accounting, fiscal, and reporting principles.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with overlapping deadlines and short lead times, maintain a high level of attention to detail, and ability to work with a high degree of accuracy and follow through.

• Willingness and demonstrated ability to embrace and consistently uphold the principles of community for a collaborative work environment.

• Extensive knowledge of payroll and personnel regulations including the impact of salary scales, merits, and range adjustments. Knowledge of employee benefit regulations, leave accruals, summer salary policies, and a range of flexible salary options to meet appropriate fund source uses.

• Job offer is contingent upon a satisfactory clearance based on FBI and DOJ background check results.

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