Associate Director of Administration, Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics

Join Our Journey

Cornell Research & Innovation creates an environment that unifies and advances Cornell's scholarship, research, and discovery through state-of-the-art core facilities, domain expertise, and partnership to enable innovation and impact. We leverage external funding and partnerships, enable interdisciplinary research, and ensure regulatory compliance. We collaborate to successfully translate and commercialize research through companies large and small, including startups launched by our entrepreneurial faculty, staff, and students. Our commitment to inclusive excellence makes this environment possible.

The Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics is an interdisciplinary research center within Cornell Research & Innovation and one of the two research arms of the Physics Department. LASSP has 30+ faculty, 18 administrative & technical staff, 50-60 graduate students, and 50+ other academic professionals (research associates, postdoctoral associates, and visitors). LASSP is also the administrative home of the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science (KIC) and the Cornell NEXT Nano Initiative, which are interdisciplinary, cross-university, and outward-facing programs. The combined annual operating budget for LASSP & KIC is approximately $15 million, of which about $11 million is grant- and contract- related.

The Role

The Associate Director of Administration in the Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics (LASSP) is the senior leader in charge of administrative functions for a lively, collegial research center. This role oversees all aspects of the department's day-to-day operations, including human resources, research grants and other sponsored programs, finance and budget, and facilities, while sustaining a culture that values creativity, collaboration, and supportive interactions. The person in this role partners with the Director to identify and implement strategic goals for the lab itself. At the same time, the Associate Director has ample occasion to collaborate with staff and faculty across the campus, with significant opportunities to build relationships and to advocate for positive policy/practice change. This role also provides administrative expertise to the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science (KIC).

The successful candidate will be a thoughtful, approachable people-leader who:

• is adept at managing multiple priorities simultaneously,
• demonstrates a nuanced understanding of grants preparation and management,
• effectively stewards resources to meet long-term strategic goals, yet nevertheless flexibly adjusts to emergent priorities.

What We Need
Send us a cover letter and resume outlining your interest in this position and explaining how your experience and qualifications match the position requirements. We will review applications as received. Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

When evaluating your candidacy, we will look for evidence of the following:

• Master's degree with minimum of 5-7 years related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong leadership, organizational, and analytical skills.
• Significant experience with budgeting, financial reporting, and resource management.
• Ability to conceptualize and oversee the design of databases, data collection methods, and reporting tools, and demonstrated capacity to facilitate decision-making by analyzing and presenting data.
• Top-notch problem-solving skills and the desire to use these to help others. Equally adept at approaching priorities from "big-picture" and "detail-oriented" vantage points.
• Expertise in grant and contract management, including shepherding grants from proposal/pre-award through closeout stages. Knowledge of Uniform Guidance and other government as well as University compliance protocols and regulations. Experience with relevant grant-related portals (e.g., Grants.gov, Research.gov, eRA Commons/ASSIST, NCBI/SciENcv, RASS) and/or ability to quickly become proficient.
• Experience in and/or demonstrated commitment to supporting diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and wellbeing.
• Demonstrated ability to sustain an open, inclusive, and collaborative environment where all perspectives are solicited and valued. Capacity to advocate, build relationships, foster teamwork as well as opportunities for individual growth, and lead by example.
• Technologically savvy and able to train and support others as they learn how to use programs, tools, and information/audio-visual technology resources.
• Demonstrated skill in understanding of cultural differences.

Additional qualifications that are helpful, but not required:

• Facility with any of the following would be a significant plus: Cornell-wide tools (e.g., Kuali Financial System and OBIEE, PeopleSoft, Workday, etc.) and/or tools used in LASSP (Adobe InDesign + Photoshop, ClickUp, Overleaf, Slab, Smartsheet).
• Experience in higher education, particularly in a research-intensive and/or highly complex environment.
• Experience in managing recharge and/or service facility operations.
• Capital planning experience.
• Experience successfully managing a large group of employees who provide a broad range of support functions.
• Strong valuation of the basic sciences. While technical scientific expertise is not required, a healthy dose of curiosity is absolutely necessary.

Why Choose Us

Rewarding Benefits: Competitive compensation, generous time-off, and comprehensive benefits - because we believe in taking care of our team. Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, sustainability, and diversity initiatives.

Our benefits programs include comprehensive health care options, generous retirement contributions, access to wellness programs, and employee discounts with local and national retail brands. We invite you to follow this link to get more information about our benefits: https://hr.cornell.edu/benefits-pay.

Cornell's impressive educational benefits include tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program, tuition aid for external education, and Cornell Children's Tuition Assistance Program. Follow this link to learn more about the Total Rewards of Working at Cornell: https://hr.cornell.edu/jobs/your-total-rewards.

Inclusive Culture: We are committed to creating a culture where every individual feels they belong, and we value psychological well-being, respect, and the contributions of all team members. Our leaders play a vital role in fostering the conditions where each person can thrive.

Familiarize yourself with Cornell's COVID-19 workplace guidance as well as the university's COVID-19 services and information.

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