Associate Director, Research Administration, SOM / Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease - Virginia Commonwealth University

VirginiaCommonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine is a premier academic medicalcenter located in the heart of Richmond. Accounting for almost half of VCU’ssponsored research, the School of Medicine is internationally recognized forpatient care and education.   All full-time university staff are eligiblefor VCU’s generous benefits package that includes:  competitive healthbenefits, paid annual and holiday leave, retirement planning and savingsoptions, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, Virginia RetirementSystem (VRS), professional development & certifications, tuition waiver,parental leave, caregiving leave and community service leave.  Learn moreabout VCU’s benefits here: https://hr.vcu.edu/careers-at-vcu/why-work-at-vcu

Position Summary:  

TheStravitz‐Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health (Institute) ishiring for an Associate Director of Research Administration to manage, directand oversee the pre- and post-award financial and research administrationactivities for a robust and growing externally sponsored research portfolio.This role requires a blend of leadership, organizational focus and a strongunderstanding of research and related regulations. For the foreseeable futurethis position will both be transactional in support of the research portfolioand strategic as we build foundational infrastructure. This position willreport to the Chief Operating Officer, will manage and coach a researchadministration associate team and is expected to collaborate closely withresearchers, faculty and financial staff to ensure compliance and effectivemanagement of related research administration activities. The incumbent shouldhave significant progressive experience working with and managing a complexresearch portfolio in a clinically oriented department. We want someone who isprocess oriented thinker who can use project management principles tocoordinate, assess and develop a plan. 

PositionResponsibilities:

ResearchPortfolio Management (50%):
-Pre-award activities include assisting departmental faculty in thedevelopment, preparation, and submission of grant proposals, ensuring allproposals are entered and routed for institutional review in a timely mannerand meet agency and university guidelines and deadlines. This requires the ADto work alongside the faculty member to understand the needs of the project andhelp develop a comprehensive budget for each project.
-Post-award activities include managing budget, reporting and compliancethrough the lifecycle of the project. Responsible for detailed reconciliationof project financials, preparing financial reporting for investigators andbusiness managers to assess whether a project is on target or if adjustmentsare needed. Advise PI on budget adjustments and revisions necessary to meet thesponsor requirements.
-Performs day-to-day award management for the portfolio, including but notlimited to purchase approvals, reconciliation of charges, analyses of financialstatements, monthly reporting and effort monitoring. Responsible for thepreparation of any and all documents required for execution of these actions.
-Oversee the post- award review of extramural funding including government andnon-government grants, foundation awards and contracts on behalf of the Instituteand to assure institutional and sponsor compliance, budgetary appropriateness,and compliance of grant and contract awards to applicable governmental or othersponsor guidelines.
-Identify the need for cost transfers from budget reconciliation; submit costtransfers. Prepare and submit requests for re- budgeting/modifying the fundedproject budget.
-Manage grant transfers for outgoing and incoming faculty; liaising withinternal and external stakeholders to facilitate efficient processing.
-Establish sub-recipient financial and reporting requirements; coordinateissuance of sub-agreements with institutional/school offices.
-Reconcile and close all sub-recipient budgets and obtain all sponsor-requiredreports.
-Apply federal and university rules to management of effort allocationappropriately for individuals with salary support from sponsored awards.
-Monitor compliance with agency and institutional/school regulations regardingsponsor required reporting.
-Closeout all funded projects consistent with university process and timelines.
-Facilitate contract communications, negotiations and interactions amongvarious parties, in collaboration with the other departments and institutes andthe central institutional pre- and post-award offices.
-Ensure proper recording of revenue associated with all studies; apply revenuemanagement standards; manage any overdrafts in line with unit procedures andinstitution guidance.
-Review, evaluate, and reconcile costs related to study participant enrollment.

ProcessManagement (25%)
-In conjunction with Institute leadership team, contributes to theestablishment of performance improvement priorities for researchadministration.  Develop and implement strategies for enhancing researchadministration performance within the Institute.
-Develop standard operating procedures and expectations for the Institute’sresearch administration team.
-Develop new proposal processes, tools or activities, as appropriate, andmentors study team members on those activities.
-Evaluate and identify organizational structures that will provide increasedefficiencies within Institute.
-Provide valuable feedback on school/university wide initiatives byparticipating in training, workgroups, and committees.  

AdministrativeManagement (25%)
-Directs and coordinates staff, systems and procedures related to theprocessing of sponsor-supported grants and contracts; manage daily activitiesof the grants and contracts group; develops goals and objectives for the unit.
-Plans and schedules work for the team ensuring proper distribution ofassignments.
-Participate in internal or external audits of department grants/contracts byproviding information and documentation as requested and take appropriateaction following audit reviews.
-Interface with Principal Investigators, administrators and other researchadministrators and/or granting agencies regarding policy interpretation andsponsored program policies.
-Establishes and maintains procedures and guidelines for grant administration.
-Supervises the day-to-day grants management, maintain communication withleadership within the Institute, School and university to report and addressany grant- related administrative or compliance issue in a timely manner.
-Develops, conducts and administers internal training to build team capacityand ensure top-notch customer service.
-Initiates various personnel actions including hiring, performance appraisaland promotions.
-Other duties as assigned.

MinimumQualification:
-Bachelor's degree required. Advanced degree preferred.
-Minimum of 7+years of research administration experience.
-Must havedemonstrated success in leading a team.

Skills:
Experience,exposure to clinical trial financial and contract start-up and core researchcenter processes to ensure continuity of support is a plus.
Demonstrated skills in analyzing data and formulating conclusions.
Ability to learn changing technologies related to grants and contractsmanagement.
Full command of grants and contracts systems; requires solid working knowledgeof MS Office Suite (Word, Access, Excel, Power Point).
Ability to communicate both verbally and in writing with all levels of theorganization.
Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects/tasks simultaneously.
Understand and apply knowledge of national compliance issues to circumstancesat VCU.
Understanding of asset management for funded projects as applied underuniversity policies and practices. Able to direct others in asset managementand to review, troubleshoot and approve asset management.
Understand and apply basic concepts of export controls as these relate toproposal submission and award management.
Understand and be able to apply federal rules to contract negotiations andmanagement.
Understand and be able to apply budget management to contracts.
Understand and be able to assist others in understanding researchadministration terminology, regulations and policy.
Understand and be able to comply with university requirements for managingFederal contracts.
Understand and be able to assist others in understanding the basic Federal anduniversity rules, regulations and requirements of IRB, IACUC, COI, IBC, etc.
Able to clearly communicate when interacting with faculty to inform ofobligations in meeting these requirements and when faculty is not complying withpolicies.
Able to escalate issues to higher levels when unable to get cooperation fromothers.
Understand and be able to operationalize the development and maintenance ofinternal controls.
Able to understand and apply basic internal control concepts to dailymanagement of Federal awards.
Understand and be able to translate concepts to actual practice.
Understand and apply the basic concepts of clinical research.
Understand and be able to apply federal and university rules to management ofeffort allocation for individuals compensated whole or in part from federalawards.
Understand and be able to manage complex effort scenarios resulting frommultiple appointment types.
Understand the management requirements of broadly represented aspects ofFederal financial research compliance and to develop strategies for meetingcompliance expectations for the Institute portfolio. 

AdditionalInformation:
ORP Eligible: - YES 

Position eligible to work in alternative remote work arrangements: -YES 

Title Details: Associate Director, Research Administration     
University Title: SR. Administrator RS 1-3  
University Code: (32914Y-32916Y)
University Job Family: Research & Innovation

The Schoolof Medicine continuously strives for our workplace and learning environment toreflect the demographic and social milieu of the communities we serve. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. 

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity, affirmative actionuniversity providing access to education and employment without regard to race,color, religion, national origin, age, sex, political affiliation, veteranstatus, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, genderexpression, or disability.

Salary Range: Commensurate with experience, education and training

Position Details:

Department: School of Medicine, Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease
Employment Type: UF - University Employee FT
Restricted Status: No
FTE: 1
Exemption Status: Exempt

Contact Information:

Contact Name: Demetria Patterson

Contact Email: demetria.patterson1@vcuhealth.org

Contact Phone: