Assistant Director, Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance

The Assistant Director for Agreements in the Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance (SPARC) office is to ensure effective and efficient negotiation, acceptance, and execution of agreements with federal, state and local governments, industry, and non-profit sponsors, and subawards to all types of recipients. The Assistant Director works with the Director as part of the SPARC leadership team.

Minimum qualifications include possession of a Master’s degree and a track record of successful, progressively responsible experience in academic sponsored programs administration, including expert knowledge of federal circulars, Uniform Guidance and regulations relevant to sponsored programs and research administration compliance

At least five years of experience in processing, negotiating and/or administration of grants, contracts or agreements supporting sponsored programs in an educational institution.

At least two years of hands-on experience in contract negotiation.

• Proven experience working with: (1) University sponsored program agreements with Federal, state and local governments, industry, and non-profit foundations in the US and other countries; (2) The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), agency supplements to the FAR, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars applicable to universities, including experience implementing OMB’s Uniform Guidance requirements for subrecipient risk assessment and monitoring; and, (3) The Microsoft Office® suite of software applications, such as: Word and Excel, Adobe Acrobat, Internet Browsers and relational databases.
• Management experience in an academic setting necessary to oversee agreement review and negotiation, subaward drafting and management.
• Policy and process development and implementation in the university setting that balances academic, operational needs, compliance with sponsor requirements and risk mitigation.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills to engage in effective negotiations between parties with differing objectives and compliance requirements.

The Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance (SPARC) is the service unit at UNCW responsible for the oversight of externally sponsored programs. SPARC provides complete cradle-to-grave sponsored program administration and support including: a) identifying funding sources, b) assisting faculty with proposal development, c) monitoring/overseeing the responsible management of sponsored projects and d) ensuring university compliance with contract/grant fiscal and regulatory requirements. SPARC also administers internal grant programs and the return of F&A to departments. It is the administrative unit responsible for ensuring the university remains in compliance with federal and state policies pertaining to research. SPARC is accountable and responsible for all externally sponsored grants and contracts, university-wide. SPARC accepts funds provided to the university and is accountable for their legal compliance with sponsor (federal, state, local and private sources) regulations and policies. SPARC is the contact point for federal and state audits, both fiscal and programmatic, on contracts and grants. This service office is designed to serve all faculty and staff needs for externally funded project and programs.

The University of North Carolina Wilmington, the state’s coastal university, is dedicated to learning through the integration of teaching and mentoring with research and service. Guided by our Strategic Plan, the university is committed to nurturing a campus culture that reflects its values of diversity and globalization, ethics and integrity, and excellence and innovation. A public institution with nearly 17,000 students, the university is focused on supporting and enhancing the student-centered learning experience that has been a hallmark since its founding in 1947. UNCW offers an array of programs at the baccalaureate and master’s levels, and doctoral programs in marine biology, educational leadership, psychology and nursing practice. UNCW is one of the 17 institutions that make up the UNC System.

At the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), our culture reflects our values of inclusion, diversity, globalization, ethics and integrity and innovation and we are committed to providing equality of educational and employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, sex (such as gender, gender identity, marital status, childbirth, and pregnancy), age, color, national origin (including ethnicity), religion, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, veteran status, military service member status, genetic information, or relationship to other university constituents – except where sex, age, or ability represent bona fide educational or occupational qualifications or where marital status is a statutorily established eligibility criterion for State funded employee benefit programs. UNCW believes that embracing the unique contributions of our faculty, staff and students is critical to our success and paramount in being recognized for our global mindset.

Priority consideration will be given to applications received by the Priority Date; however, applications will be accepted until the position is filled.