Director, Pre-Award and Research Development

Overview

UAE Nationals are encouraged to apply

New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) seeks to appoint a Director, Pre-Award and Research Development reporting to the Senior Vice Provost for Research.

The main purpose of this position is to support the research mission of NYUAD and the goals of the Research Administration Office. Reporting to the Senior Vice Provost for Research, the Director, Pre-Award and Research Development is responsible for overseeing the central pre-award and subaward administration services. The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to exhibit exceptional leadership, strategic direction, and develop an innovative service delivery model with a primary focus on partnering with and anticipating the needs of the Principal Investigators and their Administrators in the submission, negotiation and execution of grants and contracts from funding agencies and institutions all over the world. In addition, this position is expected to widen NYUAD’s network of external grants opportunities by seeking new avenues for funding and new grant opportunities and coordinating closely with the Development Office (DARO) and the business community to build relationships and partnerships in grant-seeking.

The Director will manage a team of pre-award administration professionals, including research contract and is responsible for (but not limited to) the review, submission and processing of external applications, managing the internal competitive grants, facilitating award closeouts, negotiation and acceptance of award terms and conditions, as well as the administration of incoming and outgoing subaward agreements, subaward modifications and the administration of other internally funded awards and projects on behalf of NYUAD Principal Investigators and Administrators. In addition, the position serves as the main liaison with NYU’s Office of Industrial Liaison (OIL) for all matters relating to patents filing and reporting, tech transfers, and other related matters.

The Director’s duties will include: faculty development in creating fundable scholarship proposals, identification and dissemination of funding sources, support for proposal submission, subaward administration and cultivating a culture of collegiality, professionalism and proactivity that exhibits NYUAD’s values and service standards when engaging with Principal Investigators, Administrators, staff and other central administration colleagues. Additionally, the Director will be responsible for spearheading and developing training and other outreach related activities for faculty, administrators and central administration staff to maximize use of electronic research administration systems and implement processes to reduce administrative burden and increase efficiencies using the electronic research administration systems.

The Director’s responsibilities will also include the oversight and review of relevant NYUAD policies, standard operating procedures and identifying ways to streamline workflows and processes. NYUAD is accountable to NYU as a branch campus.  Thus,  position is expected to work in close collaboration and coordination with the various offices overseeing research administration both at NYUAD and NYU in New York including the Office of Grants, Gifts, and Investment Accounting and Compliance, Post-Award Research Administration, Research Ethics and Governance, as well as the leadership within the Offices of Research, Compliance, General Counsel (OGC), Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), Office of Industrial Liaison (OIL), and the departments/divisions in the University.

Job Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Senior Vice Provost for Research in providing vision, support, leadership on all matters related to pre-award administration of sponsored projects
• Manages and leads the day-to-day activities of the Pre-Award Research Administration office and sets performance expectations to align with strategic goals and objectives of the department
• Lead a team of highly engaged and talented colleagues. Develop functional and effective skills with team members across NYUAD, NYUNY and various departments to strengthen the engagement.  Develop and support equity and inclusion through the effective recruitment, selection and hiring of employees. Establish clear performance expectations, provide appropriate feedback, recognition, and rewards and provide opportunities to strengthen performance and promote advancement
• Responsible for researching and identifying funding sources, dissemination of funding opportunity information, and advising and assisting faculty and departmental staff in assembling grant proposals and organizing submissions for internally funded programs
• Negotiates and executes subcontracts and grant proposals and also monitors and analyzes compliance requirements as dictated by Sponsors policies and procedures
• Works in close coordination with NYU’s Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) on all matters relating to external grants routing and reporting especially federal and US based grants
• Works in close collaboration with the NYU Office of industrial Liaison and office of General Council for all matters relating to tech transfers, patents reporting, Intellectual property, etc.
• Escalates indirect cost waiver and cost sharing requests to the Director for Fiscal Affairs for review
• Responsible for identifying ways to reduce PI administrative burden while assessing the level of risk to the Institution and making forward-thinking recommendations that will consider all possibilities that are in the Principal Investigators’ best interests
• Responsible for facilitating the ongoing analysis of pre-award administration business processes, documenting and streamlining standard operating procedures and policy updates
• Responsible for ensuring that access to electronic research administration systems (Cayuse) are consistent and that records within the Cayuse are up-to-date and current
• Creates and implements systems for supporting strategic planning, tracking, and reporting for an aggressive and successful grantsmanship program. This includes developing reports for senior leadership, as necessary, to demonstrate the success and impact of the grants enterprise
• Responsible for submitting monthly, quarterly, and yearly reports to leadership, funding agencies, and other parties as needed regarding pre-award activates and KPIs
• Develops and presents communication mechanisms to include instructional and training workshops to Principal Investigators as well as the research administration constituents (i.e., Divisional Administrators and Center Administrative Directors)
• Respond to external and internal audit requests, ensuring that comprehensive and well-organized documentation is readily available to support all requests
• Perform meaningful pre-award review of grant proposals and engaging with Research Portfolio Management office colleagues to identify potential red flags or special compliance circumstances
• Serves as the lead representative on designated committees and councils
• Takes ownership of special projects as needed to advance the mission and effectiveness of research administration