Sr. Director, Research Administration

Overview

The UNC School of Medicine has a rich tradition of excellence and care. Our mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of North Carolinians, and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education, and research. We strive to promote faculty, staff, and learner development in a diverse, respectful environment where our colleagues demonstrate professionalism, enhance learning, and create personal and professional sustainability. We optimize our partnership with the UNC Health System through close collaboration and commitment to service.
OUR VISION
Our vision is to be the nation’s leading public school of medicine. We are ranked 2nd in primary care education among all US schools of medicine and 5th among public peers in NIH research funding. Our Allied Health Department is home to five top-ranked divisions, and we are home to 18 top-ranked clinical and basic science departments in NIH research funding.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education, and research.
Patient Care: We will promote health and provide superb clinical care while maintaining our strong tradition of reaching underserved populations and reducing health disparities across North Carolina and beyond.
Education: We will prepare tomorrow’s health care professionals and biomedical researchers by facilitating learning within innovative curricula and team-oriented interprofessional education. We will cultivate outstanding teaching and research faculty, and we will recruit outstanding students and trainees from highly diverse backgrounds to create a socially responsible, highly skilled workforce.
Research: We will develop and support a rich array of outstanding health sciences research programs, centers, and resources. We will provide infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration among disciplines throughout and beyond our University to support outstanding research. We will foster programs in the areas of basic, translational, mechanistic, and population research.

Position Summary

This newly-created position will develop and oversee the University of North Carolina School of Medicine Research Administration Services, which is being created to better serve the research functions of our departments and centers, reduce risk, and improve efficiencies through process improvement. This position will advise School leadership on research policy and provide guidance and direction application strategies and on compliance with internal and external regulatory requirements.

The Senior Director will report directly to the Associate Dean for Administration of the School of Medicine (SOM) and the Vice Dean for Research. This position serves as a key advisor in all matters related to administrative research functions within the School of Medicine, including the performance of departments, centers and institutes. The Sr. Director will be expected to be well-versed in national trends in research policies.

This role will create a research administrative services unit that will develop, implement and maintain standard operating procedures and policies for all aspects of research administration to ensure effective grant submission management, effective research contract management, management of effort reporting, review and oversight of departments, centers and institutes with a commitment of greater engagement, better training and more pro-active support, and enabling compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies and procedures.

The Sr. Director will engage other internal (e.g., OoR, OSR, CRSO, OCT, etc.) and external (federal, industry, private sponsors, etc.) organizational units to advance the School’s research mission and to foster and facilitate strategies to enhance research competitiveness.

This position will develop and monitor institutional metrics to ensure the compliant, effective, and efficient delivery of research administration support services throughout the School of Medicine with emphasis on data consistency and integrity.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

Relevant post-Baccalaureate degree required (or foreign degree equivalent); for candidates demonstrating comparable independent research productivity or professional-level background in sponsored research administration, will accept a relevant Bachelor’s degree (or foreign degree equivalent) and 3 or more years of relevant experience in substitution.

Required Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience

Minimum of 7 years of experience with progressively responsible experience in a leadership position.

Preferred Qualifications, Competencies, and Experience

EXPERIENCE: Preference will be given to those with experience in sponsored research administration in a university or medical center setting. Proven success in directing the work of multiple units and providing effective management of a significant amount of external funding. Expertise in all phases of grant proposal development, including electronic proposal submission. General knowledge of Federal research compliance regulations including Uniform Guidance, CAS, and FAR.
Or an equivalent combination of relevant education and/or experience.

SKILLS: Demonstrated understanding of a variety of research administration and compliance requirements and regulations. Business process analysis competencies including advanced topics with Excel and/or enterprise data management systems. Demonstrated understanding of research administration, compliance requirements and regulations. Competencies in business process analysis, including advanced understanding of Excel and use of enterprise data management systems. Excellent planning, management, coordination, and collaboration skills, with the ability to organize a demanding workload comprised of diverse and challenging tasks and responsibilities. Very strong attention to detail, problem solving skills, and ability to analyze trends. Proven track record of evaluating and addressing process inefficiencies. Ability to lead a diverse group of people.

Quick Link for Direct Access to Posting: https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/260494

Office of Human Resources Contact Information

If you experience any problems accessing the system or have questions about the application process, please contact the Office of Human Resources at (919) 843-2300 or send an email to employment@unc.edu
Please note: The Office of Human Resources will not be able to provide specific updates regarding position or application status.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran.