Overview

About Whitman-Walker

Whitman-Walker envisions a society where all persons are seen for who they are, treated with dignity and respect, and afforded equal opportunity to health and wellbeing. Through care, advocacy, research, and education, we empower all persons to live healthy, love openly, and achieve equality and inclusion. For over 50 years, we have been meeting the needs of our communities with the endless dedication of our diverse teams.

About Whitman-Walker Institute

Whitman-Walker Institute’s (the “Institute”) mission is to expand the body of knowledge needed to strengthen Whitman-Walker’s programmatic foundation of care, advocacy, research and education. The Whitman-Walker Institute focuses on the strategic integration of research, policy, and education to improve the health and wellbeing of underserved communities nationwide, particularly LGBTQ people and people living with HIV. We do so through innovative research, effective stakeholder education, and shaping the systems of care that erect barriers to good health. The Institute is a part of the Whitman-Walker Health System (the “System”). The Institute also supports Whitman-Walker Health in their mission of caring for the community, providing mission-critical support to Whitman-Walker Health through expanded research, education, policy and advocacy initiatives.

Job Summary

The Sponsored Programs Administration Supervisor will be 100% dedicated to the System and serve as the primary resource within Whitman-Walker Institute for processing all pre- and post-award activities for and ensuring successful management of the Institute’s portfolio of sponsored projects and other contributions from federal, industry, foundation, and other private sources. Additionally, the Sponsored Programs Administration Supervisor will work closely with Institute leadership and liaise with other relevant departments (e.g., Finance, Compliance, General Counsel and Human Resources) to coordinate all fiscal, regulatory, personnel, and administrative needs of its individual departments and projects. The role will have responsibility for revenue cycle grants management: involving managing the full lifecycle of awards, contracts, and other agreements, from initial proposal through ongoing implementation through successful close-out and long-term record retention. The role will utilize information gathered from day-to-day operations to support the development and enforcement of policies and procedures for employees. Success in this role will require a technical understanding of all federal regulations impacting both fiscal and regulatory compliance for research with human subjects and other award types (i.e., grants, subawards, contracts, and other transactions). Further, the Sponsored Programs Administrator will serve as the primary resource for understanding and tracking the unique requirements of each award and contract as determined through review of funding notices, award documentation, and other sponsor terms and conditions (in consultation with financial and legal teams), and for ensuring these are successfully communicated to and implemented by programmatic and technical stakeholders. 

Core Whitman-Walker Primary Essential Duties:

• Performs and behaves in accordance with Whitman-Walker’s mission, cultural norms and core values of dignity, respect, affirmation, and humility.
• Maintain a respectful, non-judgmental, and compassionate manner with patients/clients/staff.
• Demonstrate excellent customer service by identifying            and exceeding customer requirements.
• Adhere to Whitman-Walker policies and procedures, with special attention given to HIPAA requirements.
• Maintain data integrity through conscientious use of relevant tools and employing a system of checks and balances.
• Demonstrate organizational skills necessary to multi-task, meet deadlines and re-prioritize as needed.
• Participate in organizational quality and performance improvement activities.

Role Specific Primary Essential Duties:

• Supports Institute leadership and management by monitoring, investigating, reporting, and enforcing compliance with all relevant policies and procedures impacting the Institute’s portfolio of awards, contracts, and agreements, with an emphasis on federal laws and regulations, sponsor terms and conditions, and budget and reimbursement structure in collaboration with Finance and Compliance/General Counsel
• Develops, conducts training on, oversees the implementation of, and supervises adherence to Institute fiduciary, regulatory, and grants management policies and procedures among both management and non-management clinical research staff; investigates and documents incidents of non-compliance, recommends and oversees the implementation of corrective action plans 
• Supporting management in fact finding efforts concerning managerial actions or union grievance processing
• Reviews and makes recommendations for changes to collective bargaining agreements and the Employee Handbook to ensure ongoing compliance
• Provides direct support to the Institute’s Leadership Team in the ongoing management of all Institute awards, programs, financials, and staffing
• Independently coordinates all Institute pre-award and post-award administration by preparing, providing ongoing technical assistance for, and routing all key administrative and budgetary elements of proposals, subawards, grants, contracts, agreements, renewals, and progress reports for submission and/or execution
• Supports Institute leadership, Principal Investigators, and other staff in understanding and following policies and procedures impacting their proposals and awards, including funding announcement details, federal regulations (e.g., Code of Federal Regulations, NIH Grants Policy Statement), award restrictions or requirements, and all applicable laws and Whitman-Walker policies, in cooperation with Finance and Compliance/General Counsel
• Liaises with other relevant departments (e.g., Finance, General Counsel) to ensure successful setup, maintenance, and close-out of all Institute awards and sponsored activities
• Coordinates the ongoing financial needs of the Institute and individual awards, serving as the primary point person in coordination with the Finance team for all activities, including procurement actions, cash and gift card management, p-card purchasing and reconciliation, expense authorizations, ongoing licensing and other vendor agreements, and travel-related purchases
• Ensures the ongoing compliance of all Institute staff with relevant federal regulations, including the ongoing and timely documentation of all relevant certifications and assurances (e.g., human subjects protections, conflict of interest)
• Supports Principal Investigators and program directors with maintaining accurate and up-to-date records required for ongoing reporting (e.g., biosketches, Other Support Documentation)
• Works closely with Principal Investigators and managers to maintain and keep up-to-date all staffing allocations in line with individual award budgets and the broader Institute budget and reviews bimonthly payroll reporting to proactively identify potential issues
• Assigns duties to managerial and non-managerial staff to ensure ongoing regulatory and fiscal compliance
• Maintains accurate and up-to-date records of each sponsored project and its status within relevant databases, file servers, and other shared systems
• Guides the progress of all award and other administrative documentation through internal review and routing procedures, ensuring timely completion to meet all relevant deadlines
• Oversees the central administrative inbox(es) and other communication channels, responding in a timely manner and triaging issues appropriately to relevant internal stakeholders
• Develops or supports the development of policies and procedures specific to the Institute or its departments or programs
• Proactively monitors and evaluates relevant administrative systems, making recommendations to leadership on strategies for ongoing improvement, and conducts thorough quality assurance checks on all administrative and fiscal records
• Provides ongoing support to Institute leadership and the Finance team on ensuring timely and successful annual audits
• Prepares correspondences with sponsors and other relevant external bodies and coordinates their internal review by relevant stakeholders to ensure timely responsiveness
• Facilitates credentialing, onboarding, and ongoing compliance of relevant contractors and other non-employees in consultation with Human Resources/People Services and General Counsel
• Develop relevant administrative or financial reports and dashboards, as requested
• Serves as a backup for and supports clinical research administration, as requested
• Other duties as assigned

Budget Responsibilities:

• Supports oversight of all Institute departmental and project budgets/accounts and revenue cycles in collaboration with Institute leadership
• Coordinates organizational and project budgets, which include access to sensitive, proprietary, and confidential financial information, including but not limited to salaries of staff in management positions

Management Responsibilities:

• Supervises administrative and operational staff
• Routinely trains and supervises management and non-management staff on research policies and procedures
• Assists in the investigation, documentation, and development of corrective actions for instances of non-compliance with policies and procedures, including those involved in grievance proceedings
• Aggregates feedback from day-to-day operations, policies and procedures and other confidential information to support the workforce. 

Core Whitman-Walker Knowledge, Skills, and Talents Required:

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Ability to manage time and effort to meet strategic objectives and complete work.
• Knowledge of principles and processes for providing excellent customer service, both internal and external.
• Knowledge of all applicable WWH policies and procedures.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Knowledge of healthcare information systems with the ability to adapt to new insurance eligibility, electronic medical record, and population health platforms.
• Ability to maintain records and information in an accurate, timely and confidential manner.
• Ability to adapt to changes in the service delivery model, re-prioritizing as necessary.
• Flexibility to work various shifts, including afternoon and evening shifts as necessary.
• Flexibility to work within the organizations various locations as necessary.
• Commitment to health equity.

Role Specific- Knowledge, Skills and Talents Required:

• Highly developed oral and written communication skills, including the ability to function efficiently as part of a multidisciplinary team. 
• Full working knowledge of and experience with sponsored programs administration and grant/contract management
• Fundamental technical understanding of and experience working with federal regulations relevant to research, including those within the NIH Grants Policy Statement, Federal Acquisition Regulation, Office of Management and Budget policies, Code of Federal Regulations, and the Food and Drug Administration
• Familiarity with non-profit fiscal management procedures.
• Ability to communicate effectively with legal and accounting experts and successfully convey technical information to programmatic leads
• Experience overseeing the operations of a large and diverse organizational unit.
• Familiarity with regulatory issues in the management of clinical trials, cohort studies, and related research designs.
• Ability to prepare accurate, concise and comprehensive reports.  
• Ability to maintain information in an accurate, timely, and confidential manner. 
• Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational skills
• Proficiency in the use of Excel and ability to quickly learn the use of new project/financial management platforms
• The ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and shift priorities seamlessly to meet ongoing needs and deadlines.

Education and Experience Required:

• Bachelor’s degree or at least 5 years of equivalent experience required; relevant graduate-level training beyond this degree in a relevant field (e.g., public administration, research administration) may be considered as additional years of experience.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in healthcare or health research, with at least 2 years within sponsored programs or research administration.
• Certified Research Administrator (CRA®) or the ability to begin a relevant program to obtain certification within 6 months of hire from the Research Administrators Certification Council (comparable certification may be accepted on a case-by-case basis).
• Demonstrated commitment to research to achieve health equity and experience working with a broadly diverse population and ability to work harmoniously with diverse groups of individuals.

The above job description is designed to indicate a general sense of the duties and expectations of this position. It is not to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities required. As the nature of our business demands change, so too, may the duties and responsibilities of this position. You may be required to perform other duties as requested, directed, or assigned.

Whitman-Walker is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate against applicants, its employees or former employees based on race, color, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, and gender identity. For accommodation in the application process, please contact Human Resources.