Assistant Director of Contracts - Grants & Contracts, Office of Sponsored Programs

University of Virginia

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) at the University of Virginia (UVA) seeks an Assistant Director of Contracts to serve in a leadership role for the OSP Contracts team. Reporting to the Associate Director of Contracts, the Assistant Director leads an experienced and high-performing team of clinical trial agreement negotiators handling contract negotiation and related services for the University’s academic and research community. The position has signing authority for the University. The Assistant Director’s responsibilities include working collaboratively with OSP Leadership to implement and lead process changes and participate in initiatives to meet the University’s research goals. The Assistant Director will be expected to actively manage individual and team performance. OSP at UVA operates as a hybrid work environment. The Assistant Director of Contracts is eligible for on-site, remote, or hybrid work.

Requirements

Significant experience negotiating and drafting clinical trial study agreements, particularly in an academic setting, with a broad working knowledge of the regulatory landscape of clinical research administration
Ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships with school/department administrators, officials, and faculty
Previous institutional signing authority
Demonstrated supervisory experience and ability to manage individual contributors
Strong written and oral communications skills
Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft and web-based tools.
Education: Bachelor's degree.
Experience: At least seven years of grant and contract experience, typically in an academic environment. Four additional years of experience may be accepted in lieu of degree.

Nice To Haves

Education: An advanced degree.
Experience: Prior experience with Grants and/or Contracts in a Higher Education environment, with at least 4 years of experience negotiating Clinical Trial Agreements.
Licensure: Additional credentials such as Certified Research Administrator (CRA), MBA, project management certification, and/or data protection certification, or similar.

Responsibilities

Manage a team of contract negotiators including work assignments and performance management and evaluation
Serve as lead negotiator for departmental portfolio and resolve exceptionally complex or difficult issues arising in the team’s portfolio
Review all documentation and serve as signatory for the team and work with team members to address contractual deficiencies
Oversee onboarding for new team members including the development of training plans and guidance documentation
Create plans and opportunities to develop staff for growth
Advise and support researchers on design and implementation of unique and complex projects
Identify opportunities for, lead, and implement process improvements and participate in work groups across the university to implement process improvements in collaboration with other members of leadership and stakeholders
Serve as subject matter expert on university structure and industry standards
Liaise with OSP leadership on ad-hoc basis
In addition to the above job responsibilities, other duties may be assigned.