Assistant Director of Research Administration - Office of Research

Office of Research • Gainesville, FL

5d

About The Position

The College of Medicine’s Office of Research is seeking an experienced and strategic leader to serve as Assistant Director of Research Administration . Reporting to the Associate Director of Research Data Management & Analytics, this role provides college-wide leadership and operational oversight for the research administration enterprise. The Assistant Director of Research Administration leads the Excellence in Research Management unit, supervising Research Administration Managers and their teams who deliver comprehensive pre-award and post-award support across all College of Medicine departments. This position plays a key role in advancing the college’s research mission by ensuring compliance with federal, state, and university regulations while driving continuous improvement in research administration operations. The ideal candidate will bring a strong background in research administration, a collaborative leadership style, and a passion for building standardized processes, training programs, and best practices that enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and service delivery across a complex academic research environment.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in an appropriate area and two years of relevant experience; or a bachelor’s degree in an appropriate area and four years of relevant experience.

Nice To Haves

• Leadership experience in research administration
• Knowledge of sponsored research funding and compliance, including federal, state, industry, and foundation awards.
• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering effective training programs for research administrators and Principal Investigators
• Proven ability to interpret and apply agency and institutional regulations
• Experience and knowledge of University of Florida sponsored projects policies, with a strong emphasis on proficiency in grants administration programs such as UFIRST, ASSIST, ProposalCentral, Grants.gov, Fastlane, etc.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively present complex information to diverse audiences.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a track record of successful collaboration with faculty, staff, and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Research Administration Leadership and Team Oversight Directs the Excellence in Research Management unit, supervising a group of more than 5 FTE Research Administration Managers across pre-award and post-award functions and guiding their teams of research administrators.
• Provides strategic direction for the management of all project budget preparation in accordance with agency, sponsored research, and College of Medicine guidelines for extramural funding applications.
• Reviews state contracts for accuracy of dates and dollar amounts.
• Participates in budgetary meetings and trainings with COM departments, providing updates on grant projects and discussing strategic efficiencies.
• Reviews program announcements and other guidelines and communicates relevant requirements to the grants team and other applicable administrative staff.
• Manages the preparation of forms for electronic submission in both internal and UF systems and ensures the proposal information log is maintained by grant staff.
• Directs the process of entering proposals into UFIRST along with all required documentation, including conflict of interest forms and internal budgets.
• Communicates and serves as a liaison to DSP and core offices on behalf of the College of Medicine.
• Ensures compliance in research administration by reviewing monthly departmental audit reports and conducting regularly scheduled meetings and training sessions.
• Facilitates the ongoing evaluation and maintenance of educational content for departmental administrative staff and PIs.
• Collaborates with UF campus experts, research leaders, and COM leadership to identify unmet needs.
• Works with COM leadership to create the shared components of the Research Administrator Onboarding plan.
• Creates work plans and relationships that support continuing education of research administration staff.
• Develops, schedules, and delivers in-person, virtual, and prerecorded regular formal training to the COM research community on new research administration topics including pre-award and post-award management, compliance, and expenditure transactions.
• Consistently reviews participant training evaluations and learning outcomes to ensure training is useful and effective.
• Creates and updates written training materials, visual aids, manuals, guides, forms, videos, and presentations for research administration topics.
• Ensures all training materials and related documents are prepared in a user-friendly, understandable, clear, concise, accessible, and visually appealing format, and are well-written.
• Leads the receipt and/or development of all grant and contract proposals in the college.
• Reviews and interprets agency guidelines prior to proposal preparation, including but not limited to Federal funding agencies, Industries, Private Foundations, and University internal opportunities.
• Provides oversight to compliance regulations around documents such as other support, biosketches, and diversity plans.
• Provides technical assistance and strategic support to the Principal Investigators in grant/contract application process including preparing budgets and all necessary application materials, including coordination of deadlines and application forms, assist in the preparation of budgets by computing appropriate salary and fringe, University tuition rates, subcontract costs and indirect cost rates, and all administrative specifications.
• Reviews compiled proposal applications to ensure completion and compliance with agency, contractors as appropriate, and UF regulations.
• Acts as liaison with departments, colleges, and Division of Sponsored Programs to ensure all appropriate approvals are achieved and grant/contract is submitted to the agency.
• Upon grant/contract award, coordinates with Division of Sponsored Research the establishment of subprojects and subcontracts as applicable for departments.
• Meets with Principal Investigators and Department RAs to provide quarterly reviews and best practice trainings for reconciliation reports, expenditures, and projections.
• Serves as primary liaison for all RA related functions with departments from College.

Benefits

• Low-cost State Health Plans : Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Life and Disability Insurance
• Generous Retirement Options to secure your future
• Comprehensive Paid Time Off Package including over 10 paid holidays, as well as paid family, sick and vacation leave
• Exceptional Personal and Professional Development Opportunities : Access to UF Training & Organizational Development programs, leadership development, LinkedIn Learning, and more
• Tuition Assistance through the UF Employee Education Program
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Eligible Employer

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees