Research Contract Officer II-Office of Research Admin (3 Openings)

University of Tennessee•Memphis, AL

11h•$5,566 - $7,793

About The Position

The Research Contract Officer 2 drafts, reviews, negotiates, and processes research agreements, and holds delegated signature authority within the threshold set for the level. The position serves as the institutional negotiator on assigned agreements and as the point of contact for sponsors and partner institutions during negotiation.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Research Administration Science, or a related field.
Four (4) years of contract administration, research administration, or comparable experience; OR Master’s Degree two (2) years of contract administration, research administration, or comparable experience; OR a combination of related education and work experience to equal eight (8) years.
Knowledge of research agreement types, standard terms, and the flow-down requirements applicable to federal awards.
Knowledge of intellectual property, publication, confidentiality, indemnification, and data use provisions.
Skill in negotiation and in written communication of a legal position to a non-legal audience.
Ability to recognize the boundary between a negotiable business term and a legal determination requiring counsel.
Ability to manage concurrent negotiations against external deadlines.
TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Drafts, reviews, and negotiates assigned agreements against institutional templates and fallback positions.
Identifies contractual terms that create institutional risk or obligations; negotiates acceptable terms or escalates issues as appropriate.
Executes agreements within delegated authority and maintains complete documentation of negotiation history and executed agreements.
Advises investigators and departments on agreement terms, timelines, and what terms will require of them after execution.
Issues and amend outgoing subawards, ensuring required flow-down provisions and other institutional requirements are incorporated.
Confirms completion of subrecipient risk determinations before subaward issuance and coordinates with Compliance Analyst regarding required monitoring conditions.
Maintains accurate agreement records, status, and supporting documentation in research administration systems to enable effective tracking and measurement of cycle time.
Serves as the institutional contact for sponsor and partner counterparts during negotiation.
Identifies routine agreement types and processes that may be appropriate for template standardization or automation.
Maintains current knowledge of agreement practice, sponsor terms, and applicable law and regulations through ongoing professional development.
Performs other related duties as assigned.