Contract Specialist - OSP

University of Massachusetts Medical School•Worcester, MA

About The Position

Under the direction of the Director of Sponsored Programs, the Contract Specialist develops, modifies and monitors contract and subaward processing and submission procedures and activities, reviews research related documents including material transfer, data use, and confidentiality agreements, and serves in a liaison capacity between departmental staff and provider and agencies involved in the negotiation and approval process.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree required in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance or related field, or equivalent experience.
3-5 years of progressive experience
Demonstrate high proficiency in Outlook, Excel, Word and other office software.
Excellent interpersonal, verbal and writing skills needed to present and communicate effectively with a diverse population of stakeholders.
Demonstrated time management and problem-solving skills with ability to organize and prioritize workload, identify problem areas and take action to meet deadlines.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience in an academic, health care, or public sector setting.
Experience with a broad range of award mechanisms, including grants, contracts, subcontracts, data use agreements, confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements and cooperative agreements.

Responsibilities

Solicit, prepare, review, negotiate, and amend a full array of agreements, including collaboration agreements, sponsored research agreements, federal clinical trial agreements, subcontracts, state contracts, data use agreements, non-disclosure agreements, materials transfer agreements, confidentiality agreements, and other forms of agreement, where required.
Draft all outgoing new contracts and modifications to Sponsors, negotiate terms and conditions, and route for internal reviews, approvals, and signature, as needed.
Responsible for reviewing assigned agreements to ensure compliance with University, State, Federal and Corporate sponsors guidelines and/or relevant data security provisions, provide recommendations relating to any exceptions or items of concern or caution and contribute to their creative negotiation with the partners.
Develop, review, recommend, and interpret processes and procedures supporting agreement review and preparation; revise existing procedures or develop new ones to increase efficiency of document processing.
Maintain a full record of document creation, review, and negotiation in the system of record.
Perform risk assessment and regular and/or ad hoc subrecipient monitoring.
Review all state contracts prior to signature and submission to state agencies; verify budget is appropriate; assure compliance with state priorities and policies and investigate any special terms and conditions.
Review all subcontract agreements prior to signature and submission to sponsoring entities, verify budget is appropriate; assure compliance with federal, state and campus policies and review of special terms and conditions
Ensure research management system is kept current with information, status and documentation for all contracts for transparency and to ensure audit compliance.
Serve as liaison between departmental staff, legal, state, and sponsoring agencies involved in contract development and approval process
Work collaboratively with campus leadership, university legal office, department administrators, principal investigators, and other cross functional teams to answer questions, resolve issues, and interpret terms and conditions.
Attend meetings with State Agency– financial and programmatic as required.
Solve complex problems by actively seeking information and new ideas from a variety of sources including conducting research on legal issues or other topics as required.
Assist with processing and monitoring incoming award agreements, requests for additional information, and other OSP communications.
Perform other duties as assigned.