CONTRACTS AND GRANTS DIRECTOR

University of California, Irvine•Irvine, CA

About The Position

Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. To learn more about UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu. The UCI Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences Contract and Grants office is one of the units housed in the Office of the Dean that has a centralized Pre-awards and Post awards unit. As a central unit, staff serve the School as a whole by working with a variety of federal and non-federal sponsors. The team's mission is to serve the School's faculty by streamlining services and improving operations, supporting each other on complex and challenging tasks, and fostering professional growth by attending training, conferences and presenting on extramural research topics both on and off campus as subject experts. Provides leadership to faculty and staff regarding proposal preparation, award management and compliance issues. Provides high quality support and customer service to faculty, staff and central campus administration with regard to contracts and grants management functions in the School of Biological Sciences. Receives assignments in the form of objectives and determines how to use resources to meet schedules and goals. Reviews and approves recommendations for functional programs. Provides guidance to staff to achieve goals in accordance with established policies. Provides recommendations to the Dean’s office regarding approval and risk assessment. Implements team-building strategies as well as individual and team productivity (quantity and quality), coordinating work assignments, evaluating staff, maintaining appropriate and current job descriptions for positions, and taking corrective action as needed. Continuously assesses the team's abilities to maintain high-quality, value-added services in response to the growth of the Dunlop School's sponsored projects activities and implement efficiencies and new, creative approaches where necessary to address increases in workload volume or complexity. Meets and consults regularly with faculty and contracts and grants staff to discuss research administration policies, procedures and issues. Identifies the training needs of the contracts and grants team and coordinates delivery of training to meet such needs. Ensures that the staff possess current, expert knowledge of applicable federal regulations, laws, state statutes, UC policies and procedures, and ORA policies and procedures as they relate to the management and administration of sponsored projects. Guides the team in problem solving and decision making by facilitating problem solving meetings that result in the implementation of effective and creative solutions.

Requirements

In-depth knowledge of the organization's operational, personnel, and financial transactions and systems related to administration of contracts and grants.
Demonstrated ability to negotiate mutually beneficial agreements.
Knowledge of industry and grant funding best practices and procedures.
Demonstrated ability to work independently; excellent organizational and interpersonal skills.
Service orientation, strong management skills, leadership, sound judgment and decision making, critical thinking and creative problem solving.
Demonstrated skills using common desktop / web applications; understanding of research enterprise databases.
Ability to communicate clearly verbally and in writing to multiple constituencies.
Demonstrated ability to develop and manage grant writing skills / development programs.
Demonstrated ability to conduct comprehensive, detailed analyses of complex policies, regulations, statutes and guidelines.
Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training
5-10 yearsIn a Supervisory role in Contracts and Grants Administration

Responsibilities

Provides leadership to faculty and staff regarding proposal preparation, award management and compliance issues.
Provides high quality support and customer service to faculty, staff and central campus administration with regard to contracts and grants management functions in the School of Biological Sciences.
Receives assignments in the form of objectives and determines how to use resources to meet schedules and goals.
Reviews and approves recommendations for functional programs.
Provides guidance to staff to achieve goals in accordance with established policies.
Provides recommendations to the Dean’s office regarding approval and risk assessment.
Implements team-building strategies as well as individual and team productivity (quantity and quality), coordinating work assignments, evaluating staff, maintaining appropriate and current job descriptions for positions, and taking corrective action as needed.
Continuously assesses the team's abilities to maintain high-quality, value-added services in response to the growth of the Dunlop School's sponsored projects activities and implement efficiencies and new, creative approaches where necessary to address increases in workload volume or complexity.
Meets and consults regularly with faculty and contracts and grants staff to discuss research administration policies, procedures and issues.
Identifies the training needs of the contracts and grants team and coordinates delivery of training to meet such needs.
Ensures that the staff possess current, expert knowledge of applicable federal regulations, laws, state statutes, UC policies and procedures, and ORA policies and procedures as they relate to the management and administration of sponsored projects.
Guides the team in problem solving and decision making by facilitating problem solving meetings that result in the implementation of effective and creative solutions.