Director, Office of Sponsored Programs and Academic Research

Colorado Mesa University•Grand Junction, CO

1d•$82,000 - $91,000

About The Position

The Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) and Academic Research leads the OSP team in identifying, securing, and stewarding grants and funding opportunities aligned with Colorado Mesa University’s strategic plan, priority needs, and faculty scholarly research. The role oversees the full grant lifecycle, including pre-award services, post-award financial management, and compliance and regulatory matters, and provides support to faculty investigators and other grant leads. The Director cultivates relationships with private, foundation, and governmental funders; manages the department budget and contributes to annual strategies and goals; and maintains procedures and processes that meet grantor requirements. The role coordinates with academic, financial, and foundation offices, communicates with sponsors and campus stakeholders, trains investigators and project directors, and monitors awards, reporting, spending, and deliverables. It also oversees grant portfolio analysis and projections, institutional registrations and portal access, operational improvement, and continuity support for OSP functions. The Director provides backup coordination for IRB and IACUC research compliance activities as needed. The position requires communicating with and advising senior leadership, enforcing policies, and responding to potential desk reviews and audits. Duties are typically performed in an open office setting, with moderate to loud noise and frequent disruptions. Long workdays may occur. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Requirements

Master’s degree (MA/MS/MBA) from a fully accredited university.
Demonstrated ability to coordinate multiple awards, deadlines, priorities, and stakeholders while maintaining accuracy, compliance, and continuity of operations.
Demonstrated experience with pre-award and post-award grant administration, including proposal submission, award acceptance and management, sponsor reporting, compliance monitoring, and closeout.
3–5 years of demonstrated leadership experience, including personnel management, relationship building, budget oversight, and operational administration.
Ability to analyze data and performance metrics, develop meaningful reports, and communicate financial and operational information effectively to senior leadership to support planning and decision-making.
Ability to communicate with and advise senior leadership and enforce compliance and policies at all levels.
Ability to respond to and manage potential desk reviews and audits.
Curiosity and ability to learn broad information and department priorities quickly.
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret written materials, professional journals, technical procedures, and government regulations; write reports; prepare and deliver presentations; and respond to questions from management, public groups, and boards.
Strategic and analytical reasoning skills, including solving practical problems in situations with limited standardization and interpreting written, oral, diagrammatic, or schedule-based instructions.
Ability to perform the essential functions, with reasonable accommodations where applicable; the role frequently requires standing, walking, sitting, and talking or hearing, and occasionally lifting or moving up to 10 pounds.
Applicants must be able to verify U.S. employment eligibility; final applicants are subject to background investigations.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of and familiarity with grant funding policies and procedures, federal forms and processing systems, and contract management.
Certified Research Administrator (CRA) or similar certification.
Experience working with students from diverse backgrounds and demonstrated commitment to improving access and success for underrepresented students in higher education.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage the OSP team across pre-award services, post-award financial management, and compliance and regulatory matters.
Provide coordinated support to faculty investigators and grant leads, track compliance with sponsor regulations, and develop relationships with current and prospective funding sources.
Cultivate a portfolio of private, foundation, and governmental funding agencies.
Manage the department budget and participate in setting annual strategies and goals.
Maintain procedures and processes for compliance with grantor requirements, including fiscal management, subaward monitoring, records retention, procurement regulations, and time and effort reporting.
Build and maintain productive relationships with Principal Investigators and Project Directors, including holding meetings as needed or requested.
Remain current on government regulations and higher education practices related to grant funding and policies.
Provide initial training and ongoing communication to Principal Investigators and Project Directors on grant responsibilities, policies, procedures, compliance requirements, and support contacts.
Oversee timely communication with sponsors, investigators, project directors, and stakeholders regarding award acceptance, requirements, questions, issues, and compliance.
Collaborate with the Office of Academic Affairs and CMU Foundation to develop funding goals addressing needs across the university.
Monitor awards, project progress, spending, reporting requirements, timelines, and sponsor deliverables in coordination with OSP staff.
Oversee timely submission of required technical, progress, and financial reports and completion of sponsor deliverables.
Maintain and improve policies, procedures, and operational practices; monitor operations, portfolio volume, workload trends, and staff performance.
Track, analyze, and report grant portfolio data, trends, and projections to support planning and institutional decisions; provide annual projections for Finance and Board of Trustees reporting and timely information to senior leadership and other stakeholders.
Administer institutional grant portals and registrations, including SAM.gov renewal; manage user access and permissions; and complete or submit institutional certifications, assurances, proposals, and other required materials as appropriate.
Coordinate with Finance, Accounts Payable, the Bursar, Financial Aid, and the CMU Foundation on proposal and award routing, financial administration, cross-departmental issues, and institutional processes.
Provide cross-functional backup for OSP positions, including proposal preparation and submission, funding searches, sponsor reporting, billing, invoicing, award administration, and other grant functions.
Provide presentations, training, and informational sessions on grant administration, funding processes, compliance, institutional procedures, and OSP resources.
Maintain general knowledge of IRB and IACUC operations, platforms, protocol submissions, and applicable requirements; provide backup support to the IRB/IACUC Administrator as needed.
Perform other duties as assigned.