Director, Research Administrator

Arizona State University•Phoenix, AZ

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Under senior leadership direction, the Director, Research Administrator plans, organizes, and directs departmental research operations to ensure efficient and effective service delivery aligned with university priorities, strategies, and goals. The position serves as a resource to ASU investigators and Research Advancement Administrators and administers departmental business and administrative matters, including budgets, operations, programs, personnel, financial analysis, strategic planning, and budgetary controls. The role leads departmental operations and staff, develops operational strategies and policies, oversees financial planning, and contributes to department- and college-level strategic initiatives. It serves as a subject matter expert in research administration and leads pre-award and post-award administration, coordinating with ORSPA, ASUF, KE Research Operations, investigators, subrecipients, and sponsors. The position is in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. Work is performed primarily in an environmentally controlled office, with possible field tasks within or across university campuses.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and nine years of experience appropriate to the area of assignment or field, including five years of managerial experience; or an equivalent combination of experience and/or training demonstrating comparable knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Knowledge of research administration, budgeting, and strategic planning principles.
Strong leadership, supervision, and staff development skills.
Analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
Effective communication skills.
Experience with program development and data analysis.
Ability to build relationships and collaborate across stakeholder groups.

Responsibilities

Direct and oversee departmental operations in alignment with the university’s mission, goals, and strategic initiatives.
Develop short- and long-term strategies, objectives, and operational plans.
Establish, maintain, and improve departmental policies, procedures, and workflows; identify operational issues and implement process improvements.
Collaborate with university leadership and stakeholders to determine infrastructure, staffing, and resource needs.
Represent the university on committees, boards, and professional organizations; serve as a liaison with faculty, administrators, external agencies, and advisory groups.
Prepare and present reports, analyses, and correspondence to support decision-making and accountability.
Hire, supervise, mentor, and evaluate research administration staff, directly or through subordinate managers; provide coaching, feedback, and professional development; address personnel matters as needed.
Develop and manage departmental budgets, monitor expenditures, and partner with leadership on budget planning, forecasting, and financial decisions.
Lead preparation of administrative and financial reports and contribute to department- and college-level strategic planning and execution.
Collaborate with business services on forecasting and reporting for sponsored and non-sponsored funds.
Serve as a subject matter expert on research administration policies and procedures; coordinate pre- and post-award activities with ORSPA and ASUF.
Support research development and administration initiatives; design college pre- and post-award frameworks, cross-unit service models, and digital infrastructure; develop future research administration leaders.
Oversee proposal development, including interpretation of funding announcements and sponsor requirements, proposal planning, budgets, personnel, justifications, and compliance.
Manage internal proposal routing and submission through ERA systems and conduct administrative reviews for completeness and compliance.
Coordinate with KE Research Operations and ORSPA on submissions and award negotiation support; facilitate communication with investigators, subrecipients, and sponsors.
Identify and disseminate funding opportunities and establish effective transitions from pre-award to post-award activities.
Oversee award setup, transactions, change requests, financial monitoring and forecasting, reconciliations, compliance tracking, reporting, record retention, and closeout.
Guide investigators and staff on award terms, policies, and regulatory requirements; resolve administrative, personnel, and financial issues related to sponsored projects.
Support renewals, reporting requirements, and ongoing award compliance.
Perform other duties as assigned.