Manager, Research Administration

The Broad Institute•Cambridge, MA

10h•Hybrid

About The Position

Our research teams are working on redefining the boundaries of science and medicine with an interdisciplinary model designed to meet today’s most critical biomedical challenges. Here, you will find a supportive and collaborative intellectual environment and a firm commitment to continuously invest in cutting-edge technology. At the Broad, we are developing new tools that enable scientists to unlock the mysteries of genomics. Principal Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions): The Manager oversees a team of Research Administrators responsible for day-to-day operations and provides support as needed, particularly during periods of team attrition. This role requires strong leadership, collaboration, and problem-solving skills to ensure seamless research administration processes. The Manager supports their team in executing these responsibilities effectively while also directly engaging in key oversight and liaison activities. Due to the nature of this work this role requires an onsite presence two days a week, with flexibility as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and/or significant related 7+ years experience supporting faculty in federal and non-federal grant administration at a non-profit organization.
Computer literate and proficient in personal computers, spreadsheets, and word processing applications.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
Works independently with minimal supervision; respects deadlines.
Enjoys working in a fast-paced and challenging environment, and with all levels of institute staff.

Nice To Haves

Experience with post-award financial management in a research administration setting.
Familiarity with compliance requirements in sponsored research.
Familiarity with financial systems such as Oracle and SAP.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and guide a team of Research Administrators, including hiring, training, and professional development. Set the tone for excellent customer service, foster a positive and productive environment, and promote a culture of collaboration. Serve as a subject matter expert, identifying knowledge gaps and working with appropriate groups to develop solutions. Conduct regular one-on-one meetings (minimum weekly) and team meetings to promote accountability, problem-solving, capacity assessment, and advance team and individual career development. Keep track of GA performance and oversee team portfolio size/staffing needs, making necessary recommendations to OSR leadership.
Cross-Team Collaboration & Communication: Work closely with finance teams and institutional stakeholders to ensure clear communication and smooth implementation of process improvements. Build strong cross-functional relationships and provide regular, prompt updates to OSR leadership. Participate in weekly cross-functional operational meetings.
Institutional Partnerships & Liaison: Cultivate relationships and communicate regularly with research administration officials at collaborating institutions, including MIT, Harvard University, and Harvard-affiliated hospitals. Participate in meetings with partner institutions to resolve escalated issues.
Pre-Award Administration Oversight: Oversee and support Research Administrators in preparing grant, subcontract, and industry-sponsored proposals. Take ownership of the team's proposal pipeline data, ensuring prompt entry, maintenance, and assignment of reviewers. Review proposal records for compliance with Broad and sponsor policies, and serve as the final signator for all proposal records. Coordinate proposal submissions, manage workload timelines, and hold the eRA Commons Signing Official/AOR role for NIH submissions. Work with GAs to ensure all post-submission sponsor requirements (e.g., JIT, RPPRs, PRAM) are met and reviewed prior to submission.
Post-Award Financial & Compliance Management: Oversee and execute the financial management of the team portfolio, ensuring responsiveness of GAs to routine, ad hoc, and time-sensitive requests from PIs as well as internal OSR teams. Monitor and maintain the Awards and Sponsored Research Inboxes and the ServiceNow queue. Own the team's oversight report and agenda, including reviewing the monthly Oversight report, working with GAs on projections/cliff analyses, assessing risk, and preparing the monthly Award Oversight agenda for senior leadership. Ensure timely, accurate, and complete submission of award notifications to the Account Set Up team. Responsibilities also include support for audit preparation.
Sponsor & Faculty Liaison: Guide Research Administrators in maintaining sponsor relationships and ensuring compliance with sponsor regulations. Promote transparency by attending PI financial meetings with GAs at least quarterly. Conduct cliff analysis and review GA projections to facilitate open communication between the PI, GA, and senior leadership about funding gaps.
Financial Oversight & Planning: Ensure Research Administrators effectively manage sponsored research project accounts, including reviewing and reconciling charges, forecasting balances, and supporting Principal Investigators in financial planning. Provide oversight and guidance on salary billing processes, ensuring adherence to institutional and sponsor-imposed salary and effort limitations. Support RAs in working with faculty and the budget office to facilitate annual institutional budget projections.
Compliance & Problem Solving: Ensure Research Administrators receive ongoing training and guidance on pre- and post-award grant administration, fostering compliance with institutional and sponsor requirements. Work closely with GAs to problem-solve ad hoc issues using foundational sponsored research principles and an understanding of Broad systems, policies, and procedures, including assessing when and to whom to triage or escalate issues to OSR leadership.
Special Agreements & Projects: Support Research Administrators in managing specialized agreements related to sponsored activities, including staff billing arrangements and Specialized Service Facility charges. Collaborate with OSR leadership and other teams to solve office-wide problems, at times taking an ownership role in discrete projects. Manage a small full-cycle PI portfolio as needed to maintain practical knowledge of policies, procedures, and systems.