Research Administration Director

Universities of Wisconsin • Madison, WI

3d • $130,529 • Onsite

About The Position

The College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence (CAI) seeks a collaborative and strategic Research Administration Director to serve as the senior operational leader for the College's research administration enterprise. Reporting directly to the Associate Dean for Research (ADR), this position provides leadership and oversight for all pre-award and post-award research administration activities, ensuring the efficient, compliant, and effective administration of the College's sponsored research portfolio. As a founding leader within the College's Research Office, the Research Administration Director will design, build, and scale a modern research administration organization that grows in capability alongside the College's expanding research enterprise. This position is responsible for developing the operational infrastructure, professional staff, and service model necessary to support faculty success, enable increasingly ambitious research programs, and provide exceptional stewardship of sponsored research investments. The successful candidate will lead a high-performing team responsible for the full lifecycle of sponsored projects, including proposal development and submission, budget preparation, award negotiation and acceptance, financial administration, sponsor reporting, compliance coordination, and award closeout. Working closely with faculty, department leadership, and campus administrative partners such as division level research administration offices, Research and Sponsored Programs and the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research, the Research Administration Director will establish operational priorities, implement scalable processes, recruit and mentor staff, and drive continuous improvement across research administration services. Through data-informed management and a commitment to service excellence, this position will build organizational capacity to support sustained growth in research volume, complexity, and impact while reducing administrative burden on faculty researchers.

Requirements

• Three to four years of progressively responsible research administration experience.
• Professional experience supervising, mentoring, and developing professional staff.
• Experience applying fiscal and administrative rules, regulations and procedures for administering sponsored projects.
• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Research Administration, Finance, or a related field required

Nice To Haves

• Five or more years of progressively responsible research administration experience.
• Demonstrated track record of working collaboratively with multiple groups/stakeholders.
• Demonstrated organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience building, growing, or scaling a research administration organization.
• Experience supporting large, multidisciplinary research proposals, centers, or strategic initiatives.
• Experience leading organizational change or process improvement initiatives.
• Experience working with federal sponsors, including NIH, NSF, DOE, DoD.
• Experience with Workday ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) & UW RAMP (Research Administration Management Portal.
• Master's Degree Preferred

Responsibilities

• Directs and coordinates staff, systems, and procedures related to the processing of sponsor supported grants, contracts, and agreements on a daily basis
• Oversees pre-award and/or post-award research administration activities
• Develops, conducts, and administers training initiatives for faculty, staff, and other stakeholders in areas related to research administration
• Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
• Facilitates internal or external audits of grants and contracts
• Serves as a liaison to internal and external leadership and stakeholders. Advises principal investigators, leadership, and central grants administration, interacts with granting agencies regarding policy interpretation, and provides recommendations for successful outcomes
• Establishes, implements, and maintains policy and procedures for sponsored project administration
• Oversees division compliance related to sponsored grants and contracts

Benefits

• generous paid time off
• competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance
• tax advantage savings accounts
• participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director