ORS Research Administration Director

Universities of Wisconsin • Madison, WI

4d • $150,000

About The Position

The School of Education's Office of Research and Scholarship (ORS) is seeking an experienced and forward-thinking leader to serve as Director of Research Administration. This position provides strategic leadership for the School's comprehensive research administration program, overseeing pre-award and research compliance functions that support a diverse portfolio of externally funded research, scholarship, and creative activity. As a key partner to faculty, academic leaders, and campus stakeholders, the Director plays a critical role in advancing the School's research mission by fostering a culture of service, compliance, innovation, and continuous improvement. The Director leads a team of research administration professionals, providing supervision, mentoring, and professional development while ensuring the delivery of high-quality support across the full sponsored projects lifecycle. The Director guides operational strategy, develops and implements effective policies and business processes, and identifies opportunities to leverage technology, data analytics, and emerging tools to enhance efficiency and service delivery. Working closely with university and external sponsors, the Director ensures compliance with institutional, state, and sponsor requirements while helping faculty successfully navigate an increasingly complex research environment. This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of research administration at the nation's top-ranked School of Education, supporting faculty whose work spans education, the arts, health, and human development and creates positive impact across Wisconsin and around the world.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in business, public administration, higher education administration, accounting, finance, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in research administration, sponsored programs, grants management, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience managing the full lifecycle of sponsored projects, including pre-award, post-award, and compliance functions.
• Experience supervising and developing professional staff and leading teams in a complex organizational environment.
• Knowledge of federal regulations governing sponsored research, including Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), and sponsor requirements from agencies such as NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD, and other federal and non-federal sponsors.
• Experience developing and implementing policies, procedures, and operational improvements to support research administration functions.
• Demonstrated ability to build effective relationships and collaborate with faculty, administrators, and campus partners.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex issues, exercise sound judgment, and make independent decisions.
• Experience working with financial, grants management, and/or research administration systems

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in a related field.
• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) or other research administration certification.
• Experience supporting sponsored research in an R1 higher education institution.
• Experience leading both pre-award and post-award functions within a centralized or shared-services environment.
• Experience with research compliance areas such as effort reporting, conflict of interest, research security, subrecipient monitoring, export controls, or cost sharing.
• Experience managing organizational change, process improvement initiatives, or implementation of new systems and technologies.
• Experience using data analytics and reporting tools to support decision-making and operational effectiveness.
• Experience with Workday, Tableau, Cayuse, Huron, or similar enterprise administration systems.
• Demonstrated success leading service-oriented teams and fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Experience supporting a diverse portfolio of federal, state, foundation, and industry-sponsored projects.

Responsibilities

• 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
• Develops, conducts, and administers training initiatives for faculty, staff, and other stakeholders in areas related to research administration
• Oversees pre-award and/or post-award research administration activities
• Directs and coordinates staff, systems, and procedures related to the processing of sponsor supported grants, contracts, and agreements on a daily basis
• Oversees division compliance related to sponsored grants and contracts
• Establishes, implements, and maintains policy and procedures for sponsored project administration
• 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
• Facilitates internal or external audits of grants and contracts

Benefits

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

What This Job Offers

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