Sr Dir, VP&S Grants Mgt Srvcs

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building:
• Salary Range: $175,000 - $225,000

Position Summary

The VP&S Grants Management Service team (GMS) in the Office for Research in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) was established to provide exceptional faculty experience for proposal and award management and reduce the administrative burden on faculty and investigators. They are seeking to fill a Senior Director of VP&S Grants Management Services position that directs the PreAward and PostAward units to ensure strong grants management for the VP&S basic science and select clinical departments.

The Senior Director of VP&S Grants Management Services directs the PreAward and PostAward units to ensure strong grants management for the VP&S basic science and select clinical departments. Additionally, the Senior Director establishes standard operating procedures and training for all grants management service staff, creates tools to streamline processes, creates department and investigator reports to monitor proposal submissions, funding, and spending, establishes regular meetings with investigators and departmental administrators, and engage with partners in central research administration offices. Working under the supervision of the Senior Vice Dean and the Associate Vice Dean for Research, the Senior Director is responsible for successfully integrating the VP&S Grants Management Services with the investigators and supported departments.

The candidate selected for this position must undergo a full background check before being made a final offer of employment.

May require flexible hours and willingness to work on weekends.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Oversight and management of the VP&S Grants Management Service team (50%)

• Define and regularly update the roles and responsibilities of pre-award and post-award functions to establish two specialized teams with clear responsibilities;
• Establish SOPs and workflows for units with pre- and post-award support;
• Create a collaborative workflow and work environment for the teams;
• Implement standardized training for onboarding new staff and implement continuing education to ensure the development and professional growth of staff;
• Partner with Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) and Sponsored Projects Finance (SPF) to ensure adherence to funding agency guidelines and university guidelines;
• Develop and provide regular presentations to departments/centers/units to describe the functions of the service and provide updates and outcomes. Ensure successful communication with the departments/units;
• In coordination with the VP&S Office for Research and Associate Vice Dean for Research, manage the operating budget of pre- and post-award teams;
• Establish service agreements with clinical departments or non-basic science units when applicable;
• Manage all direct reports in their day-to-day activities, workload distribution, and overall performance;
• Provide a monthly update to the Senior Vice Dean and Associate Vice Dean as the service is fully implemented in the departments to address personnel or operational issues and present strategies to continue to improve the service;

Supervision/oversight of PostAward activities (25%)

• Supervise the Director of PostAward team to ensure the successful implementation of a post-award service with well-trained staff providing high-level, "customer-oriented" service; standard reporting, proactive portfolio management;
• With the Director of PostAward, establish standardized, automated reports for investigators to manage their grants and overall financial portfolio proactively;
• With the Director of PostAward and department, develop standard operating procedures to ensure all transactions are completed accurately and in a timely fashion;
• With the Director of PostAward, ensure the cohesive implementation of pre- and post-award services;
• With the Director of PostAward, establish metrics and tools to monitor and improve staff performance;

Supervision/oversight of PreAward activities (25%)

• Creates and maintains standards; Budget template, standardized cchecklists for core staff and PIs tailored to the sponsor/mechanism,standardized filing system using shared drives, updated resources and facilities;
• On-board new research faculty, such as educating PIs on required training, certifications, and Responsible Conduct of Research, as well as leading an orientation to the grants submission process;
• Manages pre-award grants team, including personnel and organizational systems to track and archive grant components;
• Leads and manages resolution of contractual issues/problems/disputes arising from prime award, sub-grants;
• Serves as a technical resource not only to the Pre-Award staff but also to the VP&S research community (research administrators, VP&S Research Development team, investigators) in interpreting sponsor rules and regulations during the proposal development stage;
• Assists PIs in the development, review, and submission renewal of sponsored project proposals. Directly manages timelines and the overall progression of work undertaken by the Pre-Award Team to ensure the on-time completion of high-quality, responsive, and compliant proposal applications;
• Identify and promote internal and external funding opportunities for the basic science investigators - external including NIH, DOD, and NSF;
• Oversee pre-award support to multi-disciplinary and center grants facilitated by the VP&S Office of Research;
• Ensure the PreAward team works collaboratively and cooperatively with faculty, grant writers, VP&S Research Development team, PostAward Team, and all aspects of grant administration;
• Provide monthly activity reports to the VP&S SVD, department chairs, and administrators.

Minimum Qualifications

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  A bachelor's degree in accounting or finance-related discipline required or equivalent in education and experience; plus seven years of related experience, is required.

  
  
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  Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Excel.

  
  
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  Prior experience in an academic grant-funded environment.

  
  
• Expert-level functional knowledge of pre- and post-award grant administration, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures is required. Prior experience and understanding of grants management and NIH systems (ASSIST and eRA Commons) are essential.
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  Five years of prior management/supervisory experience, including experience training and onboarding staff.

  
  

Preferred Qualifications

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  MS, MBA, MPH, MA, PhD is preferred.

  
  

Other Requirements

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  The successful candidate should have:

  
  
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  Demonstrated customer service focus with the ability to interact and collaborate with multiple constituencies, as well as the capacity to work with a high degree of independence and successfully within a deadline-driven, multi-tasking operating environment.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills. Ability to handle multiple projects under tight deadlines.
• An ability to organize and direct major projects and/or administrative operations
• A proven track record of leadership and team management experience
• An understanding of laboratory and core facility budgeting processes
• Understanding of the goals and operations of Core Facilities;
• Extensive experience with operations of research laboratories, including regulatory, equipment, and physical operation requirements
• An ability to take initiative, provide creative ideas and solutions as well was work in a timely fashion to complete projects
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to interact and deal effectively with all levels of administration (faculty, staff, deans, etc.)
• Strategic and innovative thinking to develop and implement novel solutions to keep pace with the research community.

A minimum of five to seven years of grants submission and accounting experience in a research environment. Prior experience developing training materials and presentation skills.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.