Job Bank

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range:

Position Summary

The Director of Pre-Award Management delivers customer-focused proposal review, policy communications, and research management services for the Columbia Climate School???s two campuses and 500 researchers. Reporting directly to the Associate Dean for Research, the Director will collaborate closely with faculty, postdocs, senior executives, external sponsors, and cross-functional administrative staff to facilitate the successful acquisition of extramural research funding; they will design and govern the administrative processes, daily operations, requisite internal outreach protocols, and policies that ensure a vibrant, highly-heterogeneous, and compliant sponsored research enterprise.

The Director will provide strategic planning and leadership for all aspects of pre-award sponsored research administration, and will serve as the subject matter expert for all pre-award services across the Columbia Climate School. This is a new and highly-visible leadership position that commands independence and advanced responsibility for establishing the fundamental research infrastructure of a new school.

This position is expected to maintain a physical presence on both the Morningside and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory campuses.

Responsibilities

Research Administration

• Oversee the rigorous and granular review of complex proposal documents, including budgets, subawards, project descriptions, facilities statements, and other documents required by the sponsor.
• Provide customer service-oriented and comprehensive support of Climate School investigators and administrators in order to be fully compliant with and responsive to extramural sponsor requirements and guidelines.
• In close collaboration with the Associate Dean for Research, serve as the School???s singular liaison with Sponsored Projects Administration, ensuring that any and all School-wide sponsored projects proposals with detailed budgets are thoroughly and rigorously reviewed and approved in order to adhere to the top standards of quality and ethics.
• Support researchers and administrators with electronic grant preparation, submission to Grants.gov, and other electronic application venues.
• Facilitate the processing, legal review, and account setup of grant awards, contracts, subcontracts, and other award instruments. Ensure the timely issuance and execution of outgoing sub-award agreements.
• Liaise with sponsoring agencies to negotiate budgets and resolve general administrative problems. Assist with preparation of just-in-time materials, including assistance with re-budgeting.
• Facilitate grant transfers for incoming and outgoing principal investigators, including balance carry-forward funds from other institutions.
• Maintain complex and extensive data records of proposal submissions and awards, and report quarterly activities and accomplishments to Climate School leadership, with a special eye towards identifying competitive advantage and opportunistic areas for growth and investment.

Management and Leadership

• Supervise daily activities and work assignments for the School???s pre-award staff.
• Create, implement, and constantly evaluate operational priorities for the School???s pre-award administrative team, and conduct periodic strategic planning to align operations with leadership priorities.
• Prepare reports for research leadership about School proposal and award performance against strategic goals, recommending new operational directions and methods for advancing and diversifying the School???s funding portfolio while simultaneously reducing researcher administrative burden.
• Provide problem resolution to pre-award staff and departmental staff that may include escalation, work delegation, retention, training, performance management, feedback, and alignment to achieve strategic goals.
• Establish and constantly evaluate key performance indicators and metrics surrounding internal operational efficiencies, maximum productivity, customer satisfaction, and employee proficiency.
• Troubleshoot, participate in crisis management, and manage expectations of leadership, researchers and other internal clients, and external partners.
• Lead weekly one-on-one and team meetings for personnel development and growth, project coordination, group strategy development, and deadline tracking.
• Develop personalized personnel development plans, and frequently track personnel performance against annual metrics, ensuring that personnel exceed expectations and grow into professional careers and sectors of meaning.

Research Governance & Policy Compliance

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge about the federal policy landscape, and support Climate School researchers and administrators in understanding and adapting to rapidly-changing requirements and workflows. Broadly communicate policy shifts and emerging expectations in a coherent, customer-focused, and consistent manner.
• Constantly evaluate processes and efficiencies in pre-award proposal review and submission, and work with the Associate Dean for Research to conceptualize, write, and enforce new policies and procedures designed to reduce researchers??? administrative burden while maintaining full compliance to federal and institutional requirements.
• With the Associate Dean for Research, draft periodic internal School-wide communications pertaining to new sponsor policies, internal administrative procedures, compliance training opportunities, and methods for engagement and growth.
• Ensure that conflict of interest and other compliance requirements have been met by proposing investigators prior to proposal submission.
• Advise researchers of their legal and/or institutional responsibilities under the terms of award agreements, including, but not limited to, reporting and invoicing requirements
• Serve as the central resource of knowledge for anticipated and unanticipated issues occurring throughout the lifecycle of a sponsored award. Offer expert knowledge and increased level of core competencies in the life cycle of a grant.

Strategy, Training & Communications

• Working closely with the Associate Dean for Research, represent the pre-award research administrative team across both Climate School campuses, interacting with a wide array of high-level stakeholders.  Maintain positive relationships with all clients, and escalate issues and concerns to the Associate Dean for Research, especially complex matters related to large, multi-investigator grants.
• Working closely with the Assistant Director of Research Management & Leadership, lead internal training workshops and information sessions surrounding sponsored projects, research compliance, and submission logistics.
• With the Associate Director of Research Initiatives, brainstorm, design, and publish educational training materials ??? graphs, infographics, presentation slides, and other ??? regarding the sponsored projects lifecycle, with the goal of training researchers in how best to prepare and route exceptional proposals.
• Conceptualize and build new web-based resources and technological systems and platforms in support of the School???s highly-heterogeneous sponsor portfolio.
• Working closely with the Manager of Administration & Outreach, contribute dynamic content for the weekly newsletter, particularly regarding new strategic funding opportunities that align with the School???s research strengths and priorities.
• Host weekly ???Office Hours??? for School-wide researchers to informally engage, ask questions, solicit advice, and request support either directly or indirectly tied to proposal submissions.

Special Projects

• Embark upon strategic, unforeseen, and opportunistic special projects that advance the visibility, nimbleness, and funding potential of the Climate School???s research community, potentially including strategic planning committees, new program design and launch, policy analysis and development, and financial forecasting and analysis. Some special projects may require domestic travel.
• Represent the Climate School on University-wide working groups and at external conferences and venues.
• Serve as an informed, insightful, and confidential sounding board to the Associate Dean for Research, to test ideas, debate issues, and provide critical feedback.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor???s degree.
• At least seven years of experience in pre-award research administration, including financial accounting, compliance, policy analysis, and/or staff supervision.
• Eagerness to contribute to the construction of a new Office of Research, and to create processes and administrative structures that endure.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with a number of stakeholders, including researchers of all career levels, executive leadership, government employees and federal civil servants, vendors, and external partners.
• High level of discretion and good judgment, independent motivation and initiative, integrity, trustworthiness, diplomacy, respect, flexibility, and team collaboration.
• Comfort in and an overall eagerness to move projects forward within a start-up and risk-taking team environment.
• Outstanding organization and project management skills.
• Familiarity with the University???s established methods of accounting and reporting.
• Exceptional and complete knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite of applications, notably spreadsheets and databases.

Preferred Qualifications

• Committed interest in interdisciplinary environmental and climate research. Proficiency in technical research methods and concepts is not mandatory, but a hunger to learn and engage is essential for success.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends, as determined by project deadlines and in discussion with the Associate Dean for Research.
• Willingness to potentially and infrequently travel domestically as dictated by opportunistic special projects and competitive need.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

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