Department: MED-Basic Science Admin
Salary/Grade: EXS/14

Job Summary:

The Basic Science Administration provides centralized administrative and research support for the departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, Cell & Developmental Biology, Microbiology-Immunology, Neuroscience, and Pharmacology, as well as the Center for Genetic Medicine and Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics.

The Executive Department Administrator serves as the senior administrative leader for this unit overseeing operations, research administration, finance, human resources, facilities, and strategic initiatives that support more than 200 faculty members, 300 staff, and a robust portfolio of federally funded research. This role partners closely with department chairs, institute leaders, faculty, Feinberg administration, and central University offices to advance scientific discovery, operational excellence, and long-term organizational growth.

The Department Administrator (DA) is a senior administrator within the Feinberg School of Medicine (Feinberg) charged with overseeing the administrative functions for multiple departments and/or divisions within the school. This role ensures the effective, compliant, and efficient daily management of all operational, financial, human resource and business functions in support of the business area's mission. The DA acts as liaison to and works in coordination with central offices including Research, HR, Budget, Facilities, IT, and Provost

The DA provides thought leadership and contributes to the strategic planning processes and the development of strategic administrative initiatives that help the business areas accomplish their missions with a specific emphasis on utilizing revenue for key faculty recruitments, program development, and research expansion.

The DA reviews and proposes strategic alliances, joint ventures and key collaborations with internal and external organizations and represents the business areas on internal and external business affairs and is viewed as an expert resource regarding business area administrative affairs.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Operations Management :
  • Directs the day-to-day activities of multiple administrative units in support of business objectives.
  • Recommends and implements changes and improvements to facilitate attainment of mission.
  • Activities include but are not limited to: determining and implementing organizational structures to aid with efficiency and effectiveness of the units, operationalizing goals and objectives, developing and implementing policies and procedures; managing, acquiring and allocating space as appropriate, may oversee construction projects, developing safety plans and communicating them, establishing a system of measurement to ensure operational efficiency and effectiveness and to measure success at the faculty member, division and department levels, ensuring compliance with all applicable federal, state, local and NU laws, regulations, policies and procedures; liaising with Central University Units to ensure effective operation and compliance with applicable regulations and procedures. Ensuring technology systems are available to meet objectives of strategic plan, effective allocation of staff, etc.
• Research and Grant Administration :
  • Builds relationships with Principal Investigators (PIs) and NU research associated offices to transfer knowledge and advise on research policy and procedure.
  • Provides optimal support for research staff through efficient processing of grants and meeting compliance guidelines.
  • Activities include but are not limited to: oversight of the pre- and post-award administration processes, establishment of performance metrics for faculty and staff, monitoring and oversight of payroll for research appointments, etc.
• Staff Management :
  • Directs, coordinates, and assigns the work and activities of personnel, including professional research support staff, engaged in providing administrative services within Feinberg. Activities include but are not limited to: recruiting, selecting and placing, onboarding, appraising and evaluating staff performance, developing and training, recognizing and rewarding, coaching and mentoring, and/or terminating departmental personnel.
• Financial/Budget Responsibility :
  • Plans and implements annual budget including fiscal resource allocation of appropriated, discretionary, endowment and/or gift revenues, oversees routine budget reconciliation and ongoing analysis of budget position. Manages budgets for large volume of research grants and negotiates with vendors for purchases and leases.
• Faculty and Student Appointments and Processing :
  • Establishes department strategy for structuring, streamlining and consistently managing the faculty and student hiring, appointment and separation processes. Reviews faculty and student administrative policies, recommends changes, implements new and ensures consistent application.
  • Activities include: overseeing all aspects of faculty administrative tasks (colloquium, seminar, travel, faculty COI survey, annual report) ensuring optimal faculty support. Participating in the creation and implementation of FASIS and FSM faculty database entries and reporting.
  • Creates, implements and evaluates department strategy for structure, process, & staff support of graduate students and Post-doctoral trainees, including overseeing processing of payroll, fellowships and stipend and visa-related.

Miscellaneous

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's in business, accounting or a related field with 10 or more years' experience in administrative or supervisory capacity with exposure to a combination of budgets, finance, grant administration, facilities, and/or human resources; or 12 yrs administrative experience.

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

• Administration and Management: Demonstrated knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Project Management: Expertise in sponsored projects management, compliance and reporting requirements.
• Strong written, oral, and presentation skills; ability to work with faculty.
• Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Personnel and Human Resources: Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Sociology and Anthropology: Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
• Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions
• Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas
• Technology: Possess working knowledge of the use of technology to streamline processes and social media to enhance communication with residents, undergraduate and graduate students.
• Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in business or CPA, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated leadership in organizational change, preferably in integrating multiple units into a single point-of-service organization.
• Experience managing a business unit conducting federally-sponsored research within a university or academic medical center.
• Experience developing and implementing administrative service standards and metrics.
• Demonstrated success in defining staff roles and responsibilities and managing staff career development.

Benefits:

At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful and competitive benefits. The available benefits package for this position will include health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance; paid vacation and holidays; paid medical/sick and parental leave; tuition benefits for the employee and dependents; pre-tax and flex spending accounts for commuting and dependent care; generous retirement savings options; and wellness programs. For a comprehensive overview of available benefits, including eligibility details, visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more .

Target hiring range for this position will be between $138,310 to $198,280 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

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