The Director of Sponsored Research encourages and supports University persons in their pursuit and administration of external funding support for research programs, scholarly activities, student support, program services, and equipment purchases. The Director of Sponsored Research oversees university-wide initiatives to improve external funding success and helps identify and secure collaborative partners for specific funding requests. The Director of Sponsored Research is responsible for post-award monitoring to ensure proper stewardship of external funds received from federal, state and private funding sources for research and program initiatives.
The Director of Sponsored Research reports to the vice provost for academic services and works closely with the Grants Administrator and IRB/IACUC coordinator to assist faculty in their research, scholarship, and grant-writing activities.
Required Education- Master's degree or Certified Research Administrator (CRA) designation.
Required Experience- Experience in identifying, preparing, submitting proposals and securing external program, research, facility, and equipment grants.
- Record of extensive experience in interpreting and applying federal, state and private sponsor regulations, reviewing grant agreements and contracts, analyzing sponsors policies.
- Experience in post-award monitoring, developing budgets, carryover requests, budget revisions and preparing program and financial reports.
- Extensive knowledge of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policies and procedures regarding cost principles (2 CFR 200, Uniform Guidance) and post-award activities.
Primary Duties/Essential Functions- Encourages and supports faculty and other university personnel in the pursuit of external funding.
- Reviews sponsor guidelines and University policies; reviews requests for proposals (RFPs); and analyzes proposals to assure they are competitive.
- Oversees the proposals processing through APU's routing system (Cayuse SP), submissions of federal and other proposals, and Just-In-Time situations by acquiring needed approvals from various persons and departments including University Advancement, General Counsel, IT, Business Office, Financial Aid, IRB/IACUC, and vice provost for academic services.
- Guides in the preparation of applications for external funding support; provides faculty and staff with feedback based information on sponsor agency guidelines, regulations, and university guidance and procedures; assists in the preparation of budgets with external grant applications.
- Collaborates with the Office of General Counsel on pre-award and post-award discussions, providing initial review of new agreements and contracts in addition to review of MOUs, contracts, sub-award agreements for institutional collaborators. coordinates the setup of new sponsored projects and provides an orientation at each start up.
- Oversees all aspects related to post-award non-financial management and works closely with the grant administrator and the senior grant accountant to track financial transactions, prepare budget revisions, carryovers and reports, forecast expenditures, prepare continuations and other modification requests.
- Tracks grant reporting timelines and meet with principal investigators, project directors, key personnel, and administrators to ensure all requirements are met timely.
- Serves as a liaison between the principal investigator/project director and the sponsor agency and between the principal investigator/project director and other offices at APU handling sponsored project documents.
- Develops training for faculty and staff on finding funding opportunities, APU's grants systems, and grant development and writing to improve the university grant effort.
- Advises the vice provost for academic services and others in the Office of the Provost as appropriate on issues related to external funding.
- Collaborates with the vice provost for academic services in updating or developing new procedures and policies and provides support for the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) tasks.
- Collaborates with Business Office, Human Resources, Student Financial Services, IT and other central offices to streamline the sponsored projects activities and transactions.
- Collaborates with University Advancement regarding grant applications and opportunities from private foundations and organizations.
- Contributes to the Office of Research and Grants communication outlets, including the newsletter, Grants Hub (internal Google site), and the office webpages and updates the ORG Grants Handbook and other sponsored projects related procedures.
- Seeks professional development opportunities; remains current on grant writing and research administration issues; and implements changes as needed.
- Serves as a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Skills- Strategic thinker and planner.
- Ability to assume leadership and facilitator roles for promoting academic research and grant opportunities from private and public sources.
- Outstanding communication skills, both oral and written, as well as interpersonal bridge-building strengths.
- Strong computer and Internet skills with commitment to customer service and ethical standards.
- Strong communication skills/familiarity with foundations, government agencies, and legislative offices.
- Ability to sustain multiple projects simultaneously, interact with colleagues at multiple levels and disciplines.
Mental Demands- Ability to integrate Christian values in all aspects.
- Ability to engage in critical thinking and exercise independent judgment.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and manage confidential information.
- Ability to communicate effectively in written and oral form.
Physical Demands- Perform repetitive motion while sitting at the computer keyboard for protracted time.
- Hear and speak on the telephone.
- Walk and/or drive to various university locations to attend meetings.
- Pull, push, bend, grasp, and reach, and lift up to 20 lbs.
Visual Demands- Read off of computer monitors and paper documents.
EnvironmentTechnologies- Proficient in Google Apps, Microsoft Office, Word, and Excel.
- Able to adapt to and proficiently use other third-party software systems APU has license to use that are pertinent to the duties of this position.
Compensation- Grade 18: $98,456 to $113,225 is the annual salary for this role and reflects what Azusa Pacific University reasonably expects to pay for this position. Actual compensation may vary based on the qualifications, experience, and internal equity. In addition to compensation, APU offers a competitive benefits package .
