The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.
Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.
The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.
Posted Job TitleAssociate Director, Pre-Award Contract Negotiator – Office of Research ServicesJob Profile TitleAssociate Director, Research ServicesJob Description SummaryThe Associate Director promotes the Office of Research Service’s mission of providing excellent customer service for research projects with an overall focus on high levels of quality of work and departmental interaction. Pre-Award services at Penn is managed via a dynamic team approach.
The Associate Director (AD) will work within the Pre-Award team to ensure timely and accurate service in hands-on and detailed contract negotiation for a range of sponsor agencies, research activities, and award requirements, including both funded and ancillary nonmonetary research agreements.
The role is integrated into the Pre-Award team, and proactively collaborates and partners with various ORS teams, departments and leaders across the University. The role will receive training, orientation and onboarding to understand all Pre-Award roles, services, programs and contractual standards and expectations and to serve as supplementary reviewer of sponsored research proposals on occasion and as needed by the ORS team and Penn partners.
Serve as point of contact for sponsoring agencies, and work with departments, schools, and centers to ensure timely negotiation, execution and establishment of awards, agreements, and amendments to projects. Serve as a knowledge resource on federal sponsor policies. Provide action-oriented support to Principal Investigators (PIs) and handle specific grant agreement issues with confidentiality and integrity. In collaboration with Pre-Award leadership, manage a wide range of complex operational and administrative matters and understand the organization and functions of academic departments, organizational research units, and other campus units involved in research administration.
The Associate Director will ensure that proposals and agreements conform to external regulatory requirements and University academic policies and administrative standards.
In the Division of Finance, we recognize diversity and inclusion is paramount to a positive and thriving work environment; it is a business imperative. We are committed to actively fostering diversity, inclusion and cultural competency throughout our operational efforts in the Division of Finance. This role will be critical in supporting those efforts and demonstrating behaviors and competencies that reflect Penn’s values.
We take pride in the myriad ways that diversity enriches our curriculum, and the cultural and social life of our campus. Penn’s commitment to achieving eminence through diversity is ultimately a commitment to creating a more vibrant university so that our graduates will be both stimulated and empowered to shape a better world.Job Description
Job Responsibilities
Agreement and Contract Negotiation:
Serve as the primary negotiator and an authorized signatory for the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania on matters related to research agreements, including federal, other governmental, and non-profit sponsors and foundations. Responsible for binding the University to terms and conditions for funded research grants, contracts and ancillary agreements. Collaborates with contract administrators and provides guidance on terms and conditions for subawards and non-monetary agreements.
Use professional judgement and critical thinking skills to review, analyze and negotiate contractual documents ensuring that all terms and conditions are acceptable and are in standards with Office of Research and overall Penn policies and procedures.
Employ professional judgment and sound decision-making skills to negotiate terms and conditions with sponsors based on university policies and under the supervision and partnership of the ORS leadership team.
Sponsor Communications:
Communicates with external funding sponsors as an authorized organizational representative with the authority to bind the institution in matters related to research.
Maintains current working knowledge of federal regulations and sponsor policies to ensure the responsible conduct of research at Penn and advise faculty and departmental administrative staff accordingly.
Internal Communication and Relationship Management:
Coordinates with faculty and departmental administrators to help maintain currency on sponsor requirements. Communicates with department/school business administrators and grant managers to ensure service needs are met. Addresses concerns or needs of assigned divisions and departments.
Collaborates with internal team of pre-award colleagues to guide proposal preparation and submission Assist the proposal development team with proposal submissions as needed.
Professional Development:
Serves as a content knowledge expert to colleagues as a member of the Pre-Award team. Contribute to developing and provide feedback on professional development and training materials to meet those needs in a variety of formats . Assist with ensuring that training materials and content are maintained and consistent with federal, city, state and sponsor compliance requirements.
Compliance Coordination:
Consults with units within Office of Research Services as needed to manage sponsor requirements related to regulatory compliance (ex: verifying training compliance FCOI, verifying animal care protocol compliance)
Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Science and 5-7 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
Advanced degree in law, contract negotiation or related field preferred.
Previous Pre-Award experience working with federal/nonprofit grants/contracts required.
Strong organizational skills required.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills required.
Ability to work independently, under the pressure of deadlines, demonstrate attention to detail and a proactive work style.
Experience with non-federal sponsors and University guidelines/policies is strongly preferred.
Work effectively in a highly matrixed and decentralized environment with the ability to navigate through ambiguity and demonstrate appreciation and support for diversity, inclusion and belonging in a constantly evolving academic/higher education environment.
Please include a cover letter and resume with your online submission. The expected target salary for this role is between $80,000 – $110,000 based on the relevent experience, skills and overall qualifications of the candidate for the role.
Job Location – City, StatePhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaDepartment / SchoolDivision of FinancePay RangeSalary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile. Affirmative Action Statement
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.Special Requirements
Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.University Benefits
To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay
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