Careers

Title: Director, Sponsored Research

Department: Sponsored Research Office

Duration: Indefinite

Employment Status: Exempt, Full-Time

Job Summary

Reporting to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, the Director, Sponsored Research is responsible for overseeing all aspects of pre- and post-award administration. This includes ensuring timely, efficient, and effective support for faculty while maintaining full compliance with all applicable terms, conditions, and regulations. The Director will ensure the college has implemented all required policies and procedures related to grants and contracts. Additionally, this role plays a key part in expanding the college’s grants and contracts portfolio by assisting faculty with proposal development and submission. The Director is expected to serve as the subject matter expert in this area and to pursue ongoing professional development to stay current with evolving regulations and best practices.

Job Duties

• 35% - Grant Proposal Development and Submission Support - Support the expansion of the College’s externally funded programs by identifying relevant grant opportunities from federal, state, and local agencies that support faculty research, training, and professional development. Regularly communicate funding opportunities to faculty and staff and proactively notify individuals about opportunities aligned with their areas of expertise and research interests. Serve as the primary liaison for faculty seeking external funding, guiding and streamlining the proposal development process, and providing hands-on support with proposal preparation and submission requirements. Collaborate closely with the Center for Research and Scholarship, particularly with its chair, who acts as a key intermediary between the Dean’s Office and faculty—especially in cases requiring institutional nominations. Oversee the review of all external funding proposals to ensure compliance with institutional policies, applicable laws and regulations, and required certifications. Manage the internal review and approval process for grant submissions, including contract review, institutional approvals, proposal submission, award notifications, and records management in accordance with retention policies. Coordinate institutional data gathering for grant proposals and maintain up-to-date boilerplate content and standardized information about Occidental College to support faculty and grant writers. Develop and deliver training for faculty and staff to strengthen grant proposal development skills and ensure compliance with sponsor guidelines and institutional requirements. Foster strong relationships across campus to stay informed about faculty research interests and evolving funding needs, ensuring alignment between institutional priorities and external funding opportunities. - (Essential)
• 15% - Post-Award Management and Compliance - Oversee the accounting, compliance, and grant management functions for sponsored programs, including both pre- and post-award activities. Responsibilities include time and effort reporting, subrecipient monitoring, financial reporting, invoicing, expenditure review for allowability, and managing drawdown procedures. Ensure all financial and procurement activities related to sponsored programs comply with applicable federal, state, institutional, and sponsor-specific regulations and policies. Review and manage award modifications, requests for extensions, and revisions to implementation schedules. Assist principal investigators in negotiating with sponsoring agencies as needed. Supervise the preparation and submission of official correspondence related to grants and contracts. Direct the preparation and administration of all sub-awards with partner institutions and agencies. Perform and document required subrecipient monitoring activities to ensure ongoing compliance. Coordinate with the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and the Policy Coordinator to ensure compliance with regulations concerning human subjects research, animal research, and other regulated areas. Collaborate with Corporate and Foundation Relations, the Office of the General Counsel, Human Resources, Facilities, and other campus units, as well as external agencies and sponsors, to ensure full compliance with all internal policies and external regulatory requirements. - (Essential)
• 15% - Policy and Procedure Development and Maintenance - Develop and maintain institutional policies and procedures related to sponsored programs in collaboration with key stakeholders. Ensure that related content on the College’s website is accurate and up to date. Establish and manage record-keeping systems for tracking submitted and awarded proposals to support institutional reporting, compliance, and strategic planning. Create and maintain systems to disseminate information about external funding opportunities, application procedures, compliance requirements, and other grants-related topics to faculty and staff. Serve as the subject matter expert on the Uniform Guidance, providing guidance to Principal Investigators (PIs) and Project Directors (PDs) on post-award budget management. Ensure that all assigned costs are allowable, allocable, and properly documented in accordance with federal regulations. - (Essential)
• 15% - Reporting and Communication - Respond to requests for information and data related to grant activity and sponsored projects. This may include preparing and delivering presentations to various campus stakeholders. Provide regular reports on sponsored research activity to the Dean of the College, ensuring timely and accurate communication of key metrics and updates. - (Essential)
• 15% - Manages and Supervises Sponsored Research Office - Oversee the recruitment, hiring, training, evaluation, and, when necessary, termination of Sponsored Research Office (SRO) staff. Foster a positive and productive work environment that reflects the College’s mission and values. Provide clear guidance to staff on applicable college policies, procedures, and expectations. - (Essential)
• 5% - Other duties - Lead or support special projects and initiatives as assigned by the Dean of the College or other senior leaders to advance the College’s research goals and strengthen its research infrastructure. Contribute to strategic planning efforts related to research development and external funding, in collaboration with the Dean of the College and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Serve on college-wide committees and task forces at the request of senior leadership, providing subject matter expertise on sponsored research policies, practices, and compliance. - (Essential)

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree in related field to position duties or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Seven years of experience in higher education sponsored projects, contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants administration.
• Five years of experience serving as principal investigator on significant grant awards or equivalent.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with research-active faculty and foster strong working relationships.
• Comprehensive understanding of regulations related to grants, including familiarity with federal guidelines and agency requirements for grants management and sponsored research, such as those from NSF, US Department of Education, USDA, NIH, NASA, NOAA, NSA, NEA, and NEH.
• In-depth knowledge of OMB Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200, including cost principles and audit requirements for federal awards.
• Proficiency in using online proposal submission and reporting platforms, including Grants.gov, Research.gov, ERA Commons/ASSIST, and similar systems.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google drives/folders/forms, Adobe Acrobat, Web Editing, and social media applications or any combination of productivity programs applicable to position responsibilities.
• Demonstrated ability to be detail-oriented and thorough; skilled at anticipating and preventing potential problems and handling a wide variety of tasks with efficiency and accuracy. Strong commitment to a quality work product.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate verbally, in writing and electronically.
• Effective interpersonal skills as evidenced in the ability to collaborate with a variety of constituencies.
• Demonstrated commitment to justice, equity, inclusion & diversity.
• Demonstrated skill in adapting to and performing work effectively in high-volume, high accountability, confidential environment with multiple and changing priorities.
• Effective organizational, logistical, time management and planning skills with the ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks/projects simultaneously, prioritize and fulfill the functions of an office in a timely manner.
• Ability to self-motivate and work independently.
• Ability to provide effective leadership and training, and to work effectively and professionally across functions, disciplines, levels, and with diverse groups.
• Knowledge of contemporary leadership and management methods to ensure employee success and achievement, and demonstration of related and applicable skills as evidenced by the ability to effectively direct, assess and evaluate performance of direct reports.
• Ability to effectively design, define, describe and document job functions, responsibilities, tasks, and required qualifications associated with supervised positions, and the demonstrated skills in assessing candidates’ experience, knowledge, skills and abilities when hiring for vacant positions, ensuring the best choice of candidate.
• Ability to provide employee development, training and opportunities for direct reports to demonstrate performance achievement and success, recognizing performance of both above standards and needs improvement and respond accordingly. Skilled at communicating feedback verbally, in writing and electronically; and documenting performance via introductory and annual performance appraisals.
• Skilled in developing and determining corrective employment/performance/behavioral strategies, as needed.
• Demonstrated ability to design and execute performance improvement plans, conducting disciplinary action and/or determining the appropriateness of employment continuation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Doctorate degree (Ph.D., Ed.D., or equivalent)

EXPECTED HIRING RANGE:  $107,400/yr-$140,000/yr

If you are offered this position at Occidental College, your final base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills, education, experience, and/or geographic location. In addition to those factors, Occidental complies with applicable pay equity laws and considers internal equity among current employees when developing the final offer. Please keep in mind that the range mentioned above is the base salary range for the role. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future and continued salary growth.  We also offer a generous compensation and benefits package.