Associate Director of Operations and Finance

The Columbia Population Research Center (CPRC) is a cross-campus NICHD-funded research center, which supports population health researchers across Columbia University, galvanizing new interdisciplinary and cross-campus collaborations, promoting the professional development of junior scientists, and enabling members to do work that is more innovative and impactful. 

Reporting to the Social Work co-director of the CPRC, the Associate Director executes a wide variety of responsibilities pertaining to finances, data analysis, grants management and communications for the   Center. The Associate Director develops protocols for Center programming and communications initiatives and oversees their implementation; assists the co-directors in preparing the Center’s grant renewal proposal and progress reports to NICHD; works in collaboration with the directors to align proposed programming with the center’s mission, and manages the Center’s financial accounts. Additionally, the Associate Director assists with CPRC-sponsored events.

THIS POSITION IS 100% GRANT-FUNDED.  CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT IS CONTINGENT UPON FUNDING.

Responsibilities

Program Management

Develop protocols for CPRC’s programs and initiatives and overseeing their implementation, including:

Collaborate with the CPRC co-directors to lead the CPRC’s weekly Administrative Core meetings and participates in CPRC Steering Committee meetings.

Develop agendas for CPRC’s quarterly Development Core meetings, CPRC’s annual Internal Advisory Committee meetings, and biennial External Advisory Committee meetings.

Track decisions and action items across leadership and Advisory Committee meetings to ensure progress toward accomplishing goals that advance the Center’s mission.

Draft communications on behalf of the co-directors.

Oversee the work of the Program Coordinator in their execution of meeting and events-related responsibilities, which include but are not limited to: selecting and securing guest speakers and presenters; developing and maintaining a database of prospective speakers, and facilitating outreach to speakers and hosts.

Design, implement and manage systems to collect and track metrics for CPRC programming and initiatives, to ensure that the center’s programming effectively supports junior faculty and enhances the impact of population health research across the University.

Manage the annual Seed Grant Program application request process; collaborate with CPRC Directors to establish and enforce process deadlines and set award acceptance criteria.

Create materials for seed grant submission and review proposals to ensure policy compliance and budgetary alignment; participate in committee review meetings; facilitate set-up of seed grant accounts and their compliance with the NIH human subjects’ system; liaise with the Institute for Social and Economic and Research Policy (ISERP) to manage ISERP-funded grants.

In compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy, the Associate Director tracks faculty publications that benefit from CPRC services, and works with CPRC author(s) to upload publications into PubMed Central.

Lead strategies that enhance the productivity of CPRC researchers, connecting them to CPRC resources and other CPRC researcher networks; attend CPRC events, tracking outcomes, and following up to cultivate relationships that ensure progress toward accomplishing the CPRC’s goals.

Oversee the implementation of programming designed for faculty to support grant development, such as the annual NIH Grant Workshop Coordinate ad-hoc grant reviews, and facilitate mentoring relationships amongst faculty. Review and discuss research and mentoring needs with new faculty members and provide guidance on the services offered by CPRC.

Collaborate with leadership in primary research areas to design workshops and mini-conferences that advance population science research and cross-campus collaborations.

Financial Management

Partner with the Principal Investigator(s), to manage CPRC’s grant awards from National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and Columbia University.

Manage CPRC grant and unrestricted accounts to ensure compliance with agency and University financial regulations, including: post-award financial management of CPRC seed grant awards;

tracking project spending through the University’s financial system (ARC) and ensuring accounts are in good standing and consistent with stated project goals; Allocate salaries for CPRC staff.

Manage CPRC’s overall annual budget (approximately $600K) as well as one government grant and one internal grant in consultation with the Principal Investigators. 

Provide oversight for the recurring financial activity of CPRC, including but not limited to:
review and approval of purchases, invoices, petty cash replenishments, travel advance requests and account reconciliation.

Audit payroll statements in support of the University’s annual process to certify staff effort;  

consult with PI(s) to validate grant expenditures at grant closeout.

Proposal Development and Reporting

Prepare the annual NICHD progress report and NICHD renewal proposal; establish the overall timeline to meet internal and agency deadlines, track all aspects to ensure seamless workflow; upload publications in ERA Commons.

Partner with the Rascal and InfoEd teams to write the NICHD renewal proposals and secure information for grants table and collaboration metrics; oversee the preparation of the NIH biosketches, publication list, and organizational charts by the administrative team.

Prepare CPRC program metrics reports; work with CSSW Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) to prepare up-to-date other related and required support

Prepare annual reports to Columbia University’s Office of the Provost and Office of the Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences.

Collaborate with the PIs and CSSW (OSP) on the financial aspects of grant renewals and progress reports; prepare budgets and justifications for grant proposals and renewals, and create carryover projections for progress reports.

Communications Management

Lead CPRC’s communications efforts; create and disseminate announcements for mini-conferences, workshops, and other opportunities (e.g. calls for seminar speakers, seed grants, and grant workshop); review announcements for the seminar series; and manage the announcement schedule.

Generate content for the CPRC website, including: news items, event summaries, and faculty introductions.

Curate and post content to CPRC social media platforms to amplify affiliate research; develop and create content for an electronic newsletter.

Create annual entry for Association of Populations Catalogue and disseminate information to CPRC members about NICHD and other grant opportunities

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Recruit and supervise student employees (e.g. work-study students) and supervise the CPRC Program Coordinator.

Performs related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required and a minimum of 4-6 years relevant professional experience working in higher education, with at least 1-year experience managing grants. Must demonstrate strong assessment skills, good judgment, and discretion. Must understand the roles and responsibilities of faculty, administration, and staff and have a demonstrated ease in interacting with each constituency. Excellent organizational skills, problem identification and problem-solving skills. Excellent communication skills (written, oral, presentation). High proficiency with – and strong aptitude for – computer and web programs, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and web content management systems such as Drupal. Ability to meet time-sensitive deadlines while overseeing multiple, concurrent initiatives with limited supervision.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree strongly preferred. Experience working with NIH grants. Social Sciences background preferred.