Hybrid/Remote Associate Director of Award Negotiation – Office of Sponsored Programs

West Virginia University's Office of Sponsored Programs is currently accepting applications for a Hybrid Associate Director of Award Negotiation.

About the Opportunity

As an Associate Director, your team will provide central coordination and oversight of WVU sponsored projects. The OSP team processes proposals, establishes awards, and negotiates resultant grants, contracts, and other agreements. The award negotiation sub-department is one of three sub-departments within OSP. All agreements are reviewed to confirm that the terms and conditions: protect the interests of WVU faculty members and students, protect WVU’s institutional interests, are consistent with WVU’s policies and mission statement, and are consistent with all applicable state and federal laws.

The team members of the OSP Award Negotiation unit work with leaders in a variety of compliance departments, including, but not limited to, the Export Control Office, the Office of Technology Transfer, the Office of Human Research Protection, the Office of Animal Welfare, and WVU General Counsel. Work effort has considerable impact on client services, program and project image, with potential legal liabilities.

This position allows for flexibility in work location, including potential hybrid or remote work/work from home options. Travel to the WVU Campus may need to occur based on organizational needs throughout the year. We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

• 37.5-hour work week
• 13 paid holidays ( staff holiday calendar )
• 24 annual leave (vacation) days per year
• 18 sick days per year (for when you’re ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family’s, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
• WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits (this position is a benefits-eligible non-classified staff position)
• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information ? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ’s.
• Wellness programs

What you’ll do :
The Award Negotiation Associate Director is the leader of the award negotiation sub-department and is responsible for routine to complex sub-department decision making. The Associate Director will provide supervisory and day-to-day direction.

• Provide general leadership and guidance to the assistant director, and to all members of the award negotiation team.
• Foster an environment that focuses on the research office mission of collaboration, professionalism, and kindness through service.
• Engage in strategic planning processes.
• Engage in long-term planning of the strategic direction of the sub-department.
• Work with external partners to communicate and advance clinical and translational research endeavors.
• Provide leadership for special projects/initiatives as directed, while approaching work with a cross-functional and cross-organizational mindset.
• Troubleshoot to develop creative, interdisciplinary solutions to high-profile problems or concerns.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures in collaboration with staff members.
• Engage and/or connect team in professional and leadership development activities as appropriate to maximize office efficiency and effectiveness.
• Design and prepare sub-department data and performance reports for the director of OSP.
• Independently respond to inquiries.
• Apply organizational policies and procedures resolves moderate to complex matters.
• Apply independent judgment and resourcefulness to adapt to the business circumstance.
• Prioritize time-sensitive material for appropriate action.
• Provide WVU Research Corporation and WVU signature authority, as directed by the Director of OSP.
• Oversee management of personnel matters for the award negotiation sub-department, including but not limited to, work assignments, professional development, leave approvals, development and delivery of performance evaluations, and progressive discipline for sub-department employees.
• Oversee management of the day-to-day operations of the award negotiation sub-department within OSP. Manage and develop staff by providing day-to-day work planning, direction, monitoring and ensuring accuracy and completeness of work products and opportunities for development, coaching and mentoring, and implementation of a comprehensive staff development process.
• Identify candidates, conduct interviews, document results, and make thoughtful and justifiable hiring decisions in accordance with WVU policies and procedures and leadership best practices, as needed.
• Motivate staff to achieve positive results by professionally and firmly redirecting negative and unproductive behavior and encouraging positive behavior.
• Oversee the routine management and development of ad hoc proposal reports from the KC Proposal Database on a regular basis.
• Oversee management and direction of training processes for new employees.
• Plan and direct cross-training for employees in the core functions of OSP.
• Monitor WVU OSP systems and tools (e.g., WVU+kc, Microsoft Teams, and Trello) to track progress of contract and agreement assignments, as managed by the assistant director of award negotiation.
• Oversee assignment of rotating tasks to award negotiation personnel.
• Lead the award negotiation data transfer/data use agreement, and clinical trial agreement process.
• Review contractual documents (e.g., agreements, purchase orders, grant awards) ensuring that all terms and conditions are acceptable to the University, WVU Research Office, WVU Research Corporation, Board of Trustees, and Principal Investigator.
• Provide program, as well as direct internal and external client support services.
• Provide guidance to faculty and staff regarding sponsored programs as they may relate to compliance issues including, but not limited to, export control, data security and data use, and human subjects.
• Oversee drafting and maintenance of award negotiation manuals and guidance to ensure consistency and compliance by the WVU community.
• Prepare letters of exception to describe any terms and conditions that are unacceptable.
• Correct or work with appropriate agency contacts to ensure that corrections and/or exceptions are incorporated into the terms and conditions, as directed.
• Negotiate terms with sponsor based on university policies and under the general supervision of the Director of OSP and the VP for Research.
• Coordinate with the Award Initiation and Management sub-department to assist with the establishment of sponsored awards within ORACLE.
• Oversee the preparation and negotiation of subcontract agreements that protect the interests of the University by ensuring that subcontract agreements are in compliance with the prime sponsor guidelines, contractual requirements, federal regulations, including Uniform Guidance and federal funding accountability and transparency act (FFATA) requirements, and University policy considerations in the areas of intellectual property, copyright, insurance, governing laws, indemnification, and payment schedules.
• Oversee the assessment of sponsor type, activity, and statement of work to determine the appropriate flow-down clauses.
• Oversee the assessment of subrecipient eligibility and risk.
• Oversee the establishment of subcontract payment schedules, to create mandatory audit documentation and ensure efficient cashflow.
• Utilize the OSP platform, Kuali Coeus (KC), to create and locate reference documents, activity, and route logs.
• Ensure that proper approvals are obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and the institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) for any proposal revisions upon completion of the review process.
• Provide internal and external customer service to include addressing sponsor and customer verbal and written inquiries.
• Manage the annual registration renewal in the System for Award Management for both WVU and WVURC.
• Manage the WVU and WVURC FDP Clearinghouse Membership Profiles.
• Complete, sign, and submit annual sponsor representations, certifications, assurances, etc., as required.
• Oversee maintenance of award negotiation personnel access to sponsor systems for the purpose of retrieving agreements.
• Oversee management of electronic processes, system registrations, and complete and maintain electronic institutional certifications.
• Oversee and monitor electronic research administration (era) system activities.
• Direct and oversee award negotiation KC module or other era module testing and improvement recommendations.
• Build and maintain positive business relationships with internal and external customers, including college, department, and center leaders.
• Contact sponsors and researchers to establish rapport, understanding and/or information.
• Ensure proper follow-up to agency requests pertaining to the award negotiation process. Advise faculty on necessary follow-up.
• Maintain meticulous records.
• Complete other duties as assigned by the Director of OSP.

Qualifications :

• Master’s degree or Bachelor’s degree, with equivalent relevant experience.
• Expert knowledge of 2 CFR 200.
• A minimum of seven (7) years Research Administration, including application of 2 CFR 200.
• A minimum of two (2) years Staff Supervision.
• A minimum of six (6) years Electronic Research Administration.
• A minimum of two (2) years Training and Development of Staff.
• Excellent communication and listening skills.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to interact with various customers throughout WVU.
• Demonstrated commitment to customer and team-oriented management.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate, empower, and lead employees.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and appropriately apply discretion.
• Demonstrated supervisory skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead a team and delegate.
• Demonstrated problem solving skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge of research administration.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and appropriately apply Federal, State, and University policies and procedures, and interpret cost principles.
• Demonstrated ability to productively and successfully work in a deadline-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with senior administrators regarding technical issues.
• Must be enterprising, judicious, entrepreneurial, and diplomatic.
• Working knowledge of federal and state regulatory and compliance issues, federal and state laws, and public policy.
• Working knowledge of Institutional Review Board (IRB) regulations.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), DFAR Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), OMB Circulars, and other regulatory documents.
• Ability to learn academic, administrative, and organizational policies and procedures that impact OSP, with the ability to apply these policies and procedures to daily work assignments.
• Ability to apply judgment, discretion, and initiative in coordinating many different and complex tasks, determining relative importance of each, setting priorities, and completing project in a timely fashion.
• Ability to interact with other WVU departments, including WVU General Counsel, and various funding agencies with tact, courtesy, and confidentiality in order to resolve pre-award or contract issues.
• Ability to utilize a variety of software packages.
• Ability to work accurately under short deadlines.
• Maintain skills in, or knowledge of, professional principles, legal and/or reporting requirements affecting area of responsibility.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Strives to continuously build knowledge and skills; pursues training and development opportunities; assess strengths, weaknesses, and shares expertise with others.
• Manages difficult or emotional matters with objectivity and openness; responds promptly to needs and requests for service and assistance; meets commitments and dates, notifies others if change occurs; provides, solicits and applies feedback; and builds goodwill through balanced contributions, positive approach, respect and support of others.
• Demonstrated group presentation skills, participates in meetings, listens and gets clarification, is responsive and speaks clearly and persuasively in positive and negative situations.
• Writes and edits clearly and informatively, varies style to meet needs, presents numerical data effectively, and able to read and interpret written information.
• Aligns work and develops strategies to meet organizational goals; seeks to improve and promote quality; demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness; and upholds organizational expectations and values.
• Responds to management direction; resourcefully adapts to changes in work environment and circumstances; responds well under pressure and manages competing demands; takes calculated risks, asks for and offers help when needed; exercise discretion and sound judgment; is tactful and responsible for own actions.

• Certified Research Administrator, preferred.

About WVU

At West Virginia University, we leverage our talents and resources to create a better future for our state and the world. As West Virginia's land-grant university, WVU has three campuses that touch each corner of the state. The WVU System includes 518 buildings on 15,880 acres, Extension Service offices in all 55 counties, ten experimental farms and four forests.

From the groundbreaking R1 research of our flagship campus in Morgantown to the career-oriented programs of WVU Potomac State in Keyser to the technology-intensive programs at WVU Tech in Beckley — the contributions of WVU employees directly impact the 1.8 million people of West Virginia every day, no matter their role or position.

Service, curiosity, respect, accountability, and appreciation are the core values that unite Mountaineers, inspiring one another to work tirelessly and support others as they seek to reach new heights. After all, when you're a Mountaineer, impossible is just another mountain to climb.

Creating an inclusive, engaged, and dynamic learning environment is core to WVU’s academic mission. We welcome candidates who can contribute a range of ideas, approaches and experiences.

To learn more about West Virginia University, visit go.wvu.edu. View current career opportunities at careers.wvu.edu.

West Virginia University is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer and is the recipient of an NSF ADVANCE award for gender equity. The University values diversity among its faculty, staff, and students, and invites applications from all qualified applicants regardless of race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, nationality, genetics, disability, or Veteran status.