Assistant Director of Research Administration, School of Medicine / Neurology

Summary:

Under the direction of the Associate Director for Research Administration and Operations, the Assistant Director for Research Administration will be responsible for day to day pre- and post-award management for all Neurology faculty assigned. The focus of this position will be to establish and lead a team that supports Principal Investigators and study teams in the development and successful submission of proposals for research funding, as well as provides compliant financial and administrative management of funded grants and contracts. This position will also support the Associate Director as a key advisor on research administration matters across the entire department and its affiliated centers, as well as help lead the development and distribution of research reporting at PI and department levels.

Typical Duties

Post Award Research Administration and Compliance (50%)
• Manage the department's biannual effort reporting cycles, and ensure total compliance.
• Ensure all assigned portfolios are actively managed and administrative reporting requirements are met.
• Review monthly expense reports and identify any initial errors. Educate new faculty on the process, and ensure timely certification of allowable and allocable expenses.
• Establish monthly financial reviews with PIs to evaluate expenses, revenue, and time periods, and make needed updates or corrections. Create projections to ensure timely and appropriate spending, and/or anticipate the need for a no cost extension. The financial reviews will include grants and contracts, and a collaborative approach with the Financial Associate Administrator for startup funds and retention agreements.
• Creation and management of salary funding projections for each grant/contract funded faculty member, including associated cost shares.
• Facilitate administrative process for amendments, continuations, supplements, no cost extensions, closeouts, and progress/annual reports by established deadlines.
• Manage sub awards: initiate sub award administrative actions, receive invoices, monitor finances, and obtain PI approval for invoice payment, process payments.
• Provide oversight for subaccounts managed by other schools/departments. Notify PI if action is needed.
• Review and management of outstanding accounts receivable, ensure that invoices are being sent to the sponsor and funds are being received timely from the sponsor.
• Comply with all department, school, university, health system, and sponsoring agency standard operating procedures, policies, guidelines, regulations, and other related requirements.

Pre-Award Research Administration Support (30%)
• Work directly with investigators on assigned grant proposal submissions to ensure proposals meet technical, administrative, and financial requirements, deadlines are met, and all SOM Research Administration Standard Operating Procedures and established policies/requirements of both VCU and sponsoring agencies are followed.
• Develop necessary timelines for investigators to ensure deadlines are met. Communicate clear expectations regarding submission requirements, assignments, and responsibilities for each submission.
• Prepare non-technical components of submissions, seeking PI input where needed.
• Prepare cost share authorizations and advance index requests, seeking department approval, as needed.
• Participate in clinical trial pre-award award activities, including budget development, study coordinator effort, and milestone development in collaboration with the PI and clinical study team(s) and SOM Clinical Research Office.
• Facilitate completion of compliance training requirements with the PI.
• Host regular meetings to review and discuss proposals under development.

Other Duties (20%)
• With direction from Associate Director, develop and maintain research financial reporting at PI and department levels. Establish routine reporting distribution timelines and facilitate meetings to ensure finances are proactively managed and issues are escalated in a timely manner.
• Support Associate Director in developing other research reporting and analytics to drive departmental business decisions; particularly in areas that aid workforce management and staffing decisions that foster continued research growth.
• Assess, develop and implement process improvement or communication strategies to increase efficiency and effectiveness in pre and post award support for all units assigned.
• As staff is added; directly supervise and mentor junior research administration staff; establishing clear goals, objectives, and providing constructive feedback.