Job Posting Title:
Assistant Director of Contracts, Office of Sponsored Projects
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Hiring Department:
Office of Sponsored Projects
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Position Open To:
All Applicants
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Weekly Scheduled Hours:
40
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FLSA Status:
Exempt
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Earliest Start Date:
Immediately
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Position Duration:
Expected to Continue
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Location:
AUSTIN, TX
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Job Details:
General Notes
The Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) serves as the coordinating office for externally funded research and sponsored projects at The University of Texas at Austin. The mission of OSP is to assist faculty and professional research staff in their efforts to secure and ensure proper stewardship of external funding. We do that by assisting research faculty and staff with the following: proposal review, authorization, and submission; award negotiations and acceptance; account management; close-out, reports, audits, collection; professional development and education; export control, and research compliance.
UT Austin offers a competitive benefits package that includes:
Please visit our Human Resources (HR) website to learn more about the total benefits offered.
Purpose
Support the research community at the University of Texas at Austin in the capacity of Assistant Director of Contracting. This position will have responsibility for oversight of daily operations and management of the team, and general oversight of the portfolio of agreements negotiated by the Contracts & Agreements team. Provide support to faculty and staff with contractual matters involving research and sponsored project agreements.
Responsibilities
MANAGEMENT OF CONTRACTS & AGREEMENTS STAFF
Provide strong direction, support, and evaluation of the Contracts & Agreements team. Oversight of day-to-day operations for efficient and effective negotiation of agreements, both financial and non-financial.
Develop staff by providing day-to-day work planning, organization, monitoring, and ensuring accuracy and completeness of work products.
Establish overall annual goals for the team and individual team members, and monitor metrics to gauge success.
Provide ongoing coaching and mentoring to ensure individual and team success. Training opportunities on relevant topics, such as contract negotiation (drafting, editing, and review of contract and agreement requirements, terms and conditions, redlining, etc.), federal contracting, research administration, among others.
Coordinate with the Associate Director of Contracting to identify candidates, conduct interviews, document results, and make thoughtful and justifiable hiring decisions in accordance with UT policies and procedures and leadership best practices, as needed.
Manage personnel matters for the Contracts & Agreements team, including but not limited to: work assignments, professional development, leave approvals, development and delivery of performance evaluations, and progressive discipline.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
Proactively assess the needs of the contracts team and prepare accordingly. Identify potential problems and take action to resolve issues. Take the initiative to find resolutions based on the best practices of contract negotiation and management. Leadership in response to critical situations related to complex contract negotiations.
Works closely with Associate Director of Contracting to develop, pilot, and implement process improvement plans for the effective and efficient processing of research contracts and agreements.
Review constituency lists and volume of incoming contract actions for team members and make recommendations for changes aimed at improving contract processing.
Use internal reports to review staff workload, progress and success. Identify areas for improvement and facilitate adjustments, as needed.
Participates in OSP leadership meetings and thoughtful contribution to group initiatives. Work closely with leadership to establish new workflows and business practices, taking volume, service excellence and team structure into consideration
CONTRACTUAL ADVICE AND COMMUNICATION
Engage with key campus stakeholders to develop and advance contract process improvement and policy initiatives and maintain strong positive relationships across campus.
Effectively communicates with faculty, staff and leadership team to resolve contractual issues, asks questions or obtains additional relevant information to make a decision, considers impact of decisions and discusses with stakeholders as needed, and takes necessary actions until there is a final resolution.
Provides written and verbal advice regarding the interpretation of federal, state or other contract, grant and funding regulations, University/University System policies and procedures and Office of Sponsored Project's policies.
Provide guidance to faculty and staff regarding sponsored research agreements as they relate to compliance issues including, but not limited to: intellectual property, publication, export control, data security and data use, insurance, indemnification, etc.
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT NEGOTIATION AND COMPLIANCE
Draft, review and negotiate new sponsored research agreements for compliance with University policies, federal and state law and regulations, including terms regarding intellectual property, publication, insurance/indemnification, export control, governing law, disputes, invoicing and payment.
Prepare initial response to agreement terms and conditions to sponsor in a timely manner; provide detailed written exceptions and recommendations on contractual language and issues of interest; coordinate negotiation calls and meetings regarding contractual language with sponsor/contracting party legal and technical representatives and University researchers.
Evaluate, mitigate, and outline financial and compliance risks in research contracts to University researchers and OSP management as needed, including outlining all risks associated with clauses not conforming to University of Texas System Board of Regents Rules and/or University policy. Coordinate with appropriate University offices in the review and handling of various contractual issues (e.g., the Office of Technology Commercialization, Risk Management Office, Office of Legal Affairs).
OTHER
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's or master's degree.
Six (6) years of experience in contract management, preparation, processing, and negotiation of contracts and/or grant administration experience.
Demonstrated experience in contract preparation, including drafting of terms (e.g., intellectual property).
Experience negotiating with federal, state, academic, industry, and other partners. Extensive knowledge of federal, state, local and University guidelines and regulations.
Highly skilled in contract negotiations and management of contract portfolios, with strong analytic and critical thinking skills, accustomed to a fast-paced environment with competing deadlines.
Exceptional customer service and excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Extensive experience with the use of MS Word and MS Excel software.
Must work well with others and contribute positively to the organization, team and University.
Must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer.
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
Preferred Qualifications
Graduate or professional degree in business administration, public administration or law.
More than six (6) years of experience in management, preparation, processing, and negotiation of research contracts.
University or UT System experience.
Demonstrated knowledge in the development of research budgets.
Ability to work independently.
Experience with Huron Research Suite product.
Salary Range
$100,000 + depending on qualifications
Working Conditions
May work around standard office conditions
Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
Occasional weekend, overtime and evening work to meet deadlines
Required Materials
Please mark "yes" on the application for required materials. Failure to attach all additional materials listed may affect candidates being considered for the position.
Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.
Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.
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Employment Eligibility:
Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.
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Retirement Plan Eligibility:
The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.
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Background Checks:
A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.
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Equal Opportunity Employer:
The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.
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Pay Transparency:
The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.
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Employment Eligibility Verification:
If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.
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E-Verify:
The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:
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Compliance:
Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.
The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.
