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EXEC DIR, OFFICE OF RESEARCH SUPPORT

Job Title: EXEC DIR, OFFICE OF RESEARCH SUPPORT
Job Code: 2870
FLSA: E
Job Level: 17
Revised Date: 08/01/2022
Job Family: JF 28

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Occupational Summary

Serving the Provost-area schools, institutes, and centers, the Office of Research Support (ORS) is the grant pre-award and contracting support office for externally sponsored projects. ORS's responsibilities include agreements relating broadly to research and scholarly activities funded by federal sponsors, foundations, and private industry, and exchanges of intellectual property and data with a variety of entities both commercial and non-profit. ORS reviews, negotiates, drafts, and processes a wide variety of agreements relating to research and educational programs with a variety of external partners, all in compliance with Duke University's mission, policies, and procedures, and all federal regulations and guidelines, and applicable laws, including those underlying Duke's non-profit tax status.

The Executive Director, Research Support is the chief administrative officer of the unit and directs, plans, and coordinates operational activities, provides vision, and devises internal policies and strategies to meet ORS's goals. In this role, the Executive Director is responsible for developing, coordinating, and maintaining systems and procedures that support the unit in the efficient drafting, negotiation, processing, and tracking of agreements so that they are executed in a timely manner to support research in compliance with Duke and sponsor standards. The Executive Director serves as Duke's senior Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) in negotiations of these agreements with third parties, and acts as ORS's lead representative in internal University discussions. The position requires a deep understanding of Duke policies and procedures as well as knowledge of federal rules and regulations, compliance requirements, and cost accounting standards, and must work proactively and collaboratively with both internal and external stakeholders and serve as a member of the senior leadership team.

Work Performed

ORS operations and staff:

Responsible for all aspects of ORS operations, including management of the annual budget and personnel matters.

Manage all of ORS's research agreement and contracting operations including direct oversight of senior ORS staff and the Agreements Team. Manage, direct, and supervise the review and submission of proposals to a wide variety of sponsors both federal and non-federal, in a variety of formats electronic and hardcopy.

Manage, direct, and supervise the review, drafting, negotiation, and processing of a wide variety of agreements and sub-agreements based upon Duke policies, procedures, laws, regulations, and government/sponsor guidelines applicable to research.

Maintain ORS as the recognized knowledgeable resource for both external parties and other offices and departments within Duke's Campus schools for grants and agreements relating to externally funded research and contracts at Duke, and the appropriate terms for agreements related to such research.

Maintain ORS as the recognized, knowledgeable Campus resource for transfers of research materials and data, including sensitive data, to and from Duke, and for the necessary agreements to establish terms for such transfers.

Work with the ORS Director and Associate Director to develop an overall plan and work schedule for ORS staff to ensure the proper distribution of assignments and adequate resourcing, space, and facilities for optimal service delivery to Campus investigators and research administrators.

Agreement negotiations and issue resolution:

Oversee ORS's negotiation of grant and agreement terms with various internal and external contacts and stakeholders and serve as Duke's senior resource for those negotiations and other relationships associated with these agreements.

Provide advice to Campus research teams, principal investigators, and leadership regarding grant and contractual requirements, liabilities, and risks.

Establish mechanisms for ORS to coordinate with other Duke central offices as needed to ensure that each agreement has all approvals and compliance requirements in place prior to execution.

Consult with other offices within for terms and conditions that require specialized input, including Office of Counsel, the Institutional Review Board, Office of Research Contracts, Office Export Controls, Conflict of Interests, Office for Translation and Commercialization, Office of Research Administration, Incident Response & Issue Resolution (IR2) Committee, and the Research Administration Continuous Improvement (RACI) Committee.

Provide final approval of agreements negotiated within ORS and serve as institutional signatory for all Campus agreements.

Advise staff on alternative solutions to grant and contractual issues that arise in the context of negotiations and attempts to resolve conflicts within established guidelines and in a manner that complements and supports Duke's overall academic mission.

Escalate or other requests for policy waivers when agreement terms cannot be resolved in a timely manner.

Performance tracking and process improvement:

Implement ORS quality control procedures to assure that all executed grants and agreements meet organizational standards and are executed in a timely manner when meeting those standards.

Establish and maintain appropriate electronic systems to track ORS work products and negotiations in a timely and accurate manner. Develop tracking tools to analyze qualitative and quantitative measures for continual improvement of ORS (office and staff) performance; contribute to the further development and implementation of systems, tools, and measures.

Report metrics on office performance (e.g., proposal submission metrics, ORS turnaround times, etc.) to leadership as appropriate. Lead efforts within ORS for continuous improvement its policies, processes, and operations.

Represent the interests of the Campus research community at various institutional stakeholder meetings (e.g., RACI, risk assessment, etc.).

Outreach activities:

Represent the interests of ORS and the broader Campus research community at various internal and external stakeholder meetings including, but not limited to, the Duke Radiation Safety Committee, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, the Institutional Review Board, Research Administration Continuous Improvement, the Federal Demonstration Partnership, and Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein. The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this classification. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties required of personnel so classified.

Required Qualifications at this Level

Education/Training

Work requires communications, analytical and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a bachelor's degree program. Candidates with a Master's degree or other formal post-graduate training in a related research or legal discipline is preferred. Certified Research Administrator (CRA) certification is preferred.

Experience

Minimum of ten years of progressive experience in grants and contracts oversight. Experience in higher education strongly preferred. Five years of demonstrated success in staff supervision and performance management, strategic planning, budget planning, and service innovation preferred. OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

Skills: Ability to analyze and resolve complex issues, both logical and interpersonal. Effective verbal and written communications skills and effective presentation skills. Leadership skills Innovative problem-solving skills Ability to coach and develop employees Ability to build employee commitment through frequent feedback and meaningful performance evaluations Demonstrated skills in analyzing data and formulating conclusions Ability to learn changing technologies related to grants and contracts management Full command of grants and contracts systems; requires solid working knowledge of MS Office Suite (Word, Access, Excel, Power Point) Ability to communicate both verbally and in writing with all levels of the organization Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects/tasks simultaneously Ability to create verbal and written reports Comprehensive knowledge of federal rules and regulations relating to grant and contract activity and ability to apply knowledge to Duke University policies and procedures Knowledge of grant and contracts processes, systems and offices related to and/or involved in grant and contract submission and management Knowledge of responsible conduct of research, management of advanced compliance issues Knowledge of processes and systems related to or involved in the management of cost-sharing and effort allocation Experience with functions in SPS, R3, grants.duke, SES, iForms and eCrt and other related systems associated with assigned duties

Skills


The intent of this job description is to provide a representative and level of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.


Duke University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas-an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.


Essential Physical Job Functions

Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.