Associate Director, DISC Office Post Award

Brandeis University is delighted to announce a career opportunity for an Associate Director, DISC Office Post Award in the Office of Research Administration. If you are looking for an opportunity to work at a beautiful university campus with lots of perks including free parking and access to a top-of-the-line athletic facility, look no further! At Brandeis we offer competitive benefits and a compensation package which includes medical, dental and life insurances.  If you hope to advance your career through educational opportunities, Brandeis offers tuition benefits for employees, dependents and spouses.  Our 403b retirement savings plan includes a generous match.

Reporting to the Associate Provost for Research Administration, the Associate Director, DISC Post-Award will be the founding leader of the Department, Institute, School & Centers (DISC) Office Post-Award team within the Office of Research Administration.  This position is responsible for institutional oversight of Post-Award sponsored activities for the University’s Schools, the Divisions of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Creative Arts, and the Centers, Institutes, and Provost Units. The Associate Director will lead, coach, and oversee a small, dynamic team of post-award grant and contract administrators and will advise a constellation of indirect reports throughout the university who support sponsored programs.  The Associate Director will work to build and enhance departmental and institutional efforts in managing financial support of research, training, and creative sponsored activities through the function of the DISC Post-Award Office, and they will develop budget forecasting models, policies, procedures, and best practices to yield operational efficiency and excellence within DISC as well as contribute to building the research administration infrastructure throughout the university.   The Associate Director will work collaboratively with the Pre-Award Services team, Sponsored Programs Accounting, the Deans of the academic units, Department Chairs, Directors of Centers and Institutes, the Division of Science Pre- and Post- Award teams, and other departmental liaisons with involvement in managing sponsored research at Brandeis to support Brandeis’ core mission as a research institution. 

Responsibilities:

Policy & Strategic Program Development (30%)

• Maintains in-depth and expansive knowledge of external sponsor regulations and requirements and stays fully abreast of all proposed changes in federal and state regulations and laws affecting sponsored programs, including Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, Federal Acquisition Regulations, and state and institutional policies and reporting requirements to ensure continued compliance. 

• Leads the development of institutional policies and operational/administrative procedures in relevant areas in coordination with the Associate Provost for Research Administration and other university offices, develops communications and training materials to provide guidance regarding the interpretation of regulations, laws, and policies to the research community.  Leads and advises in the continuous development of office tools, including data management (FileMaker Pro), accounting software implementation/optimization (Priority Software/WorkDay), creation and refinement of internal forms, including budget planning and forecasting tools, and templates for DISC, and website materials.

• Liaises with deans, academic staff, finance staff, institutional advancement staff, and other senior leaders and central administrators to cultivate open communication channels to proactively address issues affecting research administration within the institution. Fosters internal collaborations and builds effective relationships and partnerships with key Brandeis stakeholders with tact and diplomacy to advance strategic initiatives and build alignment around key post-award issues affecting the research mission of the institution.

• Serves as a primary or alternate institutional representative to various internal committees.

Post-Award Function & Oversight (70%)

• Manages, mentors, and develops the post-award DISC staff, including the assignment and allocation of portfolios, workload balance, quality control, professional development, position description development/performance management, hiring/promotions, and goal setting.

• Develops best practices and oversees operational effectiveness of the DISC post-award team in all post award management functions, ensuring service excellence and full compliance throughout the entire post-award process to ensure success f