MANAGER OF INTERNAL RESEARCH FUNDING
Req #: | 174884 |
Department: | OFFICE OF RESEARCH |
Job Location: | Seattle Campus |
Posting Date: | 12/10/2019 |
Closing Info: | Open Until Filled |
Salary: | Salary is commensurate with experience and education. |
Shift: | First Shift |
Notes: | As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For detailed information on Benefits for this position, click here. |
UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. All of which has allowed the UW to be nationally recognized as a “Great College to Work For” for six consecutive years.
Office of Research has an outstanding opportunity for a Manager of Internal Research Funding.
The Manager of Internal Research Funding will manage several programs, including the Royalty Research Fund (RRF), the Matching Fund, and the Bridge Fund, all of which are administered by the Office of Research Central (ORC) on behalf of the Provost. The most complex of these is the RRF. The Manager is the primary operational contact for these programs. The RRF receives approximately 250 applications/year, awards approximately $2M annually, and provides ongoing management of approximately 150 active awards. The Bridge Fund awards approximately $1M per year and the Matching Fund awards approximately $4M per year.
The position requires a broad knowledge of the University, an understanding of University policies and procedures, including those related to grants, finance, compliance (human subjects, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), conflict of interest, security and export control), IT, and others, and the ability to manage diverse and complex programs. It requires the ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing. It also requires the ability to prepare statistical reports and metrics, and the ability to monitor and revise web-based information to reflect current policies and applications.
The Office of Research Central (ORC) is led by the Vice Provost for Research (VPR) and oversees three administrative units: Human Subjects Division (HSD), Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), and Office of Research Information Services (ORIS), and one research unit: the UW Applied Physics Laboratory. In addition, ORC, with oversight by the VPR, Associate Vice Provost and Directors, manage an array of services to campus, including Research Compliance, Export Control, Financial Conflict of Interest, and Faculty Outside Work approvals. There are also several internal funding programs administered by ORC on behalf of the Provost. These include: the Limited Submissions program, which reviews and selects grants to submit when sponsors stipulate a limited number of submissions from the University; the Royalty Research Fund, which allows faculty to pursue new areas of research; the Matching Fund, which provides funding for matches when specifically required by the funding agency; and the Bridge Fund, which provides support to faculty to span a temporary gap in funding for critical research programs.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Royalty Research Fund (RRF)
The Royalty Research Fund is a peer-reviewed program and the most complex of the internal funding programs administered by the Office of Research. The Manager serves as the primary operational contact for the program, working with the RRF administrative specialist and the faculty chair. The Manager is responsible for the entire life cycle of the twice-yearly process. The program receives approximately 250 applications annually and awards approximately $2M. The Manager also provides ongoing management of approximately 150 active awards. The position manages the review process, awards, budget setups, extensions/revisions, final reports, and closeouts.
Program Administration
Compose and distribute requests for proposals and other relevant program information to UW administration and research administration listservs. Review and revise the extensive list of RRF web-based program materials and other correspondence, including application materials, instructions to committee members and peer reviewers, award and denial letters, post-award guidelines, special instructions for the RRF Scholars, final report reminders, and others. Update materials required for the faculty peer review meetings, including the staff and chair announcements.
Oversee initial review of all applications, including standard applications and RRF Scholar applications.
Collaborate with faculty chair to manage 12 faculty peer-review committee meetings annually. Process pre-selections from committee members, noting conflicts of interest. Follow up with all absent committee members. Take detailed notes during the meeting when awards are selected and compose customized decision letters, as needed. Review proposal budgets following the funding meeting and decide upon final award amounts with faculty chair. Monitor the Office of Research website to improve/clarify updates regarding the program.
Investigate and respond to questions/problems from applicants, faculty committee members, peer reviewers, principal investigators, departmental administrative staff, chairs, and deans. Provide information and resolve problems. In conjunction with the faculty chair, investigate and resolve non-standard issues. Advise PIs and administrators on financial and compliance policies/procedures and resolve problems. Meet with research administrators to provide overview of the RRF application process.
Assure all grant compliance issues are appropriately managed, which may include complex cases involving Human Subjects, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Security and Export Control, Financial Conflict of Interest, and Embryonic Stem Cell Research.
Supervision
Supervise and provide consultation to the Administrative Specialist, who is responsible for tasks such as assisting the chair with faculty committee recruitment, scheduling meetings, processing applications and answering questions, entering data into SPAERC, running reports, preparing rosters and distributing peer review materials, sending decision letters via large mail merges, compiling statistics, web updates, and parent budget reconciliation. The Manager assumes oversight for this work and provides coverage during the administrative specialist’s absences.
Budgets/Closeouts/Extensions
Establish all RRF award sub-budgets and work with Grant and Contract Accounting to verify accuracy.
Review and track replacement salary budgets for RRF Scholar awardees and process required supplements. Provide detailed Workday implementation instructions to department administrators.
Manage requests for budget extensions and/or revisions. Assure all compliance issues are again addressed and expenses to date are in accordance with the approved project budget.
Manage requests for exceptions to program rules and consult with the faculty chair and others as needed.
Review all final reports, verifying that the proposed work was performed and that expenditures were appropriate, based on award. With the administrative specialist, identify and resolve errors; ensure the transfer of unapproved expenses and over-expenditures to departmental budgets. Verify closeouts are complete and accurate in Grant Tracker and in the financial system.
Manage and/or participate in the design and implementation of all process improvement efforts. This includes program review committees and assorted surveys.
Metrics
Prepare statistics, metrics and reports for the Vice Provost and Academic Human Resources, RRF chair, iSTAR and others.
Prepare recommendations for the Vice Provost for final approval of awards.
Miscellaneous
Provide program updates to UW administration and MRAM (Monthly Research Administrators Meeting).
Collaborate with the Office of Research Information Systems (ORIS), the OR IT unit, to identify and resolve technical issues that affect the RRF.
Manage impacts to the RRF Program resulting from UW-wide system changes, e.g., Workday and Finance Transformation.
Manage and design processes in support of new and ongoing collaborations with other entities and programs, such as the Washington Research Foundation.
Bridge Funding Program
The Bridge Funding Program provides funding to support faculty to span a temporary funding gap in critical research programs. All funding requests must be matched 1:1 by the applicant’s college/school. The Manager will monitor applications and awards, review final reports and calculate return on investment. The program awards $500K twice a year. The individual awards are approximately $50K each, for a total of approximately 20 awards.
Matching Fund Program
Matching funds in the form of direct financial contributions and/or salary cost sharing are provided only in instances where it is specifically required by a funding agency or for a grant to be competitively successful. The program awards approximately $4M per year for approximately 70 commitments. The fiscal administrative specialist is responsible for funding transfers, processing requests, reviewing eGC1s for cost sharing information, etc., while the Manager will deal with complicated issues, creating projections, etc.
Supervisory Responsibilities
Supervise 0.85 FTE RRF Administrative Specialist
REQUIREMENTS:
Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.
DESIRED:
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.
Committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, the University of Washington will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming.
The University of Washington is a leader in environmental stewardship & sustainability, and committed to becoming climate neutral.
The University of Washington is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 / 206-543-6452 (tty) or dso@uw.edu.