University Research Administration Officer

at  The City University of New York CUNY

POSITION DETAILS

The City University of New York (CUNY) is seeking a University Research Administration Officer for the Office of Research (OR). This skilled professional will foster, strengthen, evaluate, and sustain a robust research administration ecosystem for the CUNY research enterprise across the University’s 25 colleges and schools. They will support the widespread and uniform adoption of the Cayuse electronic research administration (eRA) system across the University, and partner with colleagues and stakeholders—both within and beyond the Office of Research—to implement best practices surrounding Cayuse and related research administration workflows. The Officer will collaborate and consult with all other members of OR’s Research Integrity and Compliance (RIC) staff division, as well as research administration stakeholders across the University system.
In a single integrated system of 25 colleges and schools, the Office of Research is responsible for the leadership of University initiatives that build research capacity for CUNY. Research, scholarly, and creative pursuits are supported through three OR divisions: Research Development and Programs; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and Research Integrity and Compliance. Jointly, these divisions encourage collaborative and transdisciplinary research innovations; foster startups and commercialization both within and beyond the CUNY community; and ensure adherence to the standards that govern research ethics and sponsored program administration.
Reporting to the University Executive Director of Research Integrity and Compliance, the University Research Administration Officer will lead efforts to modernize CUNY research administration practices around the University’s implementation of the Cayuse eRA system. They will seek to optimize CUNY’s adoption of a standardized and streamlined approach to complex pre-award and non-financial post-award workflows. The Officer will improve processes, procedures, guidelines, and other materials related to University-wide pre- and non-financial post-award research administration, and grow University capacity to submit timely, accurate and compliant external funding proposals to a variety of federal, State, City, and private sponsors.

In addition to the CUNY Title Overview, other key duties include, but will not be limited to the following:

• Identify needs for, and facilitate the design or revision of, policies and procedures related to Cayuse on an ongoing basis.
• Review, evaluate, and advise on existing materials related to CUNY-wide sponsored activities.
• Assess current processes and practices related to sponsored projects administration, particularly as relevant to changing sponsor requirements and compliance mandates.
• Develop CUNY-wide sponsor-specific research administration guidelines for adoption as best practice.
• Facilitate the elevation and interface of relevant sponsored projects requests and approvals to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and/or other relevant CUNY executives.
• Assist the training of CUNY researchers on pre-award and non-financial post-award functions and obligations, in coordination with OR colleagues and the CUNY Research Foundation.
• Propose, design, and deliver trainings to research administrators and faculty colleagues, particularly through train-the-trainer and asynchronous approaches that enable the delivery of best practices at scale throughout the University system.
• Develop targeted CUNY research administration informational and instructional content for digital assets such as websites, email newsletters, and other mass delivery platforms.
• Engage in gap analyses efforts to discover inefficiencies and shortcomings in CUNY-wide research administration practices, and lead collaborative problem-solving to mitigate deficiencies.
• Liaise closely with the OR Research Systems Officer, the CUNY Research Foundation, and other Cayuse administrators of all job titles and functions across the University, to align eRA system improvements with emerging research administration needs.
• Collaborate with other OR divisions to identify opportunities for cross-cutting research administration improvements in areas of overlap or emerging domains.
• Travel to CUNY colleges/schools when required to liaise with stakeholder communities at the CUNY colleges and schools.

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum:
Bachelor’s degree and eight years’ related experience required.

Preferred:

• Advanced degree in a directly related discipline, which may substitute for up to two years of the required experience.
• Experience supporting systematic research administration programs or grants and contracts functions in a University setting.
• Knowledge of:
• federal and other sponsor regulations governing grant and contract administration, including OMB and federal acquisition regulations.
• laws and regulations relating to research compliance as they interface with research administration workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to:
• seek out and maintain full awareness of emerging research administration best practices from higher education peers and thought leaders.
• analyze and apply regulations and policies related to research and sponsored programs.
• design and deliver both synchronous and asynchronous training to professional learners from a variety of backgrounds and job roles in higher education.
• Intermediate to advanced proficiency using Microsoft Office products, as well as proficiency using administrative, financial, or academic programs, systems or databases
• Exemplary organizational and project management skills to develop objectives, set and adapt to changing priorities, manage competing demands/changes and meet deadlines.
• Proactive, flexible and collaborative work style with strong interpersonal communication, presentation and negotiation skills to forge successful relationships with diverse faculty, staff, and external partners.
• Detail oriented and precise with strong research, writing, and analytical skills, plus ability to thrive in a demanding, multi-faceted, and time-sensitive office.
• Commitment to public service, service excellence, inclusion, equity, ethics, and integrity to manage highly sensitive information and material discretely.

• Identify needs for, and facilitate the design or revision of, policies and procedures related to Cayuse on an ongoing basis.
• Review, evaluate, and advise on existing materials related to CUNY-wide sponsored activities.
• Assess current processes and practices related to sponsored projects administration, particularly as relevant to changing sponsor requirements and compliance mandates.
• Develop CUNY-wide sponsor-specific research administration guidelines for adoption as best practice.
• Facilitate the elevation and interface of relevant sponsored projects requests and approvals to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and/or other relevant CUNY executives.
• Assist the training of CUNY researchers on pre-award and non-financial post-award functions and obligations, in coordination with OR colleagues and the CUNY Research Foundation.
• Propose, design, and deliver trainings to research administrators and faculty colleagues, particularly through train-the-trainer and asynchronous approaches that enable the delivery of best practices at scale throughout the University system.
• Develop targeted CUNY research administration informational and instructional content for digital assets such as websites, email newsletters, and other mass delivery platforms.
• Engage in gap analyses efforts to discover inefficiencies and shortcomings in CUNY-wide research administration practices, and lead collaborative problem-solving to mitigate deficiencies.
• Liaise closely with the OR Research Systems Officer, the CUNY Research Foundation, and other Cayuse administrators of all job titles and functions across the University, to align eRA system improvements with emerging research administration needs.
• Collaborate with other OR divisions to identify opportunities for cross-cutting research administration improvements in areas of overlap or emerging domains.
• Travel to CUNY colleges/schools when required to liaise with stakeholder communities at the CUNY colleges and schools