Job Description

PAY GRADE: 30E

CONTEXT OF THE JOB:

The National Institutes of Health Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (NIH-COBRE) program has recently funded a 5-year, $12 million program entitled Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Multiscale Biomolecular Sensing. The Center seeks to develop and enhance UD’s research infrastructure associated with the field of biomedical research. Administratively, the Center consists of a Principal Investigator & Program Director (Professor Donald Watson) to whom the professional will report directly, two co-directors (Professor Catherine Grimes and Professor Xinqiao Jia), a Core Director (Professor Mary Watson), and internal and external faculty and medical experts from institutions around the country, comprising the Advisory Committee.

The Center is comprised of four faculty members (currently) from three on-campus departments (Biological Sciences, Chemistry & Biochemistry, and Materials Science & Engineering,) and two colleges (Arts & Sciences, and Engineering), which is expected to expand as the Center grows. The Center will seek up to two additional 5 years of funding periods after 2030, from 2030 through 2035 and 2035 through 2040. Thus, the requested position is funded by soft money through 2030, and potentially through 2040. There are approximately 135 COBRE Centers nationally, and an additional 24 INBRE Centers with which UD’s COBRE Center is expected to interact and collaborate when appropriate.

NIH Centers are complex entities that cut across departmental, college, and institutional boundaries. They have dozens of participants. At its inception, this center already has 21 on-campus participants and 8 off-campus participants, and these numbers will rapidly grow and the participants will change on a yearly basis. The Center will foster many new initiatives, including two new faculty hires, administration and funding of on-campus faculty pilot grants, faculty mentoring, hosting of major on-campus meetings, growth of research infrastructure and development of new core facilities, the submission of many new research proposals, and the recruitment of new center participants.

Under the general direction of the Director, the Business Administrator will manage the financial, administrative, scheduling, reporting, ordering and all other duties associated with the operation of the Center. The Business Administrator is an integral member of the COBRE team and Center. The Business Administrator is responsible for providing general and specific administrative, financial, and managerial support to the COBRE PI & Director, co-Directors, and Core Director in carrying out the mission of the Center.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assists the PI & Director, co-Directors, and Core Director in establishing, carrying out, and monitoring the long-range objectives of the Center, including the development of schedules and timelines, of strategic plans for the implementation and completion of the Centers programs and goals.
• Oversees the multiple separate grant budgets that make up the Scientific Core budgets of the Center.
• Provides fiscal and accounting oversight for the overall Center Administrative budget, the Center Scientific budget, and the Center Instrumentation Core budget, in coordination with UDs financial services and grants management professionals. Assist with pre- and post-award management of grants related to the COBRE program and other grants that relate to the Center’s faculty and its PI & Director, co-Directors, and core-Director.
• In association with the core-Director and core-lab staff, will assist in the setup and oversight of cost recovery models for Center Core facilities.
• Establishes, maintains and updates COBRE website, social media, and other external information communication platforms (written and digital).
• Coordinates the submission of grant applications and budget approvals.
• Assists with the development of competitive grant proposals and with securing external funding.
• Records and keeps progress reports, presentations, publications, grant applications, etc.
• Manages PieSTAR data management software and acts as primary interface to vendor.
• Monitors and administers the Center’s financial resources (approximately $2.5 M annually and $12 M for five years).
• Maintains accurate and timely financial records of the Center and prepares budgets and applicable internal and external reports.
• Processes and monitors financial transactions; prepares up-to-date reports when requested.
• Writes, edits, and produces publications, articles, manuscripts, journals, and website materials.
• Coordinates and schedules conference calls and site visits.
• Prepares and files regular progress reports to NIH and to/from the Advisory Committee (AC), including the analysis of AC and other participants' evaluations, including the collection of data for formative and summative evaluations.
• Interfaces with Center Evaluator and helps prepare Center evaluation reports.
• Assists the PI & Director and COBRE faculty in adhering to compliance requirements of IRB, IACUC, Human Subjects, EHS safety training records, etc.
• Plans, organizes and coordinates high-profile and complex program and event logistics for conferences, annual retreats, and meetings; arranges travel and lodging.
• Prepares and maintains instructional materials.
• Processes purchase orders for supplies and equipment.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree and four years of job-related experience, or equivalent combination of education or experience. Degree in business, finance, or accounting related discipline preferred.
• Experience with federal grants or contracts administration. Familiarity with all stages of grant and contract processing from the request for proposal through closeout is desirable. Working knowledge and understanding of federal and state regulatory policies, procedures and guidelines.
• Familiarity with Uniform Guidance in 2 CFR 200, regulating federal allowable and unallowable costs.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, human relations and time management skills.
• Ability to organize and analyze data with attention to detail under deadline pressure.
• Ability to use advanced techniques in word processing, spreadsheet, project management, database, web authoring, and presentation software.
• Experience with financial systems and PeopleSoft preferred.
• Ability to work independently.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Ability to evaluate and edit the content, structure, and format of a range of written material.
• Requires a keen understanding of the practices of effective office management.
• Ability to make independent decisions and judgments.
• Ability to interact well with people of all ages and diverse backgrounds.

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