Manager, Pre-Award Research Administration

Department: Col of Engineering and Computing

Classification: Financial Svcs Manager 1

Job Category:Classified Staff

Job Type:FullTime

Work Schedule:Fulltime (1.0 FTE 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax VA

Workplace Type:Hybrid Eligible

Salary:Salary starting at $90k commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check:Yes

About the Department:

The Chief Business Officer (CBO) team within the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) Office of the Dean facilitates planning and implementation of the units financial and operational vision as it relates to the full range of business functions and activities for the College to include finance research administration human resources operations and information technology. The CBO is accountable for and provides overall leadership supervision management and coordination of these functions as well as provides oversight for the development of implementation of policies and procedures to achieve desired outcomes. The CBO team maintains relationships with central administration and other university departments as well as other units CBO teams to facilitate these outcomes.

The Research Administration team within the CBO team supports faculty with proposal submissions as well as financial management and compliance of their research grants and contracts in an efficient manner provided with a customerservice focus. The College recently added preaward responsibilities as part of a university effort to enhance the research administration infrastructure across campus. As part of this new initiative applicants will have the opportunity to help develop and influence the preaward process at the college level.

The College of Engineering and Computing has experienced rapid growth in its research portfolio over the past five years with expenditures totaling over $65M in 2023 and has projects with over $120 million in current awards with almost 300 active awards. Our proposal activity is approaching 400 submissions annually. The CEC research portfolio presents a fantastic opportunity for applicants to provide research administration in a growth environment.

George Mason University provides outstanding benefits to employees including but not limited to a generous number of holidays and tuition remission. More information is available at the Position:

The Manager PreAward Research Administration leads and supervises all staff performing preaward activities for the sponsored research portfolio for the College of Engineering and Computing. The Manager is expected to provide highquality customer service to faculty members conducting sponsored research and ensure adherence to quality standards and all policies and award regulations. The Manager is expected to perform some preaward activities in support of the unit as well as provide management for the PreAward team.

Responsibilities:

Management and Oversight of PreAward Staff Oversees Evaluates and Reviews Staff Performing PreAward Activities:

• Supervises the daytoday operations of a team of PreAward Administrators;
• Monitors workload distribution and redistributes tasks as appropriate;
• Provides guidance to team members as appropriate;
• Assists with establishing and deploying training for the CEC PreAward team;
• Ensures quality in all staff activities;
• Ensures strong levels of customer service to faculty departments and centers being served; and
• Completes required performance evaluations addresses performance issues in a timely manner and escalates to supervisor as necessary.

Management and Oversight of PreAward Process for the College:

• Monitors and facilitates proposal process through the routing process in compliance with University procedures and institutional signatures;
• Completes departmental review of CEC proposals and works with PreAward Administrators to resolve any issues prior to submission to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP);
• Develops implements and maintains preaward policies and procedures for the College ensuring compliance with overall University policies;
• Serves as backup to PreAward Administrators when necessary to ensure CEC is able to meet proposal workload and timely submissions;
• Assists PreAward Administrators with complex issues or proposals as necessary; and
• Provides reporting on preaward performance as necessary.

CEC Liaison with University and External Research Administration Teams and Organizations:

• Works in partnership with the OSP to ensure all preaward activities are completed in accordance with University policies and procedures as well as resolves any issues with proposal submissions;
• Partners with the Office of Research Integrity and Assurance (ORIA);
• Works with PostAward team lead to coordinate interteam meetings to facilitate collaboration between the PreAward and PostAward teams as necessary and appropriate;
• Confers with PI and PreAward support staff at collaborating institutions to secure necessary subaward documents for proposals; and
• Serves on university committees as necessary such as the OSP Advisory Group.

Performs other duties as necessary in support of the CEC Sponsored Research portfolio including supporting the needs of the Director of Research Administration Chief Business Officer and Associate Dean for Research.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in related field or the equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Experience in Sponsored Programs Administration;
• Experience with creation and submission of research proposals and working with stakeholders on revisions as needed;
• Experience with supervision of a team;
• Knowledge of federal rules and regulations relating to research grant and/or contract activity;
• Fundamental interpersonal skills in a professional environment;
• Proficient in the use of computers with a solid working knowledge of MS Office suite (Word Excel PowerPoint);
• Skill in providing effective customer service;
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data and sponsor guidelines and formulate conclusions;
• To learn changing technologies related to grants and contracts management;
• Demonstrated ability to proactively resolve issues in a timely manner; and
• Works effectively under pressure and meets deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Masters degree in related field;
• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) certification or Certified PreAward Research Administrator (CPRA) certification;
• Extensive experience in Sponsored Programs Administration;
• Previous management experience of research administration teams;
• Knowledge of University and College policies and procedures relating to grant and contracts activity; and
• Knowledge of University and College processes systems and offices related to and/or involved in grant and contract submission and management.

Instructions to Applicants:

For full consideration applicants must apply for theManager PreAward Research Administration at and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information and provide a cover letter and resume for review.

Posting Open Date: April 23 2025

For Full Consideration Apply by: May 7 2025

Open Until Filled:Yes