Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category:

Employment Type:

Job Profile:

Job Summary:

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a preeminent center for discovery, learning, and engagement, committed to serving people from every background. Through collaboration across Wisconsin and with partners around the world, UW–Madison faculty, staff, and students work to address some of the most urgent and complex challenges facing society.

UW–Madison is also one of the world’s leading research universities, consistently ranking among the top public universities in the nation for research expenditures. The university receives more than $1.5 billion annually in sponsored project awards and submits more than 4,000 proposals each year requesting over $2.5 billion in funding. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP), a unit reporting to the Vice Chancellor for Research (VCR), supports this highly active research enterprise, managing approximately 9,000 active projects valued at nearly $4 billion.

The Assistant Director of Research Financial Services plays a key leadership role in supporting this extensive research portfolio. Reporting to the Director of Research Financial Services, this position provides leadership and oversight for the core financial management functions associated with sponsored grants and contracts. The Assistant Director leads managers and Post-Award teams, helps ensure consistent and effective operations, and contributes to the development of practices and services that support researchers and administrators across the university.

This position comes at an important time for RSP and offers a significant opportunity to help shape its future. RSP is evolving its operations, services, and approaches to research administration to better meet the needs of UW–Madison’s research community. The Assistant Director will be an important part of that work; helping strengthen Post-Award operations, develop effective and sustainable practices, and influence how research administration is delivered across the university. For a collaborative and forward-thinking leader, this is an opportunity to make a meaningful and lasting impact on both RSP and UW–Madison’s broader research enterprise.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees

• Develops and monitors the budget

• Serves as a liaison to internal and external stakeholder groups providing organizational information and representing the interests of the institution

• Directs strategic planning initiatives and establishes project objectives to ensure appropriate use of financial, administrative, and/or staffing resources, and alignment with the strategic plan

• Approves or reviews processes or activities related to financial compliance, audit, or reporting on behalf of the institution

• Directs service-oriented training and outreach to communicate and implement policies and procedures related to post-award research administration operations

Department:

Office of Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR), Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP), Research Financial Services

Compensation:

The minimum salary is $130,000 but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

Required Qualifications:

- Leadership of Post-Award research administration, including oversight of sponsored project financial and administrative activities.

- Management of research administration operations, policies, and best practices, including award terms and conditions, compliance, and award management.

- Strong communication, interpersonal, and collaborative skills, with the ability to work effectively across organizational units and levels.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Strong working knowledge of federal and non-federal grant and contract administration, including applicable regulations, policies, and requirements.

- Supervision, development, and motivation of professional and administrative staff.

- Development, implementation, or use of electronic systems and training programs that support research administration.

Education:

Bachelor's Degree is Required.

Degree in Business, Accounting, or closely related field is preferred.

How to Apply:

To apply for this position, please click on the "I am a current employee" button or "I am not a current employee" button under Apply Now.

You will be prompted to upload the following documents (required):

• Cover Letter

• Resume

Please note, there is only one attachment field and you are able to upload multiple documents in the attachment field.

Your resume and cover letter should include all relevant education and/or work experience as it relates to this position. Your cover letter should specifically address your experience in Sponsored Programs Administration; experience in management, supervision, and leadership experience in research administration; and your experience with maintaining effective working relationships at all levels of the organization. Cover letters will be used as a writing sample and to determine the best qualified applicants.

A successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring eligibility for employment in the United States on or before the effective date of the appointment. University sponsorship is not available for this position.

Contact Information:

Kelly Marks, [email protected]

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. 
 
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). 
 
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.