Description
Job Description
Position Summary
The Director of Grants and Contracts Office at Colorado State University oversees the full lifecycle of research-related agreements, from negotiation and execution to compliance management. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Research Administration, the Director leads a specialized team and collaborates across the university to resolve complex legal issues while streamlining internal processes. This is a fully remote position.
Essential Job Duties
- Contract Negotiation and Execution: Negotiate and draft highly complex research agreements and master agreements, issuing final decisions on contractual language and binding university resources in accordance with policies.
- Issue Resolution and Escalation: Serve as the primary point of contact for resolving challenges related to grant terms and negotiations, including acting as the lead liaison for intellectual property issues.
- Policy Expertise and Compliance: Interpret and apply university, sponsor, federal, and state regulations while conducting ongoing analysis to update and implement necessary policy changes.
- Strategic Planning: Partner with leadership to develop long‑term strategic plans for the Office of Sponsored Programs and create strategies for the broader research enterprise.
- Process Evaluation: Conduct ongoing assessments of the entire research lifecycle—from proposal to technology transfer—to synthesize stakeholder feedback and improve office activities.
- Campus Outreach and Training: Cultivate relationships with key researchers and design training programs for faculty and administrators regarding industry contracting and research administration.
- Internal Collaboration: Liaise with the Office of General Counsel, Export Control, Data Security, and other divisions to manage policies related to research collaborations.
- Personnel Management: Direct staffing requirements, including the hiring, mentoring, and performance evaluation of team members while monitoring workflow across the portfolio.
- Professional Development: Maintain expert‑level knowledge of higher education best practices, commercial contractual law, and data privacy regulations through participation in national professional organizations.
- Stakeholder Coordination: Coordinate with external entities such as STRATA, CSURF, and the CSU Foundation to ensure contractual elements enable university research goals.
Supervision
- Grants Manager
- Contracts Manager
- Subcontracts Manager
Conditions of Employment
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States for any employer at the time of application. We are unable to sponsor employment visas for this position.
Minimum Education
J.D or a BS and minimum of 7 years experience negotiating contracts, including intellectual property rights and/or data ownership, warranties, and liability.
Minimum Experience
Three (3) years of experience in a leadership role with or without direct reports.
Preferred Qualifications
- 10 years' experience negotiating Research Agreements
- Exposure to research administration in a higher education setting
- An understanding of federal and state laws and regulations in areas relevant to academic research including but not limited to animal and human subject research, indirect cost recovery, export controls, and data management.
- Experience working with or within industries or sectors related to agricultural science, engineering, veterinary medicine, biomedical sciences, or the natural sciences.
- Experience conducting business with public entities.
- Experience with agreements with Indigenous tribes and issues of research and data sovereignty
- Supervisory experience in a professional environment.
Application Instructions
Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications in the announcement to be considered for hire. Apply no later than February 15th, 2025 for full consideration. Mailed or emailed applications will not be accepted. Please note that incomplete applications cannot be considered. Please remove social security numbers and birth dates from application materials. A complete application consists of:
- Statement of Qualifications (a letter addressing each qualification described in the announcement)
- Resume
Salary Range
$130,000 to $140,000
Required Application Documents
To apply, please upload the following applicant documents. Ensure your materials fully address the required and preferred job qualifications of the position. Please note, applicants may redact information from their application materials that identifies their age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.
- Cover Letter
- Resume/CV