Contract Manager, Office of Research Administration

Contract Manager

Mines Office of Research Administration is seeking our next Contract Manager. This leadership position is responsible for the management of research and other sponsored agreements through the Office of Research Administration (ORA) at Colorado School of Mines (Mines). This position is a key member of the Contract Administration unit and serves as a resource to faculty and a liaison for Mines and sponsoring research organizations.

As our Contract Manager, you'll oversee our team of Contract Administrators. You'll also be responsible for maintaining an accurate database of research agreements which will be accessed by ORA and other organizations on campus, including individual faculty members, department heads, deans and central administration. This position requires critical thinking skills to review and interpret terms and conditions, policies and procedures, sponsor expectations and is responsible for determining that a research agreement is ready for execution. This position currently operates in a hybrid work environment, with campus presence required weekly. The incumbent must be able to commute to campus in Golden, Colorado, on a regular basis.

Primary Responsibilities

• Contract and Grant Review and Negotiation
• Identify issues and present solutions and approaches for resolution; develop creative solutions to complex contract issues
• Assist with and work on Special Projects based on Mines' large-scale and strategic initiatives
• Review sponsored agreements, both initial and modifications from external organizations. Analyze the agreement to determine if the terms and conditions meet federal and state regulations.
• Negotiate unacceptable terms with research sponsor by suggesting or insisting on alternative language or deletion of certain agency terms and conditions.
• Determine if additional Mines personnel need to be advised of terms and conditions of an award and if their approval is required in order to accept the award.
• Review and evaluate intellectual property (IP) terms in sponsored agreements and make determinations on the appropriate IP approach, working with faculty to protect institutional and sponsor intellectual property interests.
• Contract and Grant Management
• Determine if changes to a research project require prior approval from the project's sponsor. If prior approval is required, this position will coordinate with the faculty member to create and submit the change request.
• Submit and approve requests for no-cost time extensions, budget deviations, and pre-award spending based on sponsor requirements
• Perform initial reviews on deficit spending requests (currently, At-Risk Spending Requests) to determine if the financial risk to Mines is acceptable under current policy and practices.
• If issues arise during the performance of a research project, this position will work with the applicable faculty members, ORA staff members, other departments and/or project sponsor, as applicable, to address such concerns.
• Subcontracts
• Responsible for initiating, negotiating and managing research subcontracts. This includes a review of the subcontractor's proposal; determining which subcontract template is applicable, determining the applicable prime contract flow-down terms and conditions; negotiating, if necessary, the drafted subcontract; maintaining subcontract documentation to meet audit requirements; and manage annual review of subrecipients.
• Work with applicable departments to establish the payment mechanisms for subcontractor invoices.
• Contract Team Manager
• With support from the Assistant Director, the Contract Manager will have direct supervision of the Contract Administration unit, 4-8 Full Time Employees, with the authority to hire, evaluate performance, and resolve personnel concerns.
• Determine work prioritization by evaluating workloads, deadlines, complexity of the work load, School policy and staff resources. To facilitate these functions, this position will build standard and ad hoc reports to provide performance metric data.
• Establish a work environment in which participation, respect and excellence are fostered.
• Establish and promote and manage professional relationships and open communications among all departments. Promote team building, strong collaborative and people-oriented environment with a strong work ethic among team members.
• Acts to resolve complex administrative or legal questions or issues that arise and coordinates with and escalates to Assistant Director and/or ORA Director on resolution, as needed and as appropriate.
• Responsible for creating and maintaining efficient policies and procedures for the Contracting unit. This will require continuous evaluation of processes, researching best practices, analyzing contracting data and statics and performing regular risk assessments.
• Provides expertise and consultation related to regulatory and policy issues for successful management of research projects to ORA staff, departmental administrators and faculty.
• Remains knowledgeable about current federal regulations, pending changes, OMB Circulars, Federal Acquisition Regulations, state of Colorado regulations and school policy.
• Assist in the maintenance of ORA's Research Management software and the School's financial system; specifically, with regards to contractual and legal information. Ensure there are adequate training materials and coordinate with other campus offices and faculty on process changes.
• Institutional Data Repository
• Work with the data repository team to implement and maintain the software with regards to contracts unit
• Responsible for ensuring accurate data is entered into the data repository
• Upload all fully executed agreements, modifications, and sponsor prior approvals into the system.
• Work with the data repository team to implement and maintain the software with regards to contracts unit
• Communication & Outreach
• Maintain communication with faculty to ensure all information for sponsored research agreement is outlined along with the process to negotiate the agreement. Effective communication is critical to success of this position.
• Interpret and explain federal, state, and Mines regulations and policies to faculty and other Mines personnel in order to help them understand the contracting process and how the regulations apply to individual agreements.
• Ongoing contact with sponsoring agencies and other external personnel for the purpose of agreement negotiation and management including outline of Mines policies, business practices, and other applicable regulations.
• Training & Process Improvement
• Provide formal and informal training to faculty members and departmental staff regarding school policy and procedures and sponsoring agency rules and regulations in relation to negotiating and accepting a sponsored research agreement.
• Provide support to Contract Administration unit, particularly regarding University initiatives and Special Projects
• Actively participate in office wide process evaluation and reengineering efforts. Critically evaluate process and procedures with a goal of efficiency and optimal resource utilization. Make recommendations for improvements to management and lead improvement efforts if approved.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in business or other related field
• 8 or more years research administration experience
• Working knowledge of federal and state regulations related to research administration
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written) with the ability to discuss complex contract issues with a multitude of stakeholders
• Problem solving and analyzation skills with prove ability to critically analyze information in order to make independent decisions
• Demonstrated customer service skills, the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a campus community and ability to meet multiple, competing deadlines

Preferred Qualifications

• Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree
• Significant (10+ years) contract negotiation experience
• Experience with data analysis
• Thorough knowledge of federal regulations governing sponsored research
• Familiarity with university policies regarding contracting, procurement, or research funding

Salary and Benefits

$96,400 - $107,200 annually

Mines takes into consideration a combination of candidate's education, training and experience as well as the position's scope and complexity, the discretion and latitude required in the role, work location, and external market and internal value when determining a salary level for potential new employees.

Colorado School of Mines offers a robust portfolio of benefits for all employees.

For this role, that includes:

• Flexible health and dental care options
• Generous sick/vacation time: 13 paid holidays per year – including a week-long winter break for entire campus.
• Fully vested retirement plan on first day of employment, with generous employer contribution
• Tuition benefits (6 credits per year for employees, 50 percent discount for dependents)
• Free RTD Ecopass

All Mines employees also have access to discount programs through the State of Colorado and free