Associate Director, PreAward (HR Title: Associate Director Sponsored Projects)

Job Description – Associate Director, PreAward (HR Title: Associate Director Sponsored Projects) (PRO00000368) About the Position This role is an on-campus, in-person position. The Associate Director, Pre‑Award Services provides leadership, expertise, and operational oversight for pre‑award research administration. This position supports faculty, principal investigators (PIs), department administrators, and academic leadership by ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant proposal development and submission. The Associate Director plays a key role in advancing the university’s research mission and supporting strategic growth in externally funded research. Essential Functions Provide leadership and daily operational oversight of the Pre‑Award Services team. Supervise, train, mentor, and evaluate pre‑award staff, promoting consistency and best practices. Assist in setting goals, performance standards, and continuous improvement initiatives. Oversee end‑to‑end pre‑award activities, including proposal preparation, budget development, internal approvals, and submission. Review complex, high‑risk, and high‑dollar proposals for accuracy, compliance, and completeness. Provide expert guidance on proposal strategy, timelines, and sponsor expectations. Ensure proposals meet federal, state, industry, foundation, and institutional requirements. Interpret and apply sponsor regulations and institutional policies (e.g., Uniform Guidance, sponsor‑specific terms). Ensure compliance with cost principles, eligibility requirements, budget justifications, and documentation standards. Identify and mitigate proposal‑stage compliance risks. Support audits, internal reviews, and compliance monitoring activities related to pre‑award functions. Serve as a trusted advisor to faculty, principal investigators, and departmental leadership. Collaborate with Post‑Award, Contracts, Compliance, Finance, Legal, and Research Development offices. Communicate policy updates, sponsor changes, and best practices to stakeholders. Analyze pre‑award workflows to improve efficiency, accuracy, and customer service. Support implementation and optimization of research administration systems and tools. Contribute to the development of standard operating procedures, training materials, and reference guides. Assist with reporting on proposal volume, success rates, workload metrics, and trends. Support institutional research growth initiatives and strategic funding opportunities. Recommend improvements to policies, procedures, and staffing models. Qualifications A Bachelor’s degree in business, public administration, science, or a related field is required. A Master’s degree in a related field is preferred. A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in research administration or sponsored programs, with significant pre‑award experience is required. Demonstrated knowledge of federal and non‑federal sponsor regulations is required. Experience reviewing complex proposals and budgets is required. Strong leadership, coaching, and team management skills are required. Experience supervising staff in a centralized or shared services environment is required. Ability to manage competing deadlines is required. Experience with electronic research administration systems (e.g., Cayuse, InfoEd, Workday, Grants.gov, ASSIST) is preferred. Experience with CRA, CPRA or equivalent certification is preferred. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities The ideal candidate is highly service-oriented, team-oriented, and goal oriented, with great flexibility to identify priorities, manage and respond to competing deadlines and priorities. The candidate must be able to adapt to different working styles and give and receive constructive criticism. Candidate must demonstrate professional composure, maintain a collegial/friendly work environment, and exhibit strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills. The candidate must also demonstrate strong written communication skills and a strong customer service orientation. Candidate must possess strong problem‑solving skills with the ability to identify and analyze problems, and devise solutions. Candidate must have strong organizational, planning and time management skills, with the ability to manage and respond to competing deadlines and priorities. Candidate must be able to interpret and understand federal and non‑federal regulations and operations of sponsored research, with knowledge of 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Guidance. Candidate must possess a strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and the ability to use a variety of information systems. Physical and Environmental Demands Sit for long periods of time Deadline to Apply The position is open until filled. EEO Statement SMU will not discriminate in any program or activity on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression. The Executive Director for Access and Equity/Title IX Coordinator is designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies and may be reached at the Perkins Administration Building, Room 204, 6425 Boaz Lane, Dallas, TX 75205, View phone number on click.appcast.io, View email address on click.appcast.io. Benefits SMU offers staff a broad, competitive array of health, dental, and vision plans, and a wide range of wellness programs. SMU is committed to providing an array of retirement programs that benefit and protect employees during working years and, if eligibility criteria are met, during retirement. #J-18808-Ljbffr Southern Methodist University