Director of Research Administration

🇺🇸 Chapel Hill, NC 🕑 Full-Time 💰 TBD 💻 Research 🗓️ July 13th, 2026

Edtech.com's Summary

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is hiring a Director of Research Administration. This role leads campus-wide sponsored research activities by overseeing proposal submission, ensuring compliance with academic and research policies, and negotiating terms with sponsoring agencies. The Director manages daily operations related to pre-award and post-award compliance, supervises multiple managers and staff, and collaborates with university leadership and external sponsors to address risk management and strategic goals.

Highlights

Provide executive leadership for sponsored research activities across the university.
Oversee proposal review, submission, award negotiation, and compliance with federal, state, and university policies.
Lead and mentor 3 to 4 Research Administration Managers, who each supervise teams of Sponsored Projects Specialists.
Collaborate with leadership to set office goals, define roles, and monitor workload and complexity.
Serve as a university representative to sponsors and administrators on complex risk management issues.
Require mastery of research administration policies, contracting principles, regulations (including 2 CFR Part 200), and electronic grants systems.
Preferred experience includes sponsored projects contracting, university research offices, and systems such as RAMSeS, Grants.gov, eRA Commons, and Fastlane.
Must have a master's degree with at least 2 years supervisory experience plus 7 years relevant experience, or a bachelor's degree with at least 4 years supervisory experience plus 7 years relevant experience.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, Outlook) and demonstrated leadership, communication, organizational, and customer service skills are essential.
Office of Sponsored Programs manages over $1 billion in sponsored awards annually and supports faculty and staff throughout the sponsored project lifecycle.