Rochester Institute of Technology · 3 days ago
Senior Program Administrator - CIMS
Rochester, NY
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
$60K/yr - $101K/yr
7+ years expRochester Institute of Technology is a leading technological university, and they are seeking a Senior Program Administrator for the Golisano Institute for Sustainability. This role is responsible for grant and contract administration, project management support, and strategic planning for the Center of Excellence in Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing.
Continuing EducationEdTechHigher EducationMusic EducationSTEM Education
Responsibilities
Contribute to strategic planning and implementing tactical methodologies for COE-ASM and other research programs; coordinate, plan with the technical director, and participate in COE-ASM Advisory Board meetings
Report to GIS technical director on the status and overall progress of assigned programs; coordinate and plan with the GIS technical director ways to achieve optimized beneficial outputs and associated metrics to NYS
Work with the technical director, program managers, and marketing team to determine the marketing strategy in support of the programs and work plan goals. Work with the marketing coordinator to ensure messaging accurately represents GIS/CIMS and its sponsor(s) and complies with contract requirements
Work with the program managers to develop program strategies and goals and objectives, and track progress to successfully deliver on contract deliverables and goals. Solve complex problems that may arise by taking a new perspective on existing solutions; exercise judgment based on the analysis of multiple sources of information
Stay abreast of relevant research, business trends, environmental initiatives, Dept. of Energy, NYSERDA, Dept. of Defense, and other relevant sponsoring agency focus and emphasis areas, etc. in support of strategic planning
Assist staff with preparation of scopes of work and budgets for industrial sponsors and for subawards/subcontracts with project partners. Review company project SOWs ensuring a sound project plan with regard to scope, schedule, and budget, as well as compliance with RIT, GIS, and sponsor requirements
Use critical thinking skills in the creation of and review of outputs; work with staff as needed to make corrections/modifications to ensure materials are accurate and reflect approved and appropriate messaging; ensure proper markings are included in compliance with RIT and contractual requirements
Assist project managers with review of final project technical reports, including inclusion of sponsor required acknowledgements and disclaimers; secure technical writer review, as needed
Write scopes of work and initiate POs for vendors, consultants, and partners
Manage subawards, including tracking progress on work scope, schedule, budget, contract compliance, etc., and resolve issues that arise
Develop, review, draft, and modify sponsored research contractual documents (e.g., grants, research agreements, non-disclosure agreements, contract amendments, subawards) using university-approved templates. For modifications and ad hoc requests, discern when SRS or office of legal affairs counsel/approval is required and facilitate their input and approvals
Lead the preparation and submission of progress reports to program sponsors, including writing content and reviewing inputs from others; ensure all contractually required reports are completed and submitted for all assigned sponsored research projects
Use best practices and knowledge of internal and external business issues to create new processes and procedures, as needed, and update existing to ensure consistent optimum program delivery
Act as a resource and provide guidance to less experienced colleagues
Develop and maintain close working relationships with external sponsors, staff, program directors and managers, GIS senior staff, and counterparts in RIT SRS, SPA, procurement and other supporting departments
Facilitate the organization and submission of proposals for external research funding, including handling administrative aspects of proposals, advising PIs on submission process and serving as liaison with RIT Sponsored Research Services
Identify funding opportunities and assists in development of moderately to highly complex proposals, which includes ensuring cohesive, well-conceived, and well-written final proposals compliant with the RFP, assisting with budget development and review, and preparing required documents
Build and maintain relationships with strategic research partners; identify appropriate prospective partners for new projects and coordinate their participation on proposals
Assist leadership and staff with idea generation, project design and development, and assist in writing proposal narratives
Provide administrative leadership for proposals such as maintaining organized documentation of communication and decisions related to submission, effectively utilizing RIT's proposal management software (i.e. Novelution), and development of checklists and tools to ensure complete proposal packages and timely submission
Qualification
Required
MBA or other Master's degree in related field, plus a minimum of 7 years of related work experience OR Bachelor's degree in business administration or other related field with a minimum of 8 years related work experience is required
At least 5 years of directly related experience with state and federal sponsored research program grants and contracts administration
Experience reviewing and responding to sponsored research requests for proposals (RFPs) issued by state and/or federal agencies; research proposal writing experience; demonstrated success in securing sponsored research grants
Experience developing project scopes of work, budgets, and schedules
Experience with subawards and working with partner organizations
Experience reviewing, drafting, and/or modifying sponsored research contractual documents (e.g., research agreements, non-disclosure agreements, subawards)
Experience supporting research or managing programs
Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States
Preferred
Experience supporting technical applied research
MBA or MS preferred
Strong general business aptitude
Big picture, strategic thinker with the ability to set short-, mid- and long-term program goals, and develop actionable plans to meet them
Very strong writing and editing skills
Ability to function under limited supervision and effectively carry out CIMS business operations and proposal process independently
Ability to resolve business issues that may arise in adherence with RIT policies
Must be highly organized, with strong attention to detail
Committed to top-quality, highly professional output
Highly self-motivated; ability to work independently with limited direction
Strong critical thinking skills
Strong communication and interpersonal skills; must possess the ability to collaborate with multi-disciplinary internal teams and with external partners at all organizational levels
Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment, and handle multiple tasks simultaneously
Strong project management skills
Strong computer skills in MS Office Suite, ability to learn and effectively use various business software systems
Ability to train, mentor, and serve as a resource to less experienced staff
Professional demeanor; comfortable with direct communications with executive level collaborators, clients and sponsors
Benefits
A well-balanced benefits package that offers a variety of choices and access to additional employment advantages
Company
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology is a collaborative community offering diverse opportunities through creativity and innovation.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Rochester Institute of Technology has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (66)
2024 (50)
2023 (36)
2022 (35)
2021 (18)
2020 (25)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$29.13MKey Investors
U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyUS Department of EnergyU.S. Department of Defense
2024-11-07Grant
2024-10-31Grant· $7.11M
2024-09-18Grant· $3.97M
Leadership Team
Caroline Solomon
President, National Technical Institute for the Deaf and Vice President, RIT
Neil Hair
Executive Director, Innovative Learning Institute
Recent News
Rochester Business Journal
2025-12-14
Rochester Business Journal
2025-12-07
Company data provided by crunchbase