Children's Hospital of Philadelphia · 1 day ago
Director Post-Award Research Administration
Philadelphia, PA
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$100K/yr - $375K/yr
10+ years expChildren’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is dedicated to advancing pediatric care and innovation. The Director of Post-Award Research Administration is responsible for ensuring excellence in financial stewardship and regulatory compliance across all post-award functions, while fostering a high-performing workforce and promoting strategic initiatives.
Child CareHealth CareHospitalMedicalNon Profit
Responsibilities
Provide strategic leadership to ensure Post-Award operations directly advance CHOP’s enterprise strategy and Research Institute priorities
Serving as subject-matter expert on Uniform Guidance, NIH Grant Policy Statement, and other regulatory rules, as they relate to post-award and ensure compliance with all grant regulatory requirements
Ensuring operational transparency, advancing institutional strategy, maintaining compliance integrity, and fostering a high-performing workforce
Collaborate closely with the SVPRA-O, RBO Director to align Post-Award operations, workforce strategy, process standardization, and automation/AI-enabled modernization, while maintaining clear delineation of responsibilities
Ensure Post-Award services support CHOP’s strategic imperatives:
World-leading research-driven precision medicine by enabling timely, accurate financial and administrative support for complex research portfolios
Workforce of the future by building a high-performing, inclusive, and development-oriented Post-Award team
New business models by supporting financial stewardship, sustainable grant revenue management, and risk-aware operational practices
Next-generation operating model by promoting standardization, scalability, automation, and resiliency across Post-Award processes
Leads and promotes enhancement, installation of new electronic systems, and lead technology optimization efforts to advance post-award portfolio management activities
Represent Senior Vice President in institutional forums, committees, and governance structures related to research operations, policy, compliance, and systems
Provide strategic oversight of the Research Institute’s entire post-award portfolio consisting of grants funded by the federal government (i.e., NIH, DoD, NSF, HRSA), state, city, philanthropy, and internal grants, ensuring consistent, high-quality support across the entire grants lifecycle (setup, monitoring, reporting, and closeout)
Ensure that day-to-day portfolio management post-award grants lifecycle activities are performed by Senior Managers, Managers, and RBAs I–III; the Director does not carry an individual portfolio
Oversee portfolio assignment principles, workload distribution, and alignment of staff capacity with award complexity, risk, and department needs
Monitor portfolio-level trends (e.g., burn rates, overdrafts, compliance flags, late reports, frequent adjustments) and drive systemic interventions to reduce risk and administrative burden
Ensure clear communication channels and escalation pathways exist between investigators, departments, and Post-Award staff
Ensure timely close-out of completed grants in partnership with Specialized Accounting counterparts, including development of a monitoring and reporting process to facilitate completion of grants by their period-end dates
Respond to external and internal audit requests as facilitated by Specialized Accounting leadership, and work to ensure that comprehensive and well-organized documentation is readily available to support all requests (i.e., cost transfers, time and effort reports, etc.)
Responsible for ensuring that access to electronic research administration (eRA) systems are consistent and that electronic records are up-to-date and current
Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with investigators, department administrators, divisional leadership, and RI operations partners
Establish and maintain structured feedback mechanisms (e.g., surveys, focus groups, recurring meetings) to identify service gaps and improvement opportunities
Lead efforts to reduce faculty administrative burden related to post-award administration while ensuring regulatory and financial integrity
Represent Post-Award as a trusted operational partner and advisor to the research community
Update and maintain Service Level Agreements and post-award grants policies and procedures
Lead the modernization and standardization of post-award processes, internal controls, and financial administration practices across the award lifecycle
Oversee development, implementation, and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs), job aids, templates, and internal control frameworks
Partner with the RBO Director, Specialized Accounting, Research Compliance, Internal Audit, Center Administrative Directors, and other stakeholders to expand automation and digital workflows (e.g., system enhancements, AI-assisted tools) that reduce manual burden and rework
Use data, dashboards, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor performance, identify bottlenecks, and prioritize process improvements
Support CHOP’s financial resilience by improving accuracy, timeliness, and predictability of sponsored program financials, reporting, and closeouts utilizing Workday as the primary system of record for portfolio management
Promote a culture of accountability, inclusion, belonging, psychological safety, and continuous learning aligned with CHOP’s people and experience priorities
Set up staff for long-term success by: Proactively identifying individual and team capability gaps (technical, behavioral, and leadership). Providing targeted coaching, feedback, and mentorship. Customizing training and development plans tailored to role, experience level, and aspirational growth
Maintain documented annual development plans for all Post-Award staff and oversee annual performance reviews to track skill growth, readiness, and training impact
Participate in structured performance calibration with the RBO Director, SVPRAO, HR, and other leaders to ensure fair evaluations, consistent expectations, and assessment of “ready now” and “ready soon” talent for succession planning activities
Ensure equitable workloads, transparent performance expectations, and role clarity across all staff levels
Support CHOP’s workforce efficiency and financial resilience strategies through thoughtful staffing models, labor utilization, productivity benchmarking, and disciplined financial stewardship for the Post-Award cost center
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's Degree Required
At least ten (10) years of research administration or sponsored programs experience
At least ten (10) years of experience in managing complex and diverse portfolios
At least seven (7) years of leadership, management or supervisory experience
Advanced knowledge of Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), NIH Grants Policy Statement, NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), of federal, state and local grant / contract regulations, interpret foundation grant guidelines and funding agreement terms
Advanced knowledge of electronic research administration systems
Advanced proficiency with office software (Microsoft Office)
Excellent verbal and written communications skills
Excellent interpersonal skills
Excellent time management skills
Excellent organizational skills
Excellent project management skills
Strong negotiation skills
Strong relationship building skills
Strong change management skills
Ability to maintain confidentiality and professionalism
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
Ability to collaborate with stakeholders at all levels
Ability to influence others to accomplish tasks outside of the direct span of control
Preferred
Master's Degree in finance, accounting, business, public health, research administration or similar field of study
At least ten (10) years of progressive post-award administration experience including with federal (NIH/NSF/DoD) grants and contracts, industry sponsored clinical trials and sponsored research agreements, and internally-funded awards and programs
At least five (5) years of experience collaborating with external and internal constituencies including sponsor agencies, faculty, and local research administration professionals
At least five (5) years of experience in a healthcare, research or academic related environment
Certified Research Administrator (CRA) upon hire
Certified Financial Research Administrator (CFRA) upon hire
Benefits
Incentive program
Fair and transparent pay practices
Company
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Since its start in 1855 as the nation's first hospital devoted exclusively to caring for children, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has been the birthplace for many dramatic firsts in pediatric medicine.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia 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 (175)
2024 (170)
2023 (140)
2022 (115)
2021 (70)
2020 (53)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$33.35MKey Investors
UnitedHealthcare Community PlanNational Cancer InstituteBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
2025-12-10Grant· $1.7M
2025-09-29Grant· $1M
2025-06-18Grant· $1M
Leadership Team
Ron Keren
Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Adam Resnick
Director of the Center for Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine (D3b)
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