University of Florida · 3 days ago
Assistant Director of Research Administration - Office of Research
Gainesville, FL
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
2+ years expThe University of Florida's College of Medicine is seeking an experienced and strategic leader for the role of Assistant Director of Research Administration. This position provides leadership and operational oversight for the research administration enterprise, ensuring compliance and driving continuous improvement in research operations.
Higher Education
Responsibilities
Directs the Excellence in Research Management unit, supervising a group of more than 5 FTE Research Administration Managers across pre-award and post-award functions and guiding their teams of research administrators
Provides strategic direction for the management of all project budget preparation in accordance with agency, sponsored research, and College of Medicine guidelines for extramural funding applications
Reviews state contracts for accuracy of dates and dollar amounts
Participates in budgetary meetings and trainings with COM departments, providing updates on grant projects and discussing strategic efficiencies
Reviews program announcements and other guidelines and communicates relevant requirements to the grants team and other applicable administrative staff
Manages the preparation of forms for electronic submission in both internal and UF systems and ensures the proposal information log is maintained by grant staff
Directs the process of entering proposals into UFIRST along with all required documentation, including conflict of interest forms and internal budgets
Communicates and serves as a liaison to DSP and core offices on behalf of the College of Medicine
Ensures compliance in research administration by reviewing monthly departmental audit reports and conducting regularly scheduled meetings and training sessions
Facilitates the ongoing evaluation and maintenance of educational content for departmental administrative staff and PIs
Collaborates with UF campus experts, research leaders, and COM leadership to identify unmet needs. Works with COM leadership to create the shared components of the Research Administrator Onboarding plan
Creates work plans and relationships that support continuing education of research administration staff
Develops, schedules, and delivers in-person, virtual, and prerecorded regular formal training to the COM research community on new research administration topics including pre-award and post-award management, compliance, and expenditure transactions
Consistently reviews participant training evaluations and learning outcomes to ensure training is useful and effective
Creates and updates written training materials, visual aids, manuals, guides, forms, videos, and presentations for research administration topics
Ensures all training materials and related documents are prepared in a user-friendly, understandable, clear, concise, accessible, and visually appealing format, and are well-written
Leads the receipt and/or development of all grant and contract proposals in the college
Reviews and interprets agency guidelines prior to proposal preparation, including but not limited to Federal funding agencies, Industries, Private Foundations, and University internal opportunities
Provides oversight to compliance regulations around documents such as other support, biosketches, and diversity plans
Provides technical assistance and strategic support to the Principal Investigators in grant/contract application process including preparing budgets and all necessary application materials, including coordination of deadlines and application forms, assist in the preparation of budgets by computing appropriate salary and fringe, University tuition rates, subcontract costs and indirect cost rates, and all administrative specifications
Reviews compiled proposal applications to ensure completion and compliance with agency, contractors as appropriate, and UF regulations
Acts as liaison with departments, colleges, and Division of Sponsored Programs to ensure all appropriate approvals are achieved and grant/contract is submitted to the agency
Upon grant/contract award, coordinates with Division of Sponsored Research the establishment of subprojects and subcontracts as applicable for departments
Meets with Principal Investigators and Department RAs to provide quarterly reviews and best practice trainings for reconciliation reports, expenditures, and projections
Serves as primary liaison for all RA related functions with departments from College
Qualification
Required
Master's degree in an appropriate area and two years of relevant experience; or a bachelor's degree in an appropriate area and four years of relevant experience
Preferred
Leadership experience in research administration
Knowledge of sponsored research funding and compliance, including federal, state, industry, and foundation awards
Demonstrated experience designing and delivering effective training programs for research administrators and Principal Investigators
Proven ability to interpret and apply agency and institutional regulations
Experience and knowledge of University of Florida sponsored projects policies, with a strong emphasis on proficiency in grants administration programs such as UFIRST, ASSIST, ProposalCentral, Grants.gov, Fastlane, etc
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively present complex information to diverse audiences
Excellent interpersonal skills, with a track record of successful collaboration with faculty, staff, and external stakeholders
Benefits
Low-cost State Health Plans: Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
Life and Disability Insurance
Generous Retirement Options to secure your future
Comprehensive Paid Time Off Package including over 10 paid holidays, as well as paid family, sick and vacation leave
Exceptional Personal and Professional Development Opportunities: Access to UF Training & Organizational Development programs, leadership development, LinkedIn Learning, and more
Tuition Assistance through the UF Employee Education Program
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Eligible Employer
Company
University of Florida
University of Florida is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
University of Florida 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 (388)
2024 (307)
2023 (278)
2022 (282)
2021 (169)
2020 (162)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$6.83MKey Investors
Align TechnologyUS Department of EnergyNFWF
2025-06-02Grant
2024-09-17Grant· $2M
2024-09-10Grant· $0.18M
Leadership Team
Sri Kalyanaraman
Co-founder, VR for the Social Good Initiative
Chris Cowen
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
2026-01-17
2026-01-13
2025-12-07
Company data provided by crunchbase