Grants Contracts Negotiator

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Job Category:

Academic Staff

Employment Type:

Regular

Job Profile:

Pre-Award Sponsored Programs, Grants & Contracts Manager

Job Summary:

The Grants Contracts Negotiator will support proposal development and submission, budgeting, agreement negotiation, and award setup activities. This role would help ensure timely and compliant submissions, provide oversight of pre-award operations, and establish consistent workflows for tracking, monitoring, and managing proposal submissions to support the continued growth of the research portfolio.

Key Job Responsibilities:

• May be responsible for new account setup

• Develops, implements, and evaluates pre-award research administration operational policies and procedures including financial, administrative, staffing, and compliance

• Serves as a key resource to leadership and staff in the unit as well as a liaison to partners and stakeholders

• Works with researchers and prepares budgets, proposal submissions, agreements, or other agreements for sponsor consideration

• May review and negotiate agreements on behalf of the unit

• May supervise activities of research administration staff

Department:

UW-Madison, College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Research Administration

Compensation:

The minimum salary is $74,154, depending on qualifications and experience.

 

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as:

• Generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off
• Competitive insurances and savings accounts
• Retirement benefits

More Benefits information can be found here.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum of three years of experience in contract negotiation, research administration, sponsored programs, grants and contracts administration, or a related field.
• Experience reviewing, negotiating, and administering research-related agreements, including sponsored research agreements, subawards, confidentiality agreements, data use agreements, material transfer agreements, and other research contracts.
• Experience interpreting and applying contractual terms and conditions, sponsor requirements, federal regulations, and institutional policies.
• Knowledge of applicable regulations governing sponsored research and research agreements, including Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), research security requirements, export controls, cybersecurity requirements, intellectual property, and data management and sharing requirements.
• Experience supporting agreements funded by federal sponsors, including NSF, NIH, DOE, and DOD, and/or industry sponsors.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze contractual risk and negotiate terms and conditions that align with institutional policies and objectives.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex contractual and regulatory requirements to a variety of stakeholders.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and customer service skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet competing deadlines.
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Five or more years of experience negotiating and administering research-related agreements in a higher education, academic medical center, research institution, or similar environment.

• Experience negotiating sponsored research agreements, industry-sponsored research agreements, subawards, confidentiality agreements, data use agreements, and other research-related contracts.
• Experience working with federal sponsors, including NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD, and other federal agencies, as well as industry and nonprofit organizations.
• Experience identifying, assessing, and mitigating contractual, intellectual property, regulatory, and research compliance risks.
• Experience collaborating with principal investigators, research administrators, legal counsel, technology transfer offices, and other administrative partners.
• Experience using electronic research administration and contract management systems such as RAMP, Cayuse, Research.gov, Grants.gov, eRA Commons, or similar systems.
• Juris Doctor (J.D.), Certified Research Administrator (CRA), Certified Federal Contracts Manager (CFCM), Certified Commercial Contracts Manager (CCCM), or other relevant professional certification.
  

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, research administration, public administration, law, life sciences, finance, or a related field.

How to Apply:

For the best experience completing your application, we recommend using Chrome or Firefox as your web browser.

 

To apply for this position, select either “I am a current employee” or “I am not a current employee” under Apply Now. You will then be prompted to upload your application materials.

 

Important: The application has only one attachment field. Upload all required documents in that field, either as a single combined file or as multiple files in the same upload area.

 

Upload required documents:

• A cover letter detailing how your qualifications and experiences align with the responsibilities of the position.
• Resume

 

Please note that reference checks will be conducted for finalists. Applicants selected to proceed in the selection process will be notified directly. All applicants will receive notification once a final selection has been made and the search is complete.

 

Conditions of Appointment: This is a 100% Academic Staff appointment. Salary will be assigned within the appropriate range, commensurate with the candidate's qualifications and experience. An excellent benefits package is also included. Successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment.

Contact Information:

Meghan Cobb

cobb5@wisc.edu

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information. 

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. 
 
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). 
 
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