POSITION OBJECTIVE
Working with a high degree of independence and under general direction, provide overall administrative expertise for a variety of business-related functions, including finance, budget, grant administration, human resources, purchasing, and space and facilities planning the Institute for Transformative Molecular Medicine (the institute), a dynamic research institute within the Department of Medicine. Function as a technical resource and advisor exercising discretion and independent judgment. The department administrator has authority to accomplish major objectives, investigate and resolve matters on behave of leadership, and has the authority to formulate, affect, interpret, or implement management policies or operating practices. The manager will work with the institute director and other institute faculty to develop an annual budget, plan financial strategies, and oversee all aspects of the institute grant administration and applications. Duties also entail human resources functions for the institute including time approvals and monthly effort distribution, and assisting with new hires, performance reviews, reappointments, visas, and terminations.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Serve an active role on the leadership team in developing long- and short-term department strategic planning. Chart out yearly plans, monthly work plans and determine measurable targets. Develop a work plan with key activities, deliverables, and milestones for individuals, program team or organizational unit. Provide the expected results or outputs form each key activity or strategic initiative. Provide analysis of milestones achieved in written and graphic report form to management. Work with the institute director and other faculty members to prepare an annual departmental operating budget with consideration of the goals and objectives of the institute including recruitment schedule, analyzing program plans on both a short and long-range basis by considering past requirements and expenditures and current programs, and future goals. Perform needs assessment, make projections based on multiple items and unknown variables, analyze budget variances and recommend courses of action. Prepare an annual budget for the institute’s Harrington Discovery Institute funds, University Hospitals. Serve as the institute’s primary liaison for all fiscal concerns both within the university (school finance, grant management offices, and central university departments) and external organizations. Prepare various analytical reports in written and graphic forms based on management needs. Responsible for effort certification and year-end close. (10%) Advise and direct principal investigators in the preparation of grant proposals and applications to include compilation of data and preparation of estimated budget expenditures; monitor and verify expenditures; ensure compliance with university and sponsoring agency policies and procedures; prepare administrative reports for submission to sponsoring agencies. Maintain up-to-date knowledge of CWRU’s grant application policies and procedures as well as the operation of the Sparta Grants software program. Maintain knowledge of federal and non-federal policies and procedures as they pertain to specific applications. Consult with principal investigators to understand the budget needs of proposed research projects. Prepare grant budgets accordingly. Make certain that budget justifications are clear and that they provide all information that will be helpful to reviewers. Assist with the preparation of new grant proposals, resubmissions, and annual progress reports. Enter all required information and documents into either Sparta Grants, eRA Commons Assist, Grants.gov Workspace, or non-government websites as necessary. Carefully review proposals to assure that all sections are compliant with proposal instructions and that applications are complete. Route proposals for certification and approvals. Coordinate with subcontracting organizations regarding documents required for submission of grant applications and progress reports. Make sure all documents conform to agency policy and are received in a timely manner. Likewise, provide all requested documents to institutions that will be submitting applications for which Case Western Reserve University will be the subcontractor. Be a resource for federal regulations and university policies pertaining to grant submissions, IACUC, IRB, and IBC protocols. Be attentive to NIH requests for Just-In-Time information by updating Other Support documents for key investigators and obtaining signatures, as well as gathering Other Support from key investigators outside the institute. Upload support documents, protocol approval letters, and educational certificates as necessary into eRA Commons for submission by the office of Grants & Contracts. These documents should also be made part of the funding proposal in Sparta Grants. (20%) Inform principal investigators of changes to the pre-award budgets and propose revisions. Update funding proposal information in Sparta Grants in accordance with award notifications, including updates for consortium agreements if applicable. Prepare financial status reports to keep principal investigators appraised of expenditures and balances. Analyze reports and make suggestions on modifying monthly spending if necessary. Assist lab members with purchasing needs by approving SmartCart requests, submitting requisitions to Procurement, and ordering supplies directly from vendors with a procurement card. In addition, obtain purchase orders for vendor invoices that arrive without POs and send the invoices to Accounts Payable. Oversee and reconcile procurement card expenditures. Review all monthly procurement card expenses to assure validity. Assign the appropriate funding sources and account codes; obtain any missing receipts; upload invoices to bank software and maintain records. Submit salary adjustments and journals as needed. Prepare and submit monthly PTAEO and GL salary crossbills to include all personnel in the institute who have salary charged to accounts at University Hospitals. Review the Hospital Billing Analysis each month to address variances. Make sure that crossbill distribution is in line with salary distribution in CWRU HCM. Prepare invoices and tract deposits related to reimbursement of expenses to the departmental operating budget as a result of the expending inter-institutional cooperation between the institute and all entities that interface with the institute and require such invoicing. Obtain purchase orders for monthly faculty salary invoices from University Hospitals to reimburse University Hospitals for grant effort of institute faculty who are paid solely through University Hospitals. Submit invoices to Accounts Payable. Review invoices from subcontracting institutions and obtain principal investigator certification. Submit invoices to Accounts Payable. Prepare iPAS petitions in Sparta Grants to request pre-award funds, to keep an account open, or to re-budget funds. Give special attention to grant expenses as expiration dates approach to avoid overspending; keep PIs appraised of balances. Complete the financial recaps as requested by Research Administration. Assist with final progress reports and final invention statements with adherence to the timeline specified by the sponsor for closure. Resolve cost share issues. (20%) Manage human resources activities within the department. Advise supervisors on pay issues, affirmative action requirements, job classification issues, performance appraisals, employee relations and employee training and development circumstances. Maintain liaisons with appropriate school and central human resources staff to proactively respond to human resources problems, issues and special requests. Ensure all paperwork for employment, terminations, and leaves of absence are processed correctly and in a timely manner. Has authority to sign off on paperwork such as requisitions and performance reviews. Oversee staff hiring and termination procedures to assure compliance with departmental, school and university requirements. Assist faculty with job descriptions as needed. Review and approve job requisitions to verify adequate funding and completeness of forms. Oversee and work closely with the director regarding faculty hires, promotions, and tenure. Work closely with faculty supervisors to assure staff reviews and reappointments are done correctly and in a timely manner. Work with the Immigration office and Olgletree Deakins law firm regarding visas. Update monthly effort distribution. Prepare effort reports for all institute employees who received salary from grant sources. Advise new employees, students and volunteers of Environmental Health and Safety course requirements. Assist volunteers with registration. Approve time sheets for institute staff and students. Submit monthly stipend requests for visiting clinical scholars. Submit requests for affiliates to obtain Case ID cards and/or to extend the term of their stay. Request building access for new institute employees and affiliates. Assist staff with travel arrangements for research conferences and assist with conference registration. Prepare/submit reimbursement requests for travel expenses and lab-related expenses for faculty, staff and students. Prepare and submit MOAs for graduate students according to instructions received from Enrollment Operations. Prepare graduate student payroll forms. (20%)
NONESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Collaborate with department staff to ensure operational activities are managed, oversee space and facility utilization; coordinate purchasing, maintenance, and renovation activities for the department; administer a program of property management and accountability. Develop the most efficient and effective means for purchasing supplies. Negotiate and facilitate major equipment purchases and installations. Prepare and maintain space surveys. Facilitate major equipment purchases. Report maintenance needs concerning problems with lighting, heating/air conditioning, and plumbing, etc. Request keys for lab members. (5%) Oversee the appointment process for faculty. This position assists with junior faculty appointments and promotions of current CWRU employees. In addition, the position will assist with CWRU faculty appointments for investigators who already have positions with Harrington Discovery Institute (HDI) at University Hospitals. Work with department chair to ensure that there are instructors for all courses. Initiate appointment process when necessary. Supervise preparation of and approve appointment paperwork for graduate teaching assistants and fellows. (5%) Create department policies and procedures, making decisions on specific operating problems and issuing instructions in the name of the department chair in accordance with departmental precedents and policies. Interpret school and university policies and procedures and ensure compliance by all staff. Communicate any changes to policies and procedures to appropriate staff to ensure implementation. (5%) Coordinate clinical study activities; oversee study and regulatory operations including startup, maintenance and closeout. Manage timelines, facilitate meetings, provide direction, and ensure completed documentation/reports to funding institution. Serve as a liaison for external and internal audits, including preparation for the audit, during the audit itself, and response to audit, including changes to procedures. (5%) Represent department chair in administrative meetings and/or conferences in order to achieve cooperation between functions. (5%) Perform other duties as assigned. (2%) Be a resource to answer a variety of questions and to solve problems. (2%) Attend monthly SOM administrators’ meetings and university training sessions to keep up to date with policies and procedures. (1%)
CONTACTS
Within the department: Daily contact with institute faculty, staff, postdoctoral trainees, and students. Contact with the chairman’s office and with the Medicine divisions of Cardiovascular Medicine, and Genetics and Genome Sciences.
Within the university: Regular contact with offices throughout the School of Medicine including Grants and Contracts, Finance and Planning, Research Administration, Office of Sponsored Projects, Human Resources/Immigration, the Wolstein Hub, and departments within the SOM, especially Anesthesiology, but also Biochemistry, Neurosciences, Pathology, Psychiatry, and others to exchange information with administrators. Frequent interaction with the Procurement department. Occasional contact with Student Employment, Postdoctoral Affairs, the Animal Resource Center, [U]Tech, Access Services, Space and Facilities Planning, and Maintenance.
External: Regular contact with University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. Moderate contact with vendors. Occasional contact with consortium institutions, sponsoring agencies, and Enrollment Management.
Students: Regular contact with the graduate students and undergraduates who work in the institute.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY
No direct supervisor responsibility
QUALIFICATIONS
Experience: 5 or more years administrative work experience required; experience in a university or non-profit setting preferred. Experience in grants management preferred
Education: Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree preferred.
REQUIRED SKILLS
Experience using integrated financial systems in an accounting and financial reporting environment. Experience with ERP PeopleSoft systems a plus. Familiarity with purchasing, payables, receivables, e-procurement, cash management and project accounting preferred. Understanding of generally accepted accounting principles and financial statements, experience evaluating financial statements with internal controls. Experience with NIH grant administration, knowledge of federal regulations relating to grants and contracts, sufficient knowledge and experience with databases to effectively manage information systems. Ability to meet internal and external deadlines. Ability to interact well with faculty, staff, and university personnel. Professional and effective verbal and written communication skills. Problem-solving capabilities, conflict resolution skills, ability to work under pressure while remaining attentive to detail. Ability to work with sensitive information and maintain confidentiality. Experience with Microsoft Office environment -- proficiency with Excel and Word. Must demonstrate willingness to learn new techniques, procedures, processes, and computer programs as needed. Understanding of sponsored research grants and clinical trial grants administration required. Knowledge of financial spreadsheets and GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles). Knowledge of federal OMB circulars A-21, A-110 and A-133 sponsored research reporting requirements. Strong organizational and interpersonal skills required, both oral and written required. Strong writing skills are required for grant editing, policy development, and budget proposal submission required. Ability to work independently to organize multiple projects simultaneously required. Employee management skills; ability to educate/train staff, delegate and supervise effectively required. Proactive approach to potential problems, excellent problem-solving skills required. Excellent computer skills experience, excellent mathematical skills; ability to use financial spreadsheets, accounting software, NIH application software, database packages, PeopleSoft and Oracle financial system applications. Ability to meet consistent attendance. Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors and customers face to face.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Duties are performed in an administrative office environment with minimal exposure to laboratory areas. Working beyond normal business hours can be expected at times to meet internal and external deadlines
