Permanent Staff (SHRA)

No

Business Officer - Journey

Contracting Officer

00000283

P012935

$62,000 - $70,000

To learn more about the pay band for this branch and role, please see the Career Banding rates spreadsheet.

GN13

Full-Time Permanent

40

Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Office of Sponsored Research-621100

06/21/2021

07/06/2021

Chapel Hill, NC

Other

The Office for Sponsored Research (OSR) supports and advances the University’s mission by providing leadership and expertise in research administration and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.

The primary functions of OSR are to facilitate and manage all aspects of sponsored research administration including, but not limited to, proposal review, award negotiation, financial stewardship, compliance, and audit support for more than $900 million in sponsored awards each year. OSR provides complete sponsored project life cycle support (sometimes known as pre-award and post-award services) to all University researchers and research administrators.

Positions in OSR thus serve these primary areas of responsibility: (1) program administration; (2) financial accounting and reporting, and cash management; (3) data management reporting and analysis; (4) audit and financial compliance, effort reporting, cost studies; and (5) operations support, and training and communications.
As the official institutional signatory for the Chancellor, OSR is responsible for reviewing and authorizing proposal submissions, as well as negotiating and administering awards on behalf of the University. These activities include monitoring institutional compliance for research and training activities, proposal and post-award management services, billing and financial reporting, cash management, cost analysis and compliance, verification of technical, patent and invention report submissions by Principal Investigators, award closeout, and the implementation of information technology into research administration activities.

OSR’s centralized administrative functions facilitate the development and implementation of standardized policies & procedures across the University. They also provide training opportunities to improve University-wide efficiencies and communication in an effort to increase the quality of research administration.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, race, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran.

NOTE: The Office of Sponsored Research is posting multiple simultaneous Contracting Officer recruitments. Please apply to each recruitment for which you would like to be considered.

The Contracting Officer is responsible for supporting Principal Investigators (PIs) and sponsors in a fast- paced, high volume team environment that facilitates various sponsored project functionalities. Duties include, but are not limited to, the following: negotiating and/or drafting funded contracts with industry partners/sponsors as well as amendments and other unfunded sponsored project contracts such as CDA/NDAs and DUAs, and actively participating in negotiation of complex contracts with other Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), non-profit organizations, foreign entities, industry, and various other types of entities; drafting technical contract language in regards to intellectual property rights, cost sharing, fiscal/procedural constraints, data use, material transfer and other complex terms and conditions; and providing thorough explanations to diverse customer inquiries.

The principal function of this position is to facilitate the negotiations of industry-sponsored research at UNC with an emphasis on providing the highest level of customer service to campus and sponsors while taking into account all applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and University guidelines and policies. The Contracting Officer works independently to conduct risk assessments for all assigned contracts, including consulting with PIs and departmental staff regarding the nature of each project and the impact of unique aspects of the project on the legal language contained in the language of the contracts, representing the best interests of the University and the PI. For incoming funded contracts, this position will review scopes of work and other compliance considerations to appropriately draft and/or review contracts accurately. The Contracting Officer must keep abreast of new developments in research administration policies and requirements in order to serve as an up-to-date source of information, guidance, and training for the campus and research community.

The Contracting Officer will document the status of contract negotiations in the appropriate document tracking systems through the lifecycle of the drafting process, negotiation, and final execution. The position will monitor for accuracy as amendments are issued throughout the award life cycle to ensure continued programmatic correctness and compliance with various regulatory requirements including OSR policies and procedures. The position will work to maintain OSR’s high customer service standards for service to faculty and sponsors, which includes supporting OSR’s target times for task turnaround.

This position will remain fully remote until UNC returns to normal on-campus operations, at which time continued remote or hybrid work flexibility will be evaluated based on business needs. For more information about UNC’s COVID resources, go to https://hr.unc.edu/covid-19-resources/.

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, or related business area; or equivalent combination of training and experience. All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

It is necessary for the candidate to demonstrate the following:
• Ability to display critical thinking skills, assess risk, make independent decisions based on risk assessment, and collaborate with others to problem solve and facilitate timely execution of agreements.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team.
• Ability to interpret, explain, and apply complicated rules, regulations, and policies.
• Ability to prioritize and balance a shifting workload in a deadline-driven work environment.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and customer service skills.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to work with a consistent degree of accuracy.

• JD, MBA, or experience negotiating contracts in a university setting.
• Understanding of non-fiscal compliance areas such as conflict of interest regulations, human subjects, and animal care policies.
• Understanding of copyright law, publication policy, intellectual property rights, data ownership, material transfer, and other legal terms and conditions.

No