Assistant Director, Facilities and Administration

Assistant Director, Facilities and Administration

NRAO Headquarters, 520 Edgemont Rd, CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia, United States of America

Posted Friday, October 3, 2025 at 4:00 AM

Position Summary

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a prestigious research and development organization that plays a vital role in the study of the universe. The Observatory operates a variety of radio telescopes that span the globe, including the famous Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, the Very Large Baseline Array (VLBA) distributed across the United States and its territories, the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile.

These telescopes are among the most advanced in the world, allowing astronomers to explore the universe in unprecedented detail.

The NRAO announces an employment opportunity for an Assistant Director for Facilities and Administration.

The Assistant Director for Facilities and Administration is the chief administrative officer for the Observatory and is responsible for business administration and other Observatory support services. The role is also responsible for the management and oversight of the following administrative areas:
Budget, Procurement, Facilities Planning, Technology Transfer and the oversight of the site Business Offices, and other service divisions as may be assigned. An essential and ongoing requirement is to optimize business systems and increase their cost effectiveness. As part of NRAO Operations, the AD will work with the Joint Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Observatory (JAO), a joint facility of NRAO located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Astronomical Observatories of Japan (NAOJ) to address the administrative and budgetary issues concerning the operation of ALMA.

The AD will also work closely with the Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) executive office on business, administrative, and auditing matters. AUI is the non‑profit organization that manages NRAO on behalf of the National Science Foundation under a cooperative agreement.

The location for the position will be based at our headquarters in Charlottesville, VA.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Responsible for all programmatic, technical, and personnel aspects of the Facilities and Administration department including:
  Budget;
  Contracts & Procurement;
  Management Information Services;
  Technology Transfer; and Facilities coordination; meeting planning. Acts as a close collaborator to and/or head of: the AUI Retirement Plans Committee; AUI Benefit Committee member; ALMA budgetary and fiscal issues, including relationships with Heads of Administration at ESO, NAOJ, JAO. Represents NRAO at ALMA Heads of Administration Advisory Group quarterly and special meetings. Is a key contact with AUI officers and the AUI Fiscal Division.
• Oversees facilities in Charlottesville on Edgemont Road and Boxwood Lane. Is the primary contact with UVA departments of Facilities Management and Real Estate Management. Advises on the Central Development Laboratory (CDL) building matters and Landlord relations. Responsible for Edgemont Road office space allocation. Oversees the facilities roundtable and cross observatory facilities processes and project such as our Computerized Maintenance Management System and Facilities Condition Assessment.
  
  NRAO real estate management and site acquisition needs are expected to expand in coming years, and a new office to support these activities may be established in this department.
• Oversees the Observatory Budget department and services, including the annual budget process; budget reporting; interim forecasts; and proposal budget guidelines.
• Provides programmatic management involving oversight of development planning and budgets of the various groups including regular reporting on development status, compliance with deadlines, with periodic presentations to senior management or advisory bodies in formal or informal reviews including quarterly status reports and NSF Program Review…