Assistant Director, Award Management

Overview

The Assistant Director, Award Management Services (AMS) provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for key post-award research administration functions within the KU Office of Research. This position is responsible for managing sponsored project accounts receivable escalation, ensuring compliance with institutional and sponsor requirements, and leading training initiatives for AMS and related units. The role supervises staff, develops reporting tools, and drives process improvements to strengthen financial accuracy, compliance, and customer service.

The Assistant Director collaborates with KUOR leadership, principal investigators, and departmental administrators to resolve complex issues, maintain audit readiness, and support the research enterprise through effective policy implementation and staff development. This position is designated as fully remote, meaning most activities will be performed from an agreed-upon off-campus location. Some in-person activities will be required on occasion such as required trainings, PI meetings or all-staff meetings, etc.

Due to complex state employment laws, the University of Kansas may be unable to hire fully remote workers for this position outside of Kansas. Specifically, we cannot currently offer employment to candidates residing in the following states:
California, Delaware, Idaho & Minnesota. We appreciate your understanding and invite interested individuals from eligible states to apply.

• 30% Sponsored Project Accounts Receivable Oversight and Escalation:
  Serves as the primary escalation point for Sponsored Projects Accounts Receivable (SPAR), including direct engagement with sponsors to resolve complex or disputed payment issues.
• Supervises the SPAR Grant Manager and provides leadership for AR operations, ensuring adherence to institutional policies and sponsor requirements.
• In partnership with the SPAR Grant Manager, ensures accurate and timely invoicing, SF-425 reporting, and reconciliation of sponsored project accounts; monitors invoicing status to meet deadlines.
• Oversees aging receivables, tracks outstanding balances, and implements escalation protocols in collaboration with KUOR leadership to resolve overdue accounts promptly.
• Develops and maintains AR performance metrics and reporting for leadership review; recommends process improvements and policy updates to strengthen compliance and efficiency.
• Coordinates with PIs, departments, and central offices to resolve payment delays and disputes, ensuring proper documentation for audit readiness.
• Focuses on accounting accuracy and compliance with federal regulations, institutional policies, and Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) standards.

• 30% Award Compliance Management:
  Monitors and follows up with award management staff on compliance-related tasks, including but not limited to Financial system transactions (including Oracle PPM exceptions, outstanding manual events), effort certification statements, payroll on closed projects, and conflict of interest disclosures.
• Develops, implements, and maintains reporting tools and dashboards to track compliance activities and identify areas of risk. Provides reporting for leadership review.
• Conducts root‑cause analyses of non-compliance trends; in conjunction with AMS leadership, recommends and helps to implement process improvements to reduce recurrence.
• Partners with Fiscal Affairs to clean up old projects; attends Contracts with Issues List (CWIL) meetings, monitors new entries, follows up with AMS/LSI/KUOR staff who are working to resolve issues, and supports mitigation strategies to prevent future issues.
• Oversees PPM exception management and clearing; identifies exceptions and distributes them for clearing as appropriate. May clear some exceptions.
• In conjunction with AMS Leadership, oversees AMS Project Close-Out in TDX, ensuring deadlines are met and steps are completed accurately. Assists with troubleshooting.
• In conjunction with AMS Leadership, develops, maintains and monitors sponsor reporting schedules for AMS and LSI, and ensures deadlines are met. May serve on KUOR’s NIH RPPR (Research Performance Progress Report) team.
• Supports financial reporting processes to ensure accurate accounting across compliance tasks.

• 30% Training:
  Partners with AMS Leadership in developing and delivering training for AMS and LSI staff, including onboarding, quarterly sessions, refresher courses, and training sites and materials.
• Works with AMS supervisor to coordinate and administer new hire training.
• In conjunction with AMS Leadership, develops and implements ongoing skill-building, including AMS/LSI quarterly training.
• Coordinates SPAR-specific training with the SPAR Manager:
  • Delivers targeted sessions on accounts receivable workflows, escalations, expense reconciliation, and sponsor billing requirements.
  • Monitors training metrics, assesses effectiveness, and iterates based on feedback and performance outcomes.
• Supports other training efforts…