Director Research Administration Collaborative

Position: Director of the Research Administration Collaborative
** Job Description
**** Position Purpose
** The Director of the Research Administration Collaborative will lead a transformative realignment of research administration in support of the UW's research enterprise. In partnership with OR, SOM ABC, FPB, UW-IT, and academic units across UW, the Director will design, implement, and scale a centralized, grants management structure that elevates service quality, strengthens compliance, increases efficiency, reduces departmental administrative burden, and creates enterprise synergies, overseeing 6 teams and 8 functional areas with an estimated staff of 100 employees.

The Director will serve on the OR Executive Committee and drive the vision to standardize award lifecycle business processes, from proposal development through award set-up, spend down, reporting, and closeout, ensuring operational continuity and responsiveness to the natural cycles of sponsored programs. This position will lead change management across schools, colleges, campuses, and research units, establishing tools, training, and metrics to sustain performance.
** Position Complexities
** The Director of the Research Administration Collaborative operates within a highly complex and evolving environment that requires navigating significant organizational, operational, and cultural change across the UW research enterprise. The role requires balancing strategic transformation with day-to-day operational demands and coordinating activities across multiple central units and decentralized academic units with varying practices, priorities, and resource levels. Key complexities include:

-Leads a major institutional transformation to centralize and standardize grants management across diverse schools, colleges, and campuses.

-Directs up to 100 employees organized into 8 functional areas and 6 teams who manage pre-award and post-award service delivery across UW schools, colleges, campuses, and research units.

-Manages multi-stakeholder coordination with OR units, SOM ABC, FPB, UWIT, central offices, and academic departments, requiring shared governance and strong relationship building.

-Operates within a highly regulated environment, ensuring compliance with rapidly evolving federal, sponsor, and institutional requirements.

-Oversees complex, high-stakes operational workflows across the full award lifecycle, with significant consequences for faculty competitiveness, research continuity, and institutional risk.

-Navigates cultural and organizational change, unifying decentralized processes, systems, and staff while maintaining service quality and fostering an inclusive, service-oriented culture.
** Position Dimensions and Impact to the University
** The Director of the Research Administration Collaborative oversees a high impact, institution wide transformation that reshapes how core grant and award lifecycle services are delivered across all UW schools, colleges, campuses, and research units. By standardizing processes, integrating systems, and centralizing staffing models, the role directly influences service quality, institutional compliance, operational efficiency, and the competitiveness of UW's $1.7B research enterprise.

The Director's leadership ensures sustainable administrative structures that reduce costs, mitigate risk, and strengthen the University's long term research capacity.
** Position Responsibilities
**** Strategic Leadership & Partnership (20%)**- Manage the design and execution of the centralized grants management model aligned to UW's future-state vision.

- Lead operational strategy, implementation, and assessment in partnership with OR unit directors and campus stakeholders.

- Serve as primary liaison with OR leadership, central HR, UWIT, central finance, and academic units for organizational restructuring and change management.

- Translate strategic planning workgroup recommendations into actionable plans, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities.

Model Development, Organizational Design & Continuous Improvement (35%)- Develop, build, and maintain the central research administration services model, including organizational structures, staffing plans, and service line…