Director, Research Administration Pre-Award Services

Director, Research Administration Pre‑Award Services

School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States

The Director, Research Administration Pre‑Award Services leads the central pre‑award organization within the Stanford School of Medicine’s Research Management Group (RMG), providing strategic oversight for one of the nation’s most complex and research‑intensive academic medical environments.

• Provide strategic leadership for the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of pre‑award operations across Stanford Medicine.
• Lead and mentor a team of pre‑award professionals, overseeing and modernizing all aspects of proposal development.
• Drive institutional readiness at the enterprise level by shaping and overseeing scalable, transparent, and audit‑resilient policies, procedures, and systems.
• Spearhead institution‑wide collaboration with faculty, departmental leaders, research finance, and administrative units to align pre‑award services with organizational priorities and ensure high‑trust, high‑impact support.
• Lead the end‑to‑end management of the pre‑award process, using data‑driven metrics to track efficiency, identify bottlenecks, and deploy resources strategically to maintain optimal timelines and outcomes.
• Establish and advance a cohesive, enterprise‑level service model that supports over a billion dollars in sponsored research annually through seamless, compliant, and faculty‑centered proposal development.
• Coordinate pre‑award strategy across the Research Support Office (RSO), Sponsored Proposal Office (SPO), and department‑embedded staff, fostering alignment through a clear vision, standardized processes, open communication, and strong cross‑functional partnerships.
• Other duties may also be assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline (Master’s preferred).
• Professional certification (e.g., CRA, CPRA, CFRA).
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in research administration, including leadership and direct oversight of pre‑award operations.
• Proven track record of leading organizational transformation or system redesign in an academic or biomedical setting.
• Experience managing hybrid central‑decentral service models.
• Deep working knowledge of federal research compliance (e.g., Uniform Guidance, NIH/NSF policies), institutional routing, and sponsor systems.
• Strong interpersonal and negotiation skills, with demonstrated faculty‑facing experience.
• Familiarity with Stanford systems and structures (Cayuse, SeRA, ORA).

Bachelor's degree and ten years of relevant experience, or a combination of education and relevant experience.

• Leadership, supervisory, planning and change management skills.
• Advanced, excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with a wide range of faculty, staff, and university leaders.
• Ability to exercise influence, solve problems, think creatively and resolve conflicts.
• Expert analytical and problem‑solving skills to review and analyze complex information.
• Advanced expertise in research administration practices and regulatory environments.
• Expert proficiency in internal and external business systems applications.
• Proven ability to perform with a high degree of accuracy under tight deadlines while managing multiple projects.
• Advanced project management skills.
• Advanced understanding and experience in contracts and grants administration, agreement negotiation and regulatory issues pertaining to sponsored programs, including extensive experience successfully negotiating complex issues pertaining to sponsored and research‑related agreements with all sponsor types including industry, non‑profit, government and higher education.
• Ability to work efficiently and effectively in a complex university administration; understanding of the structure, purpose, functions and objectives of research and sponsored projects administration at Stanford.

• Frequently sitting, grasping lightly, use fine manipulation and a computer (keyboard, mouse, monitor).
• Occasionally use a telephone, rarely stand/walk, twist,…