Associate Director, Research Security

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world‑renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly‑regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning.

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Associate Director, Research Security

Information Technology Security Analyst Senior

Federal requirements related to research security have been increasing over the past several years. These requirements include the need to establish a Research Security Program including cybersecurity as well as increasingly stringent contractual requirements related to how research data and information are stored and shared. As a preeminent research institution, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) is committed to providing the necessary policies, infrastructure, and support to its research community for the management of regulated research data.

The Associate Director of Research Data Security will serve as a key member of the Research Security Program management team. Key responsibilities include ensuring Penn’s compliance with Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), NIST SP 800-171 controls, and FAR 52.204-21, assessing and advising on Penn’s readiness to meet cybersecurity requirements related to NSPM-33, the evaluation of data security requirements specified in sponsored projects agreements as well as advising as to whether those requirements can currently be met in the applicable school/center, and if they cannot, provide expertise to assist with meeting compliance.

The role will coordinate institution‑wide initiatives related to federal research data security requirements to mitigate research security data risks. The role will convene relevant research IT professionals from across campus to ensure an integrated, consistent, and comprehensive approach to research data security, to include, among others, the Offices of the Vice Provost for Research, Information Security and Computing, the Libraries, Central and School Administration, and Office of Audit Compliance and Privacy.

The role will be a resource and subject matter expert for information regarding research data cybersecurity compliance, and risk assessment. The role will work closely with representatives from Departments, Schools, and Centers to build knowledge of and compliance with research data security requirements across campus.

The Associate Director of Research Data Security will be responsible for maintaining the campus‑wide inventory of systems that house research data, including the security capabilities of each system. They will assist in identifying appropriate resources to comply with contractually specified research data security requirements. The Associate Director of Research Data Security will periodically review and monitor compliance with research data security plans as well as the overall institutional system security plan(s).

The Associate Director of Research Data Security will also provide…