JOB PURPOSE:

The Talent Acquisition department hires qualified candidates to fill positions which contribute to the overall strategic success of Howard University. Hiring staff “for fit” makes significant contributions to Howard University’s overall mission.

At Howard University, we prioritize well-being and professional growth.

Here is

what we offer

- Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus mental health support
- Work-Life Balance: PTO, paid holidays, flexible work arrangements
- Financial Wellness: Competitive salary, 403(b) with company match
- Career development: Ongoing training, tuition reimbursement, and career advancement paths
- Additional Perks: Wellness programs, commuter benefits, and a vibrant company culture

Join Howard University and thrive with us

https://hr.howard.edu/benefits-wellness

JOB PURPOSE:

The Director of Research Administration reports directly to the Assistant Vice President for Research Operations and Business Strategy and serves as a senior leader within Howard University’s Office of Research. The Director is instrumental in building the processes, procedures, expertise, and infrastructure required to support Howard’s growing research enterprise. This position provides strategic leadership and administrative oversight of the College Research Administration (CRA) program, with particular emphasis on building and strengthening Howard’s department-level research administration layer—a newer and strategically essential focus for sustaining the university’s R1 research status—and partners across the university to deliver timely, compliant, and standardized research administration support. This is a working leadership role.



Howard is establishing much of the departmental research administration layer from the ground up, and the Director is expected to build durable programs, processes, and controls in a developing, fast-moving environment. The successful candidate operates as a player-coach: capable of setting direction and equally comfortable working a complex award, resolving a costing problem, or building a workflow from scratch. Service and support to the research community are defining priorities of this role. The Director brings strong analytical ability to solve complex problems, translates ambiguity into workable process, and keeps faculty and college partners at the center of every solution. The ideal candidate brings several years of research administration experience in higher education, with demonstrated depth and breadth across the full sponsored project lifecycle—from proposal development through closeout—and is willing to work through the challenges and growing pains of organizational transformation and change.

SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY:

Supervision Received: Reports to and receives general direction from the Assistant Vice President for Research Operations and Business Strategy. Works with substantial independence and exercises significant discretion and judgment.

Supervision Exercised:



Directly supervises the Associate Director of Research Administration and provides functional leadership to the College Research Administration program staff.

NATURE AND SCOPE:

The Director of Research Administration is the bridge between the Office of Research and the colleges. The position oversees the College Research Administration (CRA) program end to end — its standards, staffing model, training, tools, and adoption across the schools — and is accountable for whether department-level research administration at Howard is consistent, compliant, and responsive to faculty. The Director supervises the Associate Director of Research Administration, sets direction for the college-embedded CRA team, and works with substantial independence in determining how the program operates. The position coordinates closely with, but does not direct, the central Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) pre-award, post-award, and Research Development and Innovation functions (RDI). Success depends on making the handoffs between departments, the CRA program, and SPO work reliably. Decisions made in this role affect proposal quality, award compliance, expenditure velocity, and audit exposure across the University’s full research portfolio.

Internal contacts include faculty and principal investigators; deans, associate deans for research, college business officers, and department chairs; the College Research Administrator team; Sponsored Programs pre-award and post-award staff; Research Development and Innovation; Research Compliance and the IRB/IACUC offices; Procurement; Human Resources; and Enterprise Technology Services. External contacts include federal, state, corporate, and foundation sponsors; prime and subrecipient institutions; external auditors; system vendors including Cayu

📌 Director of Research Administration (London)
🏢 Howard University
📍 London