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 Professional Development: Ongoing training, tuition reimbursement, and career advancement paths 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.

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 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.

Supervision Received: Reports to and receives general direction from the Assistant Vice President for Research Operations and Business Strategy.

Supervision Exercised: Directly supervises the Associate Director of Research Administration and provides functional leadership to the College Research Administration program staff. 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). Decisions made in this role affect proposal quality, award compliance, expenditure velocity, and audit exposure across the University’s full research portfolio. deans, associate deans for research, college business officers, and department chairs; the College Research Administrator team

- Research Development and Innovation
- Research Compliance and the IRB/IACUC offices
- External contacts include federal, state, corporate, and foundation sponsors; system vendors including Cayuse and Workday
- Department Research Administration (30%) · Build and strengthen Howard’s department-level research administration layer — a newer and strategically critical capability — establishing the standards, workflows, and support structures needed to sustain R1 research activity. · Partner with academic departments to embed consistent, compliant research administration practice where research is actually conducted, closing long-standing gaps and building durable, repeatable processes from the ground up. · Perform research administration work directly alongside the team — including hands-on analysis, troubleshooting, and process building — rather than coordinating or delegating exclusively. Provide strategic leadership and oversight of the College Research Administration (CRA) program, directing the communication, training, and adoption of the program to ensure scalability across the colleges. · Supervise the Associate Director of Research Administration and guide the development, standards, and performance of the CRA team, including the Senior CRAs who carry the program’s pre-award and post-award technical depth. · Establish and maintain the processes, procedures, and standards that promote consistent and compliant research administration across the university. · Engage college business offices to determine how the Office of Research can best support research administration
- Provide training and consultation to college business offices, department administrators, and faculty on compliant research administration and best practices. · Strategic Projects and Process Improvement (20%) · Support the AVP for Research Operations and Business Strategy on special projects pertaining to organizational change management, internal Office of Research business functions, communication tools, and the reporting of key metrics for research performance. · Evaluate internal processes and systems to streamline administration and create efficiencies within the Office of Research and across the broader research community.



· Lead and support change management efforts, navigating the challenges and growing pains associated with organizational transformation. Systems, Data, and Metrics (10%) · Serve as a subject matter expert for enterprise systems such as Cayuse and Workday, informing efficient configuration, accurate data integrity, and the information needed to capture key metrics. · Review and analyze financial data to troubleshoot and reconcile contract and grant activity required for accurate performance reporting and for timely, accurate invoicing to sponsors. · Use data-driven metrics to identify staffing and efficiency needs. · Full Lifecycle Research Administration Expertise: Demonstrated depth and breadth across the sponsored project lifecycle — proposal development and submission, award setup, active management, and closeout — with a working understanding of sponsor terms and conditions across federal and non-federal sponsors. · Regulatory and Compliance Command: Process Design and Standardization: Builds, documents, and enforces repeatable workflows, SOPs, and controls that produce consistent, audit‑ready operations. · measures success by whether the administrative load on researchers goes down. · Reviews financial and operational data to diagnose root causes, reconcile discrepancies, and translate ambiguity into workable process. · Systems and Data Fluency: Uses Cayuse, Workday, and Excel as working tools; informs system configuration and data integrity as a subject matter expert and develops KPIs from institutional data. · Leads through organizational transformation. Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, public administration, the sciences, or a related field. Minimum of eight years of progressively responsible research administration experience in higher education, with demonstrated depth and breadth across both pre‑award and post‑award functions. · Working knowledge of the full sponsored project lifecycle, from proposal development through closeout, and the ability to interpret and apply sponsor terms and conditions throughout the life of an award. · Comprehensive knowledge of federal research compliance regulations, including 2 CFR 200. · Proficiency with enterprise research administration and financial systems (e.g., Cayuse, Workday, or comparable platforms) and advanced Excel skills. · Master’s degree in a related field. ~· Certified Research Administrator (CRA), Certified Pre‑Award Research Administrator (CPRA), Certified Financial Research Administrator (CFRA), or equivalent certification. ~· Experience supporting an institution’s growth toward, or sustainment of, high research activity (R1) status. ~· Hands‑on experience with Cayuse and Workday (Grants). ~· Demonstrated success building or standing up new programs, processes, or functions, and leading change management and process improvement initiatives in a complex, decentralized setting. ~*Hybrid flexible preferred.

📌 Director, Project Management Unit (London)
🏢 Howard University
📍 London