Director of Contracts and Grants Administration

Posting Details

Request to Recruit

Position Title Director of Contracts and Grants Administration Location Boone NC Faculty Rank Provide Rank Position Number 099911 Department Contracts and Grants Accounting - 415102

Position Summary Information

Primary Purpose

Division of Research and Innovation

The Division of Research and Innovation (DRI) supports and advances Appalachian State University's research, scholarship, creative activities, innovation, and public service mission by providing leadership, infrastructure, compliance oversight, strategic investment, and administrative support for the university's research enterprise. The division encompasses the Office of Research and Innovation (ORI), which includes research administration, sponsored programs, contracts and grants accounting, compliance functions, internal funding programs, and innovation and commercialization initiatives. Beyond the ORI, the DRI includes other strategic research and creative activity operations that support faculty, staff, and student success. The ORI supports and enhances the research, scholarship, creative activities, and public service initiatives by managing internal and external funding programs, providing research administration services, and supporting both funded and unfunded scholarly initiatives across the campus community.

Click here to learn more about the other Office of Research and Innovation Departments

About this role:

The Director of Contracts and Grants Administration position reports to the Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation and provides strategic and operational leadership for award set-up and post-award administration within the Office of Research and Innovation. This position ensures that faculty, staff, and institutional partners receive high-quality support from award through execution and closeout, while maintaining strong compliance, financial stewardship, and service-oriented practices. The Director supervises multiple Associate Directors and provides leadership for a team of approximately 12-15 staff members. In this role, the CGA Director will provide leadership, direction, and accountability for administration and accounting functions across the award acceptance and post-award lifecycle of grants and contracts, including post-award financial support, reporting, and closeout.

Minimum Qualifications

Master's degree in business administration, public administration, accounting, finance, higher education administration, research administration, or a related field.

• Minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible experience in sponsored programs administration, research administration, grants management, contract and grant accounting, or a closely related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of supervisory or management experience leading professional staff and complex administrative operations.
• Demonstrated knowledge of federal sponsored project regulations, Uniform Guidance, sponsor requirements, and research administration best practices.
• Experience managing pre-award and post-award functions, including proposal submission, award administration, compliance, and financial oversight.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret regulations, exercise independent judgment, and communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to lead with a compass toward serving faculty and researcher needs while balancing with critical, reliable compliance requirements.

License/Certification Required Preferred Qualifications

A certified research administrator (CRA) credential is preferred.

More than 10 years of progressively responsible experience in research administration or sponsored programs leadership.

• Experience leading both sponsored programs, contracting and grant accounting functions within a university or research-intensive environment.
• Experience supervising managers or directors and leading large, multi-functional teams.
• Professional certification such as Certified Research Administrator (CRA), Certified Pre-Award Research Administrator (CPRA), or Certified Financial Research Administrator (CFRA).

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership and Strategic Administration

Provide leadership and oversight for all post-award administration and accounting functions across the Office of Research and Innovation.

• Manage the daily operations of the CGA department, ensuring effective coordination across pre- and post-award functions, contract negotiation, closeout, and reporting.
• Serve as a key advisor to the Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation for research administration operations, financial compliance, staffing, systems, and strategic initiatives.
• Develop and implement strategic plans, operational priorities, and performance measures that advance institutional research and innovation goals.
• Lead organizational change initiatives, process improvements, and technology implementations that improve efficiency, transparency, and service delivery.
• Establish clear expectations, workflows, service standards, and performance measures that support timely, accurate, compliant, and customer-oriented service to faculty and campus partners.

Collaboration with Pre-Award Administration

Collaborate with the Director of Sponsored Programs on processes to ensure the effective integration of pre-award processes with the post-award compliance needs to execute the resulting agreements, including processes such as the review, preparation, negotiation, and execution of incoming and outgoing contracts, subawards, and research-related agreements.

• Share responsibility with the Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation for ensuring that all sponsored project award implementations comply with federal, state, sponsor, and university requirements.
• Maintain productive relationships with sponsoring agencies, partner institutions, industry collaborators, and other external stakeholders.

Award Set-up, Contracts, and Agreements Negotiations

Oversee award intake, review, negotiation, set-up, and handoff processes to ensure awards are established accurately and efficiently.

• Lead or supervise contract and agreement negotiations related to sponsored programs, including grants, contracts, subawards, data use agreements, confidentiality agreements, material transfer agreements, and other research-related agreements as appropriate.
• Coordinate with the Office of General Counsel, academic units, principal investigators, sponsors, and external partners to resolve contractual, regulatory, financial, and operational issues.
• Support private sector and external collaborations by ensuring that sponsored project agreements are structured to protect the university while enabling timely, productive partnerships.
• Oversee processing of post-award program reporting and authorization of project change actions.

Post-award Reporting and Financial Administration Support

Oversee post-award financial administration, including financial system fund setup, sponsor reporting, invoicing, financial monitoring, effort and cost-share tracking and reporting support, budget revisions, expenditure review, and closeout.

• Ensure sponsored project financial activity is accurate, timely, compliant, and aligned with sponsor terms and institutional, federal and State requirements.
• Provide leadership for financial reporting, analysis, forecasting, and issue resolution related to sponsored projects.
• Partner with principal investigators, departments, colleges, finance offices, and central administration to address financial questions and support responsible project management.

Research Administration Infrastructure and Continuous Improvement

Lead efforts to strengthen institutional research administration infrastructure through the development of policies, procedures, guidelines, best practices, and service standards.

• Collaborate with ORI units, Finance, General Counsel, Human Resources, Information Technology, academic colleges, and other campus partners to improve interdependent business processes and support research growth.
• Identify opportunities to leverage technology, automation, and data-informed decision-making to improve operational effectiveness.
• Ensure the maintenance, integrity, and reporting of sponsored project data and records for institutional leadership and external stakeholders.

Customer Service, Outreach, and Training

Foster a highly responsive, service-oriented culture that supports faculty, staff, administrators, and external sponsors while maintaining appropriate institutional oversight.

• Facilitate communication and problem-solving among colleges, principal investigators, research administrators, and financial staff to improve processes and address operational challenges.
• Develop and deliver training, educational programs, guidance materials, and workshops related to sponsored programs administration, financial management, and compliance.
• Promote a campus culture that supports responsible growth in sponsored research, scholarship, creative activities, and innovation.

Personnel Leadership and Staff Development

Supervise, mentor, and evaluate CGA staff and provide overall leadership for a staff of approximately 20 employees.

• Recruit, develop, and retain highly qualified staff committed to excellence in service, compliance, and operational effectiveness.
• Empower staff to exercise sound judgment, solve problems proactively, and assume ownership of assigned responsibilities.
• Promote professional development, succession planning, workload management, and continuous learning across the unit.
• Foster a collaborative, solutions-oriented, and professional team culture grounded in accountability, continuous improvement, compliance, and service.

Type of Position Full Time Position Staff/Non-Faculty Staff/Non-Faculty VISA Sponsorship? VISA sponsorship is not available for this position. All candidates must be eligible to work and live in the U.S. Appointment Type 1.0 Work Schedule/Hours Monday - Friday 8:00 - 5:00 pm in-person Number of Hours Per Week 40 Number of Months Per Year 12 Mandatory Staff No Suggested Salary Range $133,276 - $138,000 Physical Demands of Position

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Posting Details Information

Posting Date 08/31/2026 Closing Date 09/27/2026 Open Until Filled No Evaluation of Applications Begins 09/07/2026 Proposed Date of Hire 11/02/2026 Special Instructions to Applicants

Please attach required documents:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• List of References with Contact Information

Finalists will be subject to a criminal background check prior to the offer of employment. All candidate names and information will remain confidential; however, finalists invited to campus may be asked to waive confidentiality to engage with the broader campus community. References will not be contacted without a candidate's prior knowledge and consent.

Search Chair Name Christine Hendren Search Chair Email hendrenco@appstate.edu Quick Link https://appstate.peopleadmin.com/postings/55912 Posting Number 201501836P

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Applicant Documents

Required Documents

• Resume
• Cover Letter / Letter of Interest
• List of References with Contact Information

Optional Documents