Assistant Director, Award Management - Office of Research & Innovation

Hiring Department: Office of Research & Innovation (ORI) at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).

About the Opportunity

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) is entering an exciting new era of research growth and innovation. In 2025, UMKC achieved the prestigious Carnegie Research 1 (R1) designation, recognizing the university as one of the nation's top research institutions and Kansas City's only R1 university. This milestone reflects significant growth in UMKC's research enterprise and positions the university for continued expansion in research funding, interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, and partnerships across Kansas City, the region, and beyond.

As UMKC's research portfolio continues to grow in size, complexity, and national prominence, the university is strengthening the research administration infrastructure necessary to support faculty, researchers, sponsors, and institutional partners. The Assistant Director, Award Management will play a critical leadership role in this effort, helping ensure that sponsored awards move efficiently from award notification through account establishment and into active project management. This position will contribute directly to building scalable, responsive, and effective research administration processes that support UMKC's continued advancement as an R1 research institution.

Responsibilities

Award Management

• Lead and oversee the effective set-up and administration of sponsored awards, ensuring timely transition from award receipt to active project management.
• Review, negotiate, and coordinate grant and contract agreements in collaboration with investigators, sponsors, and the Office of General Counsel.
• Oversee the creation of grant accounts and issuance of subawards, ensuring appropriate institutional and sponsor requirements are satisfied.
• Coordinate effective cross-unit workflows between pre-award and post-award functions in collaboration with the Director of Research Administration.
• Review and coordinate non-financial post-award requests and related institutional approvals.
• Serve as a primary contact for faculty, staff, sponsors, and external partners regarding award management matters.
• Provide expert guidance on sponsored award requirements, institutional policies, sponsor regulations, and award terms throughout the award life cycle.
• Identify opportunities to streamline award setup, negotiation, subaward, and post-award processes while maintaining appropriate institutional controls.
• Support increasingly complex and multidisciplinary sponsored projects and partnerships associated with UMKC's expanding R1 research portfolio.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Coordinate with the Director of Research Administration to implement strategic initiatives that strengthen and scale research administration operations.
• Help establish clear, consistent, and efficient processes that improve service delivery and reduce administrative burden for investigators and research teams.
• Collaborate across academic and administrative units to promote research integrity, operational effectiveness, and compliance.
• Develop strong working relationships with faculty, research personnel, sponsors, General Counsel, Procurement, Finance, and other institutional partners.
• Contribute to the development of research administration standards, procedures, tools, and training designed to support a growing and increasingly complex research enterprise.
• Assist with staff training, professional development, knowledge sharing, and a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Serve as a resource and subject-matter expert for complex award management and sponsored agreement issues.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least 5 years of experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired is necessary.

Qualifications

• Prior experience in a departmental or central research administration unit.
• Demonstrated experience with sponsored research administration, including award setup, contract management, negotiation, subawards, and post-award administration.
• Experience working within a university or other research-intensive environment.
• Experience supporting multidisciplinary research programs and complex sponsored projects.
• Experience working with federal sponsors and/or other governmental, industry, healthcare, or nonprofit research sponsors.
• Experience supporting cross-departmental research teams and administrative personnel.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and apply sponsor regulations, award terms, institutional policies, and contractual requirements.
• Experience with research administration and enterprise technology platforms, such as PeopleSoft, Power BI, eCompliance, and related systems.
• Demonstrated ability to improve processes, establish effective workflows, and implement operational improvements in a growing organization.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, organizational, and relationship-management skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, fast-paced research environment and manage multiple priorities with a high degree of accuracy.

Pay

The anticipated hiring range for this position has been established as up to $73,000 annually. Salary is determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to, the individual’s particular combination of education, skills, and experience, as well as organizational requirements.

Benefits

This position is eligible for University benefits. As part of your total compensation, the University offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision plans
• Retirement contributions
• Paid time off
• Short- and long-term disability
• Paid parental leave
• Paid caregiver leave
• Educational fee discounts for all four UM System campuses

For additional information on University benefits, please visit the Faculty & Staff Benefits website.

Community Information

Kansas City offers the best of both worlds—a vibrant, urban community with Midwestern appeal. The city’s rich history and its modern-day, innovative thinking come together to create an eclectic group of neighborhoods that offer a little something for everyone. From thriving arts districts, an energetic downtown nightlife, casual to upscale shopping, and champion sports teams, you will have no problem making yourself at home. Of course, one of Kansas City’s biggest claims to fame is its food, especially its world-famous barbecue. Foodies will delight in the culinary scene found throughout the city. Ranging from award-winning chefs to cozy pizza joints, Kansas City definitely is not lacking any flavor.

UMKC’s campuses are conveniently nestled in the middle of all the action. Volker Campus is just minutes from the legendary Country Club Plaza, perfect for shopping or restaurants for lunch or after-work happy hours. Surrounded by hip neighborhoods and eateries, the Health Sciences Campus is located downtown near University Health Truman Medical Center and Children’s Mercy Hospital. UMKC is proud to be “Kansas City’s university,” and the campus and its people celebrate all the characteristics of the surrounding community. To learn more about life in Kansas City and find more resources, visit VisitKC.com.