Research Agreements Associate, Senior

Proposal Review and Submission

• Support School of Medicine (SOM) departments in the review and submission of federal contract proposals.
• Ensure that proposals adhere to University, agency, and federally mandated requirements, including compliance with federal and international laws and guidelines governing clinical research, effort reporting, costing principles, cost sharing commitments, Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approvals, and conflicts of interest.
• Carefully coordinate with departments and Procurement Office in the preparation of small business subcontracting plans when required.
• Facilitate contact between departments and Information Security Office (ISO) when solicitations include information security terms requiring Duke Health Technology Services (DHTS) review and approval.

Contract Negotiation and Execution

• Analyze and interpret federal regulations, including FAR, DFAR, CFR and other government contracting terms and conditions.
• Apply firm understanding of academic principles including Duke University policies, procedures, and guidelines in negotiating contract terms.
• Maintain a positive working relationship with the Sponsoring Agencies while ensuring that, prior to award, all contract terms and conditions are acceptable to Duke University and PIs.
• Work with departments to ensure that their PIs’ needs are compatible with Sponsor requirements and that Duke SOM guidelines are met.
• Advise PIs and departments of any problematic terms prior to contract execution.
• Work with other Central Offices to review and negotiate terms and conditions that require specialized input.
• Alert supervisor/Senior Leadership when a resolution cannot be reached in a timely manner, or when the sponsor will not accept requested terms and a solution cannot be agreed upon.
• Ensure that the project has all required approvals and compliance requirements in place prior to execution.

Award Management

• Assist departments, PIs and other Central Offices in project administration during the life of contracts.
• Serve as the administrative point of contact for Sponsors, and review/submit all official administrative correspondence.
• Coordinate with departments, PIs, and other Central Offices to respond to Sponsor and subcontractor requests.
• Aid departments in obtaining Sponsor prior approvals.
• In association with other Central Offices, represent Duke SOM in audits, administrative site visits, and other contract-related meetings as they arise.
• Have a working understanding of each projects’ finances as they relate to sponsor regulations, rebudgets, effort management, and CAS (Cost Accounting Standards) requirements.
• Review and negotiate all contract modifications, working with PIs, departments, and other Central Offices if necessary.
• Support departments, PIs, and other Central Offices in the completion of Sponsor-required closeout documents at the end of each contract.

Subcontracting

• Independently draft, negotiate, and execute complex federal subcontracts (incoming and outgoing), including those containing federal contract funding flowing through other universities, foundations and corporate entities.
• Determine appropriate flow-downs for outgoing federal subcontracts.
• Work with departments to issue and negotiate subsequent subcontract modifications.

Training and Procedure Development

• Work with the Associate Director, Senior Leadership, and other SOM offices to develop and maintain federal contracting standard operating Procedures (SOPs) for Duke SOM.
• In association with Research Costing Compliance (RCC) develop, schedule, and provide training to ORA and other Duke constituents on the federal contracting process and newly-developed SOM SOPs.
• Aid in the creation of tools and technologies to aid in the submission, tracking, award and management of federal contracts.
• Ensure relevant federal contracting information and materials are available on the ORA webpage.

Miscellaneous Duties as Assigned

• Perform other duties as assigned, including subawards on federal grants, foundation agreements, CRADAs, and industry-funded agreements, as needed.