Associate Director of Research and Finance Administration

Overview

The Associate Director of Research and Financial Administration provides unified leadership for HRBRC business, including  institutional fiscal, contractual, and sponsored-program activities that flow through HRBRC and its participating organizations. Acting as the HRBRC’s designated lead for grants and contracts, the AD-RFA holds delegated, cross-institutional authority to scout funding opportunities, review awards and contracts, and coordinate inter-institutional fund flow for the HRBRC. By coordinating complex multi-sector proposals and overseeing post-award compliance, the role ensures the Consortium’s financial health, drives sustainable growth in external funding, and delivers efficient stewardship of resources that empower scientists, community members, startups, and collaborators. Working with Strategy, Operations, and the Finance team, the AD-RFA ensures every project advances HRBRC’s priorities in community engagement, data science, innovation & commercial science, and clinical/translational health research—while remaining on scope, schedule, budget, and fully compliant with cross-institutional policies. 

Responsibilities

Lead all pre- and post-award activity for federal (NIH, DoD, NSF etc), state, industry, foundation, philanthropic, and venture-backed awards; negotiate terms, route agreements across partner institutions, oversee reporting/close-out, and ensure Uniform Guidance and sponsor compliance. 

 

Systematically scan and disseminate multi-sector funding calls; convene interdisciplinary teams; build timelines, budgets, biosketches, and other deliverables; coordinate submissions to meet internal and external/sponsor deadlines. 

 

Manage HRBRC transactions including budget reconciliation for State and Research Foundation accounts, sub-awards, cost-shares, and fund transfers among HRBRC participating organizations; track cost centers and expenditures in concert with the financial team and campus fiscal offices; maintain auditable documentation.

 

Partner with Strategy to map funded projects to consortium priorities; help coordinate regional research programs and measure progress toward shared objectives; brief senior leadership and the Finance Committee on portfolio status and risk. 

 

Participate in scientific and commercial due-diligence reviews; assess technical merit, budget realism, and sponsor fit for emerging concepts, prototypes, or partnership opportunities; provide clear recommendations to leadership. 

 

Collaborate with Operations to keep funded projects on time, on budget, and in regulatory compliance; resolve audit or inspection findings.  Deliver workshops and individual coaching on budgeting, grant-writing, and sponsor regulations to HRBRC-affiliated investigators and staff. 

Qualifications

Education:  

• Master’s degree in Health Services Administration, Public Health, Biomedical Science, or a closely related health-research field.  MBA is considered, with experience in health sector. 

Experience: 

• At least three (3) years of progressive responsibility in grants or research administration within an academic medical center, public-health institute, or biomedical research environment, including hands-on management of federal and non-federal awards. 

 

Knowledge & Skills: 

• Financial and/or research-administration experience in a sponsored-programs environment 

• Demonstrated knowledge of multi-type funding mechanisms (e.g., Federal Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), FAR/DFARS, and NIH/NSF regulations. 

• Full grant life-cycle management (scouting, pre-award, post-award, close-out). 

• Budget development and cost-share structuring for multi-institution proposals. 

• Data-driven process improvement and workflow optimization. 

• Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and stakeholder-engagement skills. 

 

Preferred:

• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) or Certified Financial Research Administrator (CFRA). 

• Experience leading community-engaged or diversity-focused health-research projects. 

• Proven record cultivating funding from a mix of federal, state, industry, philanthropic, and venture sources. 

• Experience standing up cost-recovery models for core facilities or service centers. 

• Demonstrated success negotiating industry-sponsored research or public-private partnership agreements.

Location : Location

US-VA-Portsmouth