The Office of Sponsored Programs at West Virginia University within the Research Office is currently accepting applications for a (Remote) Senior Negotiator, Office of Sponsored Programs.

About the Opportunity

This position is part of the Award Negotiation sub-department in the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). The OSP is the central administrative unit charged with providing support to the West Virginia University (WVU) community in the solicitation, acquisition, and administration of externally funded projects for research, teaching, and service. This position in the OSP Award Negotiation sub-department is responsible for reviewing, negotiating, and signing grants, contracts, and other agreements, confirming that the terms and conditions: protect the interests of WVU faculty members and students, protect WVUs institutional interests, are consistent with WVUs policies and mission statement, and are consistent with all applicable state and federal laws.

The team members of the OSP Award Negotiation unit work with leaders in a variety of compliance departments, including, but not limited to, the Export Control Office, the Office of Technology Transfer, the Office of Human Research Protection, the Office of Animal Welfare, and WVU General Counsel. Work effort has considerable impact on client services, program and project image, with potential legal liabilities.

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

• 37.5-hour work week
• 13 paid holidays ()
• 24 annual leave (vacation) days per year ()
• 18 sick days per year (for when you're ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family's, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
• WVU offers a range of
• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for ? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ's.
• Wellness programs

What you'll do:

• Independently review contractual documents (e.g., agreements, purchase orders, grant awards) ensuring that all terms and conditions are acceptable to WVU, the WVU Research Office, The WVU Research Corporation, The WVU Board of Trustees, and the Principal Investigator.
• Employ professional judgement and independent decision-making skills to negotiate terms and conditions with sponsors based on university policies and under the supervision of the Director of OSP, Award Negotiation, and the Vice President for Research.
• Prepare and send letters of exception to sponsors, describing any terms and conditions that are unacceptable, suggesting alternative terms, and providing justification for revision.
• Manage issues consistent with WVU procedures and objectives.
• Work with appropriate agency and sponsor contacts to ensure that corrections and/or exceptions are incorporated into the terms and conditions, as directed.
• Use in-depth knowledge of University policies and procedures to provide guidance to faculty and staff regarding sponsored programs as they may relate to compliance issues including, but not limited to, export control, data security and data use, and human subjects.
• Attend remote point-of-contact meetings with sponsor representatives, faculty, colleges, and departments as needed concerning OSP Award Negotiation and reports back to the Award Negotiation team on issues of importance and/or preparing and presenting reports as directed.
• Apply independent judgment and resourcefulness to adapt to the business circumstance, and act as a professional example for other team members.
• Employ professional judgment and independent decision-making skills to prepare and negotiate subcontract agreements that protect the interests WVU by ensuring that subcontract agreements are in compliance with the prime sponsor guidelines, contractual requirements, federal regulations, including Uniform Guidance and federal funding accountability and transparency act (FFATA) requirements, and University policy considerations in the areas of intellectual property, copyright, insurance, governing laws, indemnification, and payment schedules.
• Contact sponsors and researchers to establish rapport, understanding and/or information, as well as to facilitate the use of the organization's services.
• Develop and maintain subrecipient monitoring materials, including subrecipient commitment forms and other resources for vetting subaward institutions at the subaward stage.
• Independently assess sponsor type, activity, and statement of work to determine the appropriate flow-down clauses.
• Assess subrecipient eligibility and risk.
• Establish subcontract payment schedules to create mandatory audit documentation and ensure efficient cashflow.
• Independently develop solutions to identified challenges and work collectively to implement.
• Apply organizational policies and procedures to resolve moderate to complex matters.
  
• Perform as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to other team members and faculty or staff, assisting with identifying, evaluating, and negotiating any special concerns or potential problems which may affect contractual or federal compliance. Guides the WVU community as an expert to address questions regarding the many nuances of policy guidelines.
• Prioritize time-sensitive material for appropriate action and review and approve or coordinate the review and approval of priority reviews/negotiations for grant awards and agreements.
• The SME also assists team members in determining, or independently determines, any variance in the award document from the submitted proposal (i.e., terms and conditions, revised budgets, budget discrepancies, and cost sharing requirements) and works to resolve such conflicts prior to contractual signing or acceptance by collaborating with various departmental personnel.
• The SME gathers details and creates agreements requiring sponsor approval and utilizes Adobe Sign to obtain authorized signatures before submitting to sponsor and tracking to completion.
• Become a SME to utilize the OSP electronic data management system (DMS) to maintain meticulous records, to secure, organize and preserve all award documentation (formal and informal), to create and locate reference documents, activity, and route logs, and assist and guide other team members as needed.
• Serve as a liaison between the sponsor's administrative office(s) and faculty member(s) to assist in resolving any potential problems.
• Assist in the development of creating information and supportive documents for OSP.
• Develop a process for cross-training employees in the core functions of the OSP.
• Collaborate with Award Negotiation team members to review and improve procedures and meet the goals and initiatives of OSP and the University.
• Collaborate with OSP Pre-Award and Award Initiation sub-departments to help move forward initiatives related to OSP's goals and enhance the level of success in achieving OSP's overall objectives.
• Create and maintain OSP website content, including developing training resources for faculty/staff, Standard Operating Procedures, and OSP guidelines for Award Negotiation content.
• Assist with drafting and maintaining Award Negotiation manuals and guidance to ensure consistency and compliance by the WVU community.
• Develop and maintain subrecipient monitoring materials, including subrecipient commitment forms and other resources for vetting subaward institutions at the subaward stage.
• Perform rotating Award Negotiation tasks, including monitoring and responding to general inquiries received by the Award Negotiation vanity email accounts, ensuring appropriate and timely responses.
• Facilitate the progression of the award lifecycle from Award Negotiation to the Award Initiation stage by providing clear, substantive documentation highlighting unique grant, award, and/or contract review requirements, and provide information sufficient to issue subawards, as necessary.
• Develops and presents training or informational programs and presentations.
  
• Independently respond to inquiries and provide internal and external customer service to include addressing sponsor and customer verbal and written inquiries, and providing program, as well as direct intern and external client, support services.
• Ensure proper follow-up to requests pertaining to the review of sponsored research agreements.
• Respond to faculty inquiries regarding OSP Award Negotiation procedures.
• Build and maintain positive business relationships with internal and external customers, including college, department, and center leaders.
• Make referrals to the OSP website or the appropriate WVU staff and/or faculty for additional information to state, federal, or other government agencies and departments, and other sponsors of research.
• Facilitate daily communication with the Award Negotiation Associate and Assistant Directors, sponsors, and WVU faculty and staff.
• Coordinate with the Associate and Assistant Directors of the Award Initiation and Management sub-department to assist with the establishment of sponsored awards within ORACLE, MAP, and/or Kuali Coeus (KC).
• Collaborate with OSP Pre-Award and Award Initiation sub-departments to help move forward initiatives related to OSP's goals and enhance the level of success in achieving OSP's overall objectives.
• Perform rotating Award Negotiation tasks, including monitoring and responding to general inquiries received by the Award Negotiation vanity email accounts, ensuring appropriate and timely responses.
• Proactively make recommendations for improvements to OSP and WVU processes and procedures.
• Serves on committees and task forces as directed.
• Other special projects that arise during the ERA transition and/or as assigned.
• Complete other duties as assigned by the Director of OSP, or Associate and Assistant Directors of OSP Award Negotiation.
  

Education:

Bachelor's degree, preferably in business or public administration.

Experience:

A minimum of 2 years of experience:

• • Research administration experience, preferably at a university or research foundation/institution.
  • Sponsor's grants management systems

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) and research accounting principals.
• Interpreting federal regulations, including a working knowledge of export control laws and regulations.
• Interpreting complex legal terms and conditions and research accordingly.
• Interpret federal regulations, including a working knowledge of export control laws and regulations.
• Interpret complex legal terms and conditions and research accordingly.
• Working knowledge of federal and state regulatory and compliance issues, federal and state laws, and public policy.
• Working knowledge of Institutional Review Board (IRB) regulations.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), DFAR, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), OMB Circulars, and other regulatory documents.
• Ability to learn academic, administrative, and organizational policies and procedures that impact OSP, with the ability to apply these policies and procedures to daily work assignments.
• Ability to apply judgment, discretion, and initiative in coordinating many different and complex tasks, determining relative importance of each, setting priorities, and completing project in a timely fashion.
• Must be enterprising, judicious, entrepreneurial, and diplomatic.
• Ability to interact with other WVU departments, including WVU General Counsel, and various funding agencies with tact, courtesy, and confidentiality in order to resolve pre-award or contract issues.
• Ability to utilize a variety of software packages.
• Ability to work accurately under short deadlines.
• Maintain skills in, or knowledge of, professional principles, legal and/or reporting requirements affecting area of responsibility.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Strive to continuously build knowledge and skills; pursue training and development opportunities; assess strengths, weaknesses, and share expertise with others.
• Manage difficult or emotional matters with objectivity and openness; respond promptly to needs and requests for service and assistance; meet commitments and dates, notify others if change occurs; provide, solicit, and apply feedback; and build goodwill through balanced contributions, positive approach, respect and support of others.
• Demonstrated group presentation skills, participate in meetings, listen and get clarification, is responsive and will speak clearly and persuasively in positive and negative situations. Write and edit clearly and informatively, vary style to meet needs, present numerical data effectively, and able to read and interpret written information.
• Align work and develop strategies to meet organizational goals; seek to improve and promote quality; demonstrate accuracy and thoroughness; and uphold organizational expectations and values.
• Respond to management direction; resourcefully adapt to changes in work environment and circumstances; respond well under pressure and manage competing demands; take calculated risks, ask for and offer help when needed; exercise discretion and sound judgment; is tactful and responsible for own actions.
• Adhere to work schedule and comply with leave management responsibilities.
• Excellent communication and listening skills.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to interact with various customers throughout WVU.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and appropriately apply discretion.
• Demonstrated problem solving skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge of research administration.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and appropriately apply Federal, State, and University policies and procedures, and interpret cost principles.
• Demonstrated to use basic math and/or accounting skills.
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's Degree
• Certified Research Administrator (CRA)

At West Virginia University, we leverage our talents and resources to create a better future for our state and the world. As West Virginia's land-grant university, WVU has three campuses that touch each corner of the state. The WVU System includes 518 buildings on 15,880 acres, Extension Service offices in all 55 counties, ten experimental farms and four forests.

From the groundbreaking R1 research of our flagship campus in Morgantown to the career-oriented programs of WVU Potomac State in Keyser to the technology-intensive programs at WVU Tech in Beckley - the contributions of WVU employees directly impact the 1.8 million people of West Virginia every day, no matter their role or position.

Service, curiosity, respect, accountability, and appreciation are the core values that unite Mountaineers, inspiring one another to work tirelessly and support others as they seek to reach new heights. After all, when you're a Mountaineer, impossible is just another mountain to climb.

Creating an inclusive, engaged, and dynamic learning environment is core to WVU's academic mission. We welcome candidates who can contribute a range of ideas, approaches and experiences.

West Virginia University is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer and is the recipient of an NSF ADVANCE award for gender equity. The University values diversity among its faculty, staff, and students, and invites applications from all qualified applicants regardless of race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, nationality, genetics, disability, or Veteran status.