• Job Description

  Req#: 284112
  The primary purpose of the position is to improve business operations supporting the School's mission along with the Senior Executive Director of Research Administration and members of the Sponsored Projects Administration Office (SPAO). This position will plan and execute executive level projects, transform research administration operations, and develop continuous improvement competencies school wide.
  
  The Director for Operational Excellence and Optimization Office includes the direct oversight of the Process Improvement Analysts, Training and Development Specialists, Research Administrator Subject Matter Experts, and Compliance and Regulatory Subject Matter Experts, as well as leadership responsibilities that include strategic thought partnership, mentorship, representing the Office in the absence of the Senior Executive Director of Research Administration, campus engagement with university leaders, and will always lead the most complex projects.
  
  Primary Responsibilities of the position include but are not limited to the following:
  
  Innovative Transformation Leadership: Provide leadership and direction for major projects at the School. Network with the campus/school community to identify school wide opportunities and propose solutions, services, processes, or capabilities that align with the School's priorities and, are high-impact or add significant value or efficiencies. Lead and facilitate the development of workflows, project plans, operating procedures and reporting required for the evaluation and adoption of new processes, systems, and technologies. Work closely with the Senior Executive Director of Research Administration and School partners to gain a deep understanding of the goal of the project and what success ultimately looks like.
  
  Project and Change Management: Oversee the analysis, design, documentation, and implementation process for complex school-wide or high priority projects. Provide guidance on feasibility and appropriateness of proposed solutions and seek alternative solutions when available. Design, test and implement solutions in School systems and processes. Monitor deliverables throughout the project lifecycle to ensure completeness, consistency, and quality. Introduce a set of tools and methodologies that enable continuous quality improvement. Manage the people side of change to ensure successful implementation, adoption, and reinforcement. Responsible for goal setting, progress reporting, project deliverables, implementation, and evaluation for designated projects. Deliver tangible and quantifiable process and operational improvements. Proactively flag issues or barriers to success and work with the project team to create a relevant action plan. Escalate issues that cannot be solved directly by the project team to the Senior Executive Director of Research Administration via the established process.
  
  This position and their team will also support high-complexity research submissions and awards within the Schools' Centers, Institutes, and Departments that are engaged in a substantial amount of externally funded research and feature complex, cross-disciplinary research collaborations and partnerships within the School. This position in collaboration with the Senior Executive Director of Research Administration, will be responsible for strategic planning and strategy setting for the Office. The Director must be an exceptional research administration strategist, adept communicator, expert collaborator, and superior project manager with the ability to build trust, inspire confidence, manage change, and work in partnership with multiple units within the School and the university to transform and manage critical research administration operations. The Director will have supervisory responsibilities over subordinate professional and administrative staff, full oversight and direct supervisory responsibility.

• About the company

  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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