Director of Proposals - 136173

Payroll Title
CONTRACTS AND GRANTS MGR 1
Department
CONTRACTS & GRANTS ADMIN
Hiring Pay Scale
$135,000 - $170,000 / Year
Worksite
Hybrid
Appointment Type
Career
Appointment Percent
100%
Union
Uncovered
Total Openings
1
Work Schedule
Days
#136173 Director of Proposals
Extended Review Date: Wed 12/31/2025
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UC San Diego values and welcomes people from all backgrounds. If you are interested in being part of our team, possess the needed licensure and certifications, and feel that you have most of the qualifications and/or transferable skills for a job opening, we strongly encourage you to apply.
Job posting will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified.
Reassignment Applicants: Eligible clients should contact their Disability Counselor for assistance.
This position offers a hybrid work arrangement, which includes a combination of onsite and remote work
Description
The Director of Proposals is independently responsible for the strategic leadership, oversight, and operational management of both the General Campus and Health Sciences Proposal Teams, which serve a broad range of academic divisions, schools, departments, programs, centers, and institutes.
The Director manages teams of proposal officers who review, approve, and submit sponsored research proposals and related pre-award actions on behalf of UC San Diego Principal Investigators (PIs). The Director ensures all proposal activity complies with institutional, federal, and state requirements, and that internal workflows—such as the Kuali Proposal Development (PD) system—are effectively managed to support timely and accurate submissions.
The Director also provides work direction to the Health Sciences Proposal Team, overseeing priorities, managing escalations, and ensuring service standards are met. The role involves management of workload distribution, proposal processing systems, and staff performance, with an emphasis on data-driven decision-making and continuous process improvement.
The Director is a key member of the Sponsored Project Office (SPO) leadership team and works in close collaboration with the Assistant Vice Chancellor / Executive Director of SPO, the Director of Sponsored Research Business Systems and Innovation Strategies, and the Senior Director of SPO Award. This includes advising on and executing high-level decisions related to risk management, policy deviations, intellectual property, and institutional priorities in research administration.
Key Responsibilities

Ensure proposal activity meets all regulatory, sponsor, and institutional requirements. Coordinate risk mitigation strategies in collaboration with researchers, department leaders, and senior administrators. Serve as the point of escalation for complex or sensitive proposal issues.
Manage institutional use and adoption of the Kuali PD system and JIRA Workload Management System, ensuring proposals are routed, reviewed, and submitted in compliance with applicable deadlines and standards. Monitor and improve system workflows, coordinate with business systems staff, and troubleshoot system-related issues affecting proposal submissions.
Review and discuss exceptions to UC San Diego and UC systemwide indirect cost and administrative policies. Provide policy recommendations to the AVC/Executive Director for further consideration by the appropriate campus or UC Office of the President authorities.
Provide work direction to the Health Sciences Proposal Team and oversight to the General Campus Proposal Team. Manage hiring, performance evaluations, and professional development. Resolve staffing issues, promote team collaboration, and ensure alignment with SPO’s strategic goals.
Serve as a campus expert on federal and sponsor-specific pre-award policies. Participate in UC system-wide discussions, representing the interests of UC San Diego SPO Pre-Award function. Collaborate with UCOP and other campuses to harmonize practices and policies.
Lead training and outreach efforts to departments and research units. Utilize proposal metrics and department feedback to inform the development of support services and identify emerging needs. Promote transparency, consistency, and responsiveness in SPO’s pre-award services.
Represent SPO in internal and external audits, providing documentation and defending policy interpretation and implementation. Lead development of corrective actions when necessary and ensure audit findings are addressed.
Contribute to SPO’s strategic planning, setting staffing levels, productivity and benchmarks, and operational priorities, aligned with KPIs. Ensure efficient use of resources, streamline processes, and promote innovation in pre-award service delivery.
Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in business, public administration, life sciences, economics, engineering, or related field—or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
In-depth knowledge of the organization's operational, personnel, and financial transactions and systems related to administration of contracts and grants. Expert knowledge of federal and sponsor-specific pre-award regulations (e.g., Uniform Guidance, FAR, NIH/NSF policy statements) and deep understanding of institutional research policies and their application across federal, industry, and academic sponsors. Demonstrated ability to stay current on evolving sponsor guidance, federal regulations, and institutional policies and apply them in practice. Familiarity with intellectual property, cost principles, conflict of interest, and export control (ITAR/EAR) requirements. Experience addressing audit findings and implementing corrective actions.
Demonstrated ability to negotiate mutually beneficial agreements. Proven ability to review, interpret, and negotiate complex proposal terms and conditions in line with institutional and sponsor policy. Skilled in developing or revising contractual language to ensure institutional protections are met while enabling research. Demonstrated understanding of legal considerations in pre-award agreements, including subawards, multi-party collaborations, and non-standard sponsor terms
Knowledge of industry best practices. Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of contract law, including legal principles governing research agreements, with an emphasis on federal patent, copyright, trademark, business, and tort law. Proven working knowledge of the research lifecycle and the technical and legal considerations that impact the protection, management, and institutional use of intellectual property in a sponsored research context.
Demonstrated ability to work independently; excellent organizational and interpersonal skills. Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills to effectively engage with a diverse range of stakeholders, including researchers, department administrators, executives, legal counsel, and external sponsors. Ability to convey complex regulatory or contractual issues clearly and diplomatically, adapting tone and format to the audience. Demonstrated skill in managing sensitive or escalated issues with professionalism and tact.
Service orientation, strong management skills, leadership, sound judgment and decision making, critical thinking and creative problem solving. Strong leadership, supervision, and team-building abilities, with experience managing a diverse and high-performing team. Demonstrated experience hiring, developing, and mentoring staff, promoting collaboration and continuous improvement. Commitment to service excellence, sound judgment, and advancing organizational goals through equity, inclusion, and strategic alignment with key performance indicators (KPIs).
Demonstrated skills using common desktop / web applications; understanding of research enterprise databases. Proficiency in enterprise-level contract and grant systems (e.g., Kuali Proposal Development), workload tracking systems (e.g., JIRA), and institutional reporting tools. Strong command of Microsoft Office tools; experience using databases and data analysis software (e.g., Access, SQL, Tableau) to assess performance metrics, streamline operations, and inform decision-making. Ability to troubleshoot system issues in collaboration with business systems teams.
Ability to communicate clearly verbally and in writing to multiple constituencies. Proven ability to prepare concise, accurate, and persuasive written materials, including policy interpretations, institutional guidance, and internal communications. Strong legal and analytical writing skills with demonstrated capacity to review and summarize complex proposal and policy language. Ability to represent the office in formal communications with faculty, sponsors, and leadership.
Experience developing and delivering professional presentations, trainings, and workshops to both technical and non-technical audiences. Ability to design and tailor content to meet the needs of department stakeholders, sponsors, and leadership. Comfortable leading presentations at institutional, systemwide, and national forums.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS

Occasional evenings and weekends may be required.
Job offer is contingent on satisfactory completion of a Background Check.
This position involves access to technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Any job offer made will be contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to serve in compliance with U.S. export controls.
Pay Transparency Act
Annual Full Pay Range: $108,100 - $204,900 (will be prorated if the appointment percentage is less than 100%)
Hourly Equivalent: $51.77 - $98.13
Factors in determining the appropriate compensation for a role include experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. The Hiring Pay Scale referenced in the job posting is the budgeted salary or hourly range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position. The Annual Full Pay Range may be broader than what the University anticipates to pay for this position, based on internal equity, budget, and collective bargaining agreements (when applicable).
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If employed by the University of California, you will be required to comply with our Policy on Vaccination Programs, which may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.
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The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.
For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination
UC San Diego is a smoke and tobacco free environment. Please visit smokefree.ucsd.edu for more information.
Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts an offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of substantiated misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies governing employee conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, or discrimination, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC’s policies addressing some forms of misconduct:
UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
Abusive Conduct in the Workplace