Job Details

Senior Contracts Specialist

Position Number: 6047109
Location: Albany, NY
Position Type: Sponsored Programs, Grants, and Contracts

Senior Contracts Specialist

Category: Sponsored Funds Administrators
Department: Sponsored Programs
Locations: Albany, NY
Posted: Mar 3, 2025
Closes: Open Until Filled
Type: Exempt
Position ID: 186027

About The Research Foundation for SUNY:

The Research Foundation for The State University of New York (RF) is the largest comprehensive university-connected research foundation in the country.

Our mission is to provide talent, services, and technology that empower SUNY to research, innovate, and transfer discoveries that transform the world's knowledge economy.

Our vision is to make SUNY the best place for faculty, students, and staff to research, innovate and solve the world's most pressing problems.

The RF serves SUNY by providing essential administrative services that enable faculty to focus their efforts on educating students and performing life-changing research across a wide range of disciplines including Artificial Intelligence, Clean Energy, Biotechnology, Longevity, Substance Addiction, Nextgen Quantum Computing, Environmental Health, and Resiliency. We work with the academic and business leadership of SUNY campuses to facilitate research and discovery by administering sponsored projects and delivering intellectual property and technology transfer services that fuel innovation and move ideas and inventions to the marketplace.

The RF is committed to diversity, inclusion, and a working environment that enhances productivity creates personal and professional opportunities, unleashes everyone's full potential, and fuels innovation. We hold the organization and each other to the highest standards of integrity, accountability, and ethical behavior.

Visit www.rfsuny.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Learn about SUNY at www.suny.edu.

Job Description:

This is an excellent position for a recent JD with contract negotiation experience or an experienced contracts reviewer to begin a career in sponsored programs administration supporting SUNY faculty and research enterprise. Candidates local to Albany, New York will be to work a hybrid schedule. Candidates outside of New York can work a full remote work schedule. Within SUNY's broad and rich research portfolio, SUNY research places a special focus on those scientific and technological areas that have the potential to accelerate economic growth, drive social impact, and enhance human wellbeing. SUNY faculty strives to stay at the forefront of these critical research domains through breakthrough discoveries and impactful innovations, critically acclaimed publications, and enduring, vital partnerships with industry and government labs.

This role is vitally important for structuring the agreements that facilitate discovery and impactful innovation. Reporting to the VP for Sponsored Programs & Regulatory Affairs, the Senior Contracts Specialist will provide high quality contract review, negotiation, working with campus compliance specialists such as IP, IRB, Data Security, etc. This position will be responsible for working with a broad range of sponsored program agreements and requires a high degree of attention to detail, as well as the ability to create/review contracts analyzing each circumstance to minimize risk to the campuses while collaborating with a broad team. This position will also provide a review of sponsor award terms and conditions at the proposal/pre-award phase, as needed, to document any requests for exceptions to ensure regulatory compliance.

The Senior Contracts Specialist will be responsible for the following:

Review and negotiate sponsored program agreements, including but not limited to, contracts, grants, MOUs, data use agreements, teaming agreements, confidentiality/non-disclosure, as well as subcontracts/subawards and other related sponsored programs agreements.
Provide technical support and facilitation to SUNY campus sponsored programs offices on an array of post-award program management matters concerning policies, procedures, certifications, conflict regulations, and regulatory interpretation.
Review of sponsored program FRPs to provide advice on grant application requirements.
Perform preliminary review of complex contractual documents noting any unusual terms for legal and administrative review prior to execution. Using SUNY's Research Foundation Electronic Research
Administration suite of tools, responsible for coordinating agreement negotiation and compliance from inception through receipt of the fully executed agreement.
Provide guidance to pre-post staff to assure accurate input and interpretation of sponsor requirements and regulations affecting awards.
Coordinate with university staff in and during the review of the agreement including enduring the research teams are appraised of award terms and conditions.
Participate in the refinement of policies and procedures to reflect regulatory changes.
Other duties and projects as required or requested.

Requirements:

Education/Experience:

Bachelor's degree with 2-4 years of experience negotiating contracts and or grants preferably in a sponsored programs environment. Role requires outstanding analytical and communication skills or equivalent combination of education and experience. Juris Doctorate or formal contracts training is required.
Must have experience in interpreting government regulations as they apply to university research.
An in-depth understanding of sponsored program policies and regulations with a goal of facilitating research administration is preferred.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required, as well as the ability to think critically, to successfully research, analyze and present complex issues.
Demonstrated ability to assemble and work in teams with a strong commitment to excellence in customer service.
Strong computer skills and proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel and Word, are highly desirable. Experience using Oracle management systems is preferred.

Compensation for this position: The compensation for this role is between $95,000 to $110,000. The pay will depend on a variety of factors that may include but are not limited to experience, education, training, and certifications.

Additional Information:

As an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer, The Research Foundation for SUNY will not discriminate in its employment practices due to an applicant's race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy-related conditions, reproductive health decisions, childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, transgender status, age, national origin or ancestry, marital status, familial status, citizenship, physical and mental disability, prior arrest or conviction record, genetic characteristics/genetic information, predisposition or carrier status, domestic violence victim status, military status or service, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under federal, state or local law. The Company will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.

The Company will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

The Research Foundation for the State University of New York is not an agency or instrumentality of the State of New York. Employees of the Research Foundation for the State University of New York are not state employees, do not participate in any state retirement system, and do not receive state fringe benefits. The Research Foundation for the State University of New York operates under a contract with The State University of New York and receives no directly appropriated state funding.

Application Instructions:

Applicants interested in applying MUST submit the following documents:

1. Resume/Cv
2. Cover Letter

After submitting your resume/CV, the subsequent pages enable you to upload your cover letter and additional documents.

Returning Applicants - Login to your RF SUNY Careers Account to review your application.

To apply, visit https://rfsuny.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp;jsessionid=F82F748D2E633A532883997CA3CA400E?JOBID=186027