Contract Negotiator- Office of Sponsored Programs

The University of Virginia (UVA) Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) is seeking applicants for a Contract Negotiator with experience analyzing, reviewing and negotiating legal agreements. This role will provide contracting services to UVA's academic and research community.

This position is eligible for in-person work, or for remote or hybrid work under an approved telework plan.

The OSP Grants & Contracts group promotes excellence in research by providing comprehensive service in proposal submission, award negotiation, non-financial award management, and non-funded agreement negotiation. In FY22 UVA submitted over $2B in external funding proposals and received more than $448M in new awards. The Contract Negotiators are responsible for research compliance in contract review, drafting, negotiation, execution and other aspects of contract administration, primarily for non-funded agreements, thus supporting academic departments, interdisciplinary research centers, and institutional strategic initiatives.

Responsibilities:

• Review, draft and negotiate a wide range of basic research agreements, especially Confidential Disclosure Agreements, Material Transfer Agreements, Data Use Agreements, amendments, Collaboration Agreements, Teaming Agreements and other agreements within a School-, Institute- or pan-University-based portfolio.
• Work under direction of Senior Contract Negotiators to partner with Schools, Principal Investigators, other OSP units, research compliance offices, research groups, and other departments within UVA's research community.
• Manage multi-contract projects under direction of Senior Contract Negotiators, including drafting/negotiating agreements for investigator-initiated multi-site studies, multi-party consortia, collaborations or other subcontracts.
• Resolve complex research-related issues in cooperation with senior management or key University constituencies.
• Serve as a liaison between the University, funding agencies and other sponsors, communicating as UVA's representative.
• Ensure compliance with state, Federal and University rules, regulations, policies and practices (such as FAR, Uniform Guidance, sponsor guidelines, etc.) and provide guidance to staff and faculty in understanding applicable policies and obligations.
• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge / Skills:

• Knowledge of contracting is imperative.
• Demonstrated professionalism and diplomatic skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent analytical skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft and web based tools
• Knowledge of governmental regulations (e.g. FAR, Uniform Guidance, FERPA, HIPAA, GDPR) a plus.

Minimum Requirements
Education: Bachelor's degree
Experience: Five years of job related experience. Four additional years of experience may be accepted in lieu of degree.

Preferred Requirements

Education: Juris Doctor (JD) degree or extensive experience negotiating complex agreements are strongly preferred but not required.
Licensure: Certified Research Administrator (CRA), MBA, Top Secret Clearance, data protection certification or project management certification

Application Instructions: Please apply through Workday and complete an application online. Include the following documents:

• A CV/resume
• A cover letter

All documents can be loaded into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

For questions about the application process, please contact Margaret Weeks, Academic Recruiter. Before a formal offer of employment is extended, the selected candidate will undergo a background check per university policy.

Physical Demands
This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

COVID Vaccination Requirement and Guidelines

Please visit the UVA COVID-19 Job Requirements and Guidelines webpage prior to applying for current information regarding vaccination requirements and guidelines for employment at UVA.