at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, United States
Job Description
Job Opening Id: 54110
Department: Office Sponsored Research
Salary/Grade: EXS/8
Job Summary:
As a professional staff member of Northwestern Sponsored Research (SR), the Associate Grants Officer is integrally involved in the review and analysis of contractual issues including the review, redlining, and negotiation of government agreements, not for profit agreements, and incoming federally funded subawards that require advanced knowledge of University, sponsor, and Federal regulations and policy. The Associate Grants Officer will manage a range of research agreements with federal, not-for-profit, subcontracts, and associated agreements pertaining to research funding for all academic departments on Northwestern’s Chicago, Evanston and Doha, Qatar campuses.
The Associate Grants Officer interfaces with a number of individuals in SR, in other Northwestern offices and departments, and outside the university. Incoming agreements may come from Grants Officers in SR, from the faculty members proposing and conducting the research, or from the entities seeking to sponsor the research. The Associate Grants Officer works with these individuals and coordinates compliance with the University’s Innovations and New Ventures (INVO) office, Office of Corporate Relations, Office of General Counsel, Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and others. The Associate Grants Officer has appropriate autonomy and ownership to negotiate, resolve and execute assigned agreements, transactions, relationships, and issues appropriate with the grade level and responsibilities.
The Associate Grants Officer will support the OR mission and values of understanding empathy, modeling accountability, ensuring fairness, embracing community, and valuing creativity.
Specific Responsibilities:
Contract and Agreements Negotiation and Acceptance
- Negotiate terms and conditions for government and domestic not-for profit funding agreements. In this capacity, Associate Grants Officer assumes responsibility for differentiating between negotiable positions and absolute requirements.
- Conduct comprehensive analyses of provisions regarding Federal Acquisition Regulations, intellectual property ownership and licensing, publication and confidentiality, liability, indemnification, warranty, export control, and choice of law, among others.
- Conduct negotiations to ensure an appropriate balance between the needs of the parties with those of the PI and the University. Clearly and concisely, convey University positions and the rationale for these positions while working to maintain good relations between the parties.
- Identify issues during research negotiations in which Northwestern’s position and/or goals diverge from the sponsoring entity, work with leadership and/or other team members, as appropriate, to favorab
