Job Summary
The Director of Sponsored Programs Administration and Title III Programs reports directly to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, works within the supervision of the President for all Title III matters, and holds primary responsibility for the administrative functions of Research and Sponsored Programs. These functions include the management of any staff and all operations associated with the identification, development, submission, implementation, and closeout of grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other sponsored agreements. The Director implements strategies that ensure faculty and staff are provided the information, training, and support necessary to seek and administer grants and other sponsored agreements.
The Director is also responsible for maintaining the reporting system between the College and its sponsoring agencies as it relates to program evaluations, progress and performance reports, budget revisions, and all other deliverables required under the terms of each award.
In addition, the Director manages the College's Title III grant programs. For all Title III matters, the Director also works within the supervision of the President. In this capacity, the Director routinely works with and supports activity coordinators across the various institutional units and holds responsibility for the management of any Title III staff, and all budgets and resources. The Director ensures that all Title III activities are implemented as an integral part of the College's goals, objectives, and the ASCEND 2030 Strategic Plan.
The Director collaborates closely with faculty, staff, administrators, governmental agencies, foundations, corporations, workforce development organizations, and community partners to develop competitive funding proposals, ensure compliance with sponsor requirements, and maximize institutional resources. The Director also pursues and supports externally funded workforce training, professional development, certification, and continuing education programs that respond to regional workforce needs, support economic development in West Alabama, and create opportunities for lifelong learning.
Essential Functions:
The Director provides administrative leadership, technical expertise, and compliance oversight for all sponsored programs and Title III activities at the College. Accordingly, the Director will lead in performing the following functions, including but not limited to the following:
Sponsored Programs Administration
- Work closely with the Office of Institutional Advancement and institutional decision makers to implement a strategic framework that increases the number of grant applications submitted and awards received;
- Lead the College's grants and contracts development process, including identifying funding opportunities, establishing timelines, coordinating proposal activities, and ensuring timely submissions;
- Research and disseminate information regarding funding opportunities from federal, state, corporate, foundation, and other external sources;
- Collaborate with faculty, staff, and administrators to develop competitive grant proposals aligned with institutional priorities, academic excellence, student success, research, workforce development, and community engagement goals;
- Prepare, draft, review, edit, and submit grant applications, contracts, letters of inquiry, budgets, reports, and related documents prior to submission to funding agencies;
- Develop grant budgets in collaboration with faculty, principal investigators, project directors, and the Office of Business and Finance;
- Assist principal investigators and project directors in negotiating grant terms, conditions, budgets, and scopes of work;
- Implement processes that ensure compliance with federal and other sponsor regulations governing effort reporting, progress reporting, procurement, and allowable costs;
- Oversee post-award administration activities, including contract review, subrecipient and subcontract monitoring, compliance tracking, and project performance monitoring;
- Coordinate and submit quarterly, annual, interim, and final reports to funding agencies and stakeholders, and assist principal investigators in ensuring the timely preparation and submission of final technical reports;
- Manage institutional registrations and electronic systems related to proposal submission, awards management, and compliance reporting;
- Establish and maintain systems for tracking proposals, awards, expenditures, outcomes, and institutional funding performance;
- Receive and maintain records of progress reports, letters of commitment, and official statements of services to be rendered by all consultants and agencies contracted to assist the College in implementing funded projects;
- Assist in the appropriate disposition of and accounting for all equipment and other property acquired through Title III and other sponsored project funds;
- Plan, develop, and implement workshops, conferences, training, and technical assistance resources that strengthen faculty and staff participation in sponsored programs;
Title III Program Management
- Work closely with the Provost, the President, and other institutional decision makers to ensure that all Title III activities are implemented as an integral part of the College's goals, objectives, and strategic plan;
- Prepare and submit five-year grant proposals and budgets to the United States Department of Education;
- Oversee the writing and submission of the plan of operation, revised budgets for each year of the grant period, and all other technical reports required by the funding agency;
- Submit all necessary budget revisions, Phase I documents, and Annual Performance Reports to the United States Department of Education;
- Assist activity coordinators with budget transfers, revisions, and financial matters in coordination with the Office of Business and Finance;
- Ensure the development of an effective evaluation system that measures total institutional development and the impact of externally funded activities;
- Remain knowledgeable of Title III and other federal policies, grant terms, and conditions to ensure compliance throughout the life of each agreement;
Workforce Development and Continuing Education
- Pursue workforce-related grants, contracts, and partnerships that create educational, training, internship, apprenticeship, and employment opportunities for students and the community;
- Support the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of externally funded workforce development and continuing education programs aligned with regional workforce needs and institutional priorities;
- Support the development of non-credit, certificate, certification, professional development, and lifelong learning opportunities that expand educational access and support career advancement;
- Build and maintain partnerships with employers, workforce boards, governmental agencies, community organizations, and economic development entities;
- Conduct workforce and labor market analyses to identify emerging employment trends and inform program development and funding strategies;
- Collaborate with academic departments to establish pathways among workforce credentials, continuing education offerings, and degree programs;
- Establish performance indicators and reporting systems to evaluate program effectiveness, participant outcomes, enrollment growth, employment outcomes, and financial sustainability;
- Ensure compliance with accreditation standards, grant requirements, state regulations, and College policies governing workforce and continuing education programs;
Leadership and Strategic Responsibilities
- Establish and maintain effective communication with the Provost, the President, and other institutional decision makers to ensure that program operations remain consistent with the College's mission, goals, and strategic plan;
- Support the ASCEND 2030 Strategic Plan by securing external resources and developing innovative educational opportunities that advance institutional priorities;
- Provide data, analyses, and reports to senior leadership regarding sponsored programs, Title III activities, workforce initiatives, and funding outcomes;
- Assist in the recruitment of key personnel supported by sponsored programs and Title III funding;
- Coordinate program activities in a manner that facilitates maximum utilization of staff and other program resources;
- Ensure maximum program cost effectiveness and appropriate stewardship of all sponsored funds;
- Remain cognizant of the management systems instituted by Stillman College;
- Represent the College in workforce development initiatives, professional associations, community partnerships, and economic development activities;
- Promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement, and provide an atmosphere conducive to the pursuit of excellence on the part of those individuals and groups engaged in refining, implementing, and evaluating the College's mission, goals, objectives, and activities;
- Perform all other job-related duties as assigned.
Supervisory Areas
- Any staff and work-study students in support of Research and Sponsored Programs
- Title III Office staff and resources
- Title III activity coordinators (programmatic oversight)
- Pre-award proposal development and post-award administration
- Sponsored programs compliance and reporting
- Externally funded workforce development and continuing education initiatives
Professional Qualifications and Personal Qualities
The ideal candidate will have the following professional qualifications and personal characteristics:
Alignment with mission: A deep resonance with the mission and possibilities of a Stillman College education and experience; a drive that is consistently student-centered and a commitment to proactively advance student success in all its forms;
Grants and compliance expertise: Demonstrated command of the full sponsored programs life cycle, from opportunity identification and proposal development through award management, reporting, audit, and closeout; a disciplined approach to regulatory compliance that protects the institution while enabling faculty and staff to pursue external funding with confidence;
Institutional leadership: Readiness to be an active, valued partner to the College's academic and administrative units; honesty and integrity in advising institutional leadership on critical issues; an understanding of how to accomplish much in both centralized and decentralized institutional environments; the ability to build consensus and a sense of teamwork; and the ability to inspire joy in one's work;
Community and workforce partnerships: The ability to build productive relationships with employers, workforce boards, governmental agencies, and community organizations, and to translate regional workforce needs into fundable programs that serve students and West Alabama;
Fiscal stewardship: The capacity to plan, monitor, and reconcile complex multi-year grant budgets; the ability to optimize sponsored resources to ensure high quality outcomes; and an unwavering commitment to accurate, transparent, and auditable financial practice;
Quantitative sophistication: Experience and a demonstrated record in quantitative reasoning sufficient to ensure the generation of reliable data and rigorous analysis; strategic and analytical ability; and the ability to ask the right questions, uncover meaning, and harness research and evaluation data for its predictive results;
Technological sophistication: Ability to understand the potential value of technological innovations and to lead the process of recommending emerging technologies that can best support process optimization, compliance monitoring, and operational efficiency;
Exceptional communication skills: Ability to be articulate, persuasive, and precise in communicating with internal audiences, including faculty, staff, and institutional leadership, and with external audiences, including federal program officers, foundation representatives, employers, and institutional partners;
Personal qualities: An organizational leader with peerless integrity and an ability to drive a vision through engagement, transparency, hard work, and a sense of urgency; strong values aligned with high ethics, collaboration, compassion, and transparency; sound judgment backed by self-confidence and a sense of perspective; ability to work effectively in a campus culture that is relationship-oriented; and the professional dexterity to adapt within a dynamic, deadline-driven work environment.
Required Qualifications:
- Master's degree from a regionally accredited institution.
- Five to eight years of progressively responsible experience in sponsored programs administration, grants management, or a closely related field, including supervisory and management experience.
- Demonstrated working knowledge of federal grant regulations, including the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200), cost principles, effort reporting requirements, and single audit expectations.
- Experience with both pre-award and post-award administration, including proposal development, project narratives, budget preparation, subrecipient monitoring, and award closeout.
- Demonstrated success in preparing, securing, and managing competitive grants and contracts from federal, state, corporate, and private funding sources.
- Experience with Title III Parts B and F.
- Experience with budget administration, personnel policies and processes, and procurement procedures.
- Demonstrated ability to prepare clear, accurate, and timely technical and financial reports for external funding agencies.
- Ability to analyze complex information, interpret regulations, solve problems, and develop practical solutions.
- Strong organizational, analytical, and project management skills, including experience overseeing and tracking project workflow across multiple institutional units.
- Proven ability to coordinate activities among senior leadership, faculty, staff, principal investigators, external partners, and funding agencies.
- Experience working effectively with a wide range of audiences, including senior administrators, faculty, staff, program officers, auditors, and external partners.
- Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Proficiency with electronic grants management and submission systems (for example, G5, Grants.gov, and Research.gov) and with Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
- Broad understanding of higher education operations and sponsored programs administration.
Preferred/Desired Qualifications:
- Academic or professional doctorate (for example, Ph.D. or Ed.D.) from a regionally accredited institution is preferred.
- Graduate degree in Research Administration, Public Administration, Higher Education Administration, Business Administration, or a related field.
- Seven to ten or more years of relevant work experience in higher education sponsored programs administration, including direct management of Title III programs.
- Certified Research Administrator (CRA) credential or comparable professional certification.
- Experience developing or securing funding for workforce development, continuing education, certification, and professional development programs.
Work Schedule
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (possible variations, such as occasional evening or weekend work depending on sponsor deadlines and institutional events)
Travel
Travel is required within the Tuscaloosa area, the state of Alabama, and nationally, including attendance at sponsor conferences and technical assistance workshops, as well as attendance at evening and weekend functions.
Background Investigation Statement
Before hiring, the final candidate(s) must pass a pre-employment background investigation and a review of information obtained from social media and other internet sources. A prior conviction reported due to background investigation DOES NOT automatically disqualify a candidate from consideration for this position. A candidate with a previous conviction or negative behavioral red flags will receive an individualized review of the prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags before a hiring decision is made.
Application
Review of confidential applications will begin immediately and remain open until the position is filled.
Stillman College is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate unlawfully in employment matters based on race, religion, gender, color, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, or any other category protected by law.
