"PROGRAM DIRECTOR I"

PROGRAM DIRECTOR I

The University of Alabama at Birmingham

Position Summary:

The Program Director I provides comprehensive administrative, operational, and programmatic leadership for the Nolan Research Group (NRG), a research enterprise encompassing multiple funded projects, personnel, and scholarly activities. The position is responsible for coordinating research operations, managing personnel workflows, overseeing grants and fiscal administration, supporting strategic planning, and ensuring effective internal and external coordination. Serving as the primary administrative lead for the research group, the Program Director I partners closely with the Principal Investigator to ensure that research activities are executed efficiently, compliantly, and in alignment with institutional and funder expectations.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

Program Administration and Research Operations:

• Directs day-to-day administrative operations of the research group, ensuring continuity across multiple projects and funding mechanisms.
• Establishes and maintains standardized operational workflows to support research productivity, accountability, and reporting.
• Coordinates project timelines, deliverables, and dependencies across the research portfolio.
• Identifies operational risks and implements mitigation strategies in collaboration with the Principal Investigator.

Personnel Coordination and Workforce Management:

• Coordinates assignment and prioritization of administrative and programmatic tasks across postdoctoral fellows, research staff, trainees, and support personnel.
• Supports workforce planning, including workload balancing, role clarification, and succession planning.
• Facilitates onboarding, training logistics, and offboarding processes in coordination with departmental administration and human resources.
• Supports a professional and collaborative work environment consistent with institutional policies.

Grants, Contracts, and Fiscal Administration:

• Oversees administrative and fiscal management of grants, contracts, and subawards, including budget tracking, effort allocation, invoicing, and reporting deadlines.
• Coordinates with institutional offices to ensure compliance with sponsor, institutional, and audit requirements (excluding IRB oversight).
• Supports development and submission of administrative components of grant proposals, renewals, and progress reports.
• Assists with financial forecasting and sustainability planning for the research portfolio.

Meetings, Events, and Dissemination Support:

• Plans and coordinates research-related meetings, symposia, community engagement activities, training sessions, and dissemination events.
• Oversees logistical coordination for abstracts, manuscripts, presentations, and reports to ensure timely submission and dissemination.
• Maintains records of scholarly and dissemination activities for institutional and sponsor reporting.

Principal Investigator Administrative Support:

• Manages scheduling, calendar coordination, and logistical planning related to research, administrative, and dissemination activities.
• Prepares meeting agendas, briefing materials, minutes, and action-item tracking.
• Provides operational input to support prioritization and alignment of activities across the research portfolio.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Salary Pay Range:

$47,665 - $77,455

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements:

Bachelor's degree in a related field and three (3) years of related experience required. Work experience may NOT substitute for education requirement.