Contract Manager, Research Administration

Engineering a world of possibilities

The Research & Sponsored Contracts Manager (Manager) will represent The Office of Research Administration in a wide range of activities, committees, and meetings. They will collaborate and interact with many internal and external constituencies including campus administration and academic departments, other higher education institutions, governmental agencies (e.g. Office of Navel Research, Department of Defense, and The Department of Energy), and industry partners. They must be able to maintain high customer service levels while meeting strict deadlines. In this leadership role, the Manager must engage in effective collaboration, become a trusted partner with the university community, and engage campus as appropriate.

This position requires critical thinking in various analysis to apply regulatory interpretation to research and sponsored activity. They will be responsible for independently compiling, analyzing, and presenting contract data. In addition, they will be required to work with campus constituents, including faculty and staff to manage research and sponsored activity and must have the ability to provide effective communication of regulatory information for a broad audience.

This is a managerial position responsible for the management of research, other sponsored, and intellectual property agreements through ORA and provides leadership to the Research & Sponsored Contracts team. This position is a key member of the Research Administration team and serves as a resource to faculty and a liaison for Mines and sponsoring research organizations. Each Contract Administrator, including the Manager, is assigned its own academic portfolio and works directly with those faculty to complete all sponsored research requirements. The Manager will serve as a lead resource to faculty and administrators in the administration of all sponsored research, specifically in interpreting and negotiating sponsored projects and intellectual property agreements. This position requires critical thinking skills to review and interpret terms and conditions, policies and procedures, sponsor expectations and is responsible for determining that agreements are ready for execution.

This position may be hybrid, and requires a majority of their time (3 day per week minimum) with on-campus presence in Golden, Colorado.

Colorado School of Mines provides dedicated professional development and training. Onboarding for this position includes training on policies and procedures, and technical training opportunities for systems and technology required for this role.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and Development

• Provide leadership the Research & Sponsored Contract unit, 4-8 Full Time Employees, with the authority to hire, evaluate performance, and resolve personnel concerns
• Develop and maintain a highly skilled and engaged team through managing the organizational structure, roles, and responsibilities of the team
• Develop and maintain an inclusive and respectful work environment with a team capable of working through new challenges, responsive to ad hoc requests, able to meet important deadlines, and is highly accountable for accuracy in their work product
• Ensure high quality, elite customer advising services to the campus community and implement service metrics and feedback reporting.
• Ensure performance plans include role-based professional development goals to drive exceptional quality work products
• Develop performance-based metrics and ensure robust feedback loops between manager and employees are regularly utilized and documented
• Foster a culture of professional development and continuous improvement within the staff. Shift the department’s perception from a "bottleneck" to a "solution provider" by streamlining support and user-facing resources
• Determine work prioritization by evaluating workloads, deadlines, complexity of the work load, School policy and staff resources. To facilitate these functions, this position will build standard and ad hoc reports to provide performance metric data
• Acts to resolve complex administrative or legal questions or issues that arise and coordinates with and escalates to Assistant Director and/or ORA Director on resolution, as needed and as appropriate
• Establish and promote and manage professional relationships and open communications among all departments. Promote team building, strong collaborative and people-oriented environment with a strong work ethic among team members
• Responsible for creating and maintaining efficient policies and procedures for the Contracting unit. This will require continuous evaluation of processes, researching best practices, analyzing contracting data and statics and performing regular risk assessments
• Provides expertise and consultation related to regulatory and policy issues for successful management of research projects to ORA staff, departmental administrators and faculty
• Remains knowledgeable about current federal regulations, pending changes, OMB CRFs, Federal Acquisition Regulations, state of Colorado regulations and school policy
• Develops contractual training material for ORA staff and campus. Training will be targeted to the audience and include one on one trainings, larger training sessions and web material

Research, Sponsored Program and Intellectual Property Review and Negotiation

• Identify issues and present solutions and approaches for resolution; develop creative solutions to complex contract issues
• Asist with and work on Special Projects based on Mines’ large-scale and strategic initiatives
• Review, draft and manage sponsored research agreements, both initial and modifications from external organizations. Analyze the agreement to determine if the terms and conditions meet federal and state regulations
• Reviews, drafts, and manages various contracts and agreements pertaining to intellectual property. These include, but are not limited to NDAs, MTAs, IIAs, IPMPs, Technology Licensing Agreements, and associated amendments
• Work with the General Counsel and IP Commercialization team to review and draft appropriate contracting templates with a focus on applicable business terms, intellectual property, liability, indemnification, publishing rights, confidentiality, governing law and compliance with federal, state and university policies and regulations
• Negotiate unacceptable terms by suggesting or insisting on alternative language or deletion of certain terms and conditions, while balancing compliance with institutional risk appetite
• Determine if additional Mines personnel need to be advised of terms and conditions of an award and if their approval is required in order to accept the award

Agreement Management

• Determine if changes are required to existing agreements and coordinate the contractual amendment process, as necessary
• Determine if changes to a research project require prior approval from the project’s sponsor. If prior approval is required, this position will coordinate with the faculty member to create and submit the change request
• Submit and approve requests for no-cost time extensions, budget deviations, and pre-award spending based on sponsor requirements
• Perform initial reviews on deficit spending requests (currently, At-Risk Spending Requests) to determine if the financial risk to Mines is acceptable under current policy and practices
• If issues arise during the performance of a research project, this position will work with the applicable faculty members, ORA staff members, other departments and/or project sponsor, as applicable, to address such concerns

Subcontracts

• Responsible for initiating, negotiating and managing research subcontracts. This includes a review of the subcontractor’s proposal; determining which subcontract template is applicable, determining the applicable prime contract flow-down terms and conditions; negotiating, if necessary, the drafted subcontract; maintaining subcontract documentation to meet federal and state audit requirements; and manage annual review of subrecipients
• Work with applicable departments to establish the payment mechanisms for subcontractor invoices

Institutional Data Repository

• Responsible for ensuring all contract information on the ORA website is accurate and current
• Assist in the maintenance of ORA’s Research and Contract Management software and the School’s financial system; specifically, with regards to contractual and legal information. Ensure there are adequate training materials and coordinate with other campus offices and faculty on process changes
• Work with the data repository team to implement and maintain the software with regards to contracts unit
• Responsible for ensuring accurate data is entered into the data repository
• Upload all fully executed agreements, modifications, and sponsor prior approvals into the system
• Work with the data repository team to implement and maintain the software with regards to contracts unit

Communication & Outreach

• Maintain communication with faculty to ensure all information for agreements are outlined along with the process to negotiate the agreement. Effective communication is critical to success of this position.
• Interpret and explain federal, state, and Mines regulations and policies to faculty and other Mines personnel in order to help them understand the contracting process and how the regulations apply to individual agreements.
• Ongoing contact with sponsoring agencies and other external personnel for the purpose of agreement negotiation and management including outline of Mines policies, business practices, and other applicable regulations.

Training & Process Improvement

• Provide formal and informal training to faculty members and departmental staff regarding school policy and procedures and sponsoring agency rules and regulations in relation to negotiating and accepting a sponsored research and intellectual property agreements.
• Provide support to Contract team, particularly regarding University initiatives and Special Projects
• Actively participate in office wide process evaluation and reengineering efforts. Critically evaluate process and procedures with a goal of efficiency and optimal resource utilization. Make recommendations for improvements to management and lead improvement efforts if approved.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelors degree in business or related field
• Eight years research administration contracting experience
• Five years experience in supervising, managing and training of an administrative and professional staff
• Experience with Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property negotiations
• Working knowledge of federal and state regulations regarding research and tech transfer
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to communicate complex contracting issues to faculty, staff, and industry partners in a concise, friendly, and collaborative manner
• Problem solving and analyzation skills. Ability to critically analyze information in order to make independent decisions
• Demonstrated customer service skills, the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a large STEM community and ability to meet multiple, sometimes competing, deadlines

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree
• Experience with sponsored research within an institution of Higher Education
• Significant (five or more years) contract negotiation experience
• Professional competency in application of government & federal regulations, including 2 CFR 200
• Experience with data analysis
• Thorough knowledge of federal regulations governing sponsored research
• Familiarity with university policies regarding contracting, procurement, or research funding

Salary and Benefits:

$114,000 - $126,300 anticipated salary

Mines takes into consideration a combination of candidate’s education, training and experience as well as the position’s scope and complexity, the discretion and latitude required in the role, work location, and external market and internal value when determining a salary level for potential new employees.

Colorado School of Mines offers a robust portfolio of benefits for all employees. For this role, that includes:

• Flexible health and dental care options
• Generous sick/vacation time: 13 paid holidays per year – including a week-long winter break for entire campus.
• Fully vested retirement plan on first day of employment, with generous employer contribution
• Tuition benefits (6 credits per year for employees, 50 percent discount for dependents)
• Free RTD Ecopass

All Mines employees also have access to discount programs through the State of Colorado and free tickets for Mines Athletics home games, as well as access to the state of the art Recreation Center (fitness classes and training, swimming pool and more) and equipment rentals through the Outdoor Rec Center. We are proud to have recently opened an on campus daycare center. For more details about benefits at Mines, visit mines.edu/human-resources/benefits.

How to Apply

Complete an online application (personal information, demographic information, veteran status)

• Upload a resume or CV
• Upload a cover letter

Candidates must be currently authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position now nor in the future.

This posting may be used to fill more than one vacancy based on business needs.

References will not be contacted until later in the selection process and you will be informed before that contact is made.

Application review will begin October 19, 2026. This posting will remain open until filled and may close without notice. For best consideration, apply as soon as possible.

Successful completion of a background investigation is required for this position.

About Mines & Golden, CO

When the world looks for answers, the world looks to Mines.

Colorado School of Mines is a top-ranked public university solving the grand challenges facing our society, particularly those related to the Earth, energy and the environment. Founded in 1874 with specialties in mining and metallurgy, Mines’ scope and mission have continually expanded to meet the needs of industry and society.

Mines graduates are change makers, boundary breakers and problem solvers. Since our earliest days, a Mines education has been and continues to be a transformational opportunity, with one of the strongest returns on investment out there for talented STEM students of all backgrounds.

At the same time, Mines faculty members are pushing their fields in new directions, whether that’s manufacturing, space resources, quantum engineering, carbon capture or more. Mines was recently classified as a R1 “Very High Activity” research institution by Carnegie, a notable feat for any university but particularly one of our size.

That size – roughly 8,200 undergraduate and graduate students – also translates to a close-knit campus community, where employees have opportunities to get involved in multiple ways, continued professional learning is valued and everyone can make an impact.

Community Alliance groups bring together employees for professional development, networking, and community involvement, and all Mines employees also have access to the wealth of activities happening every day on campus – nationally-renowned speakers, special events and Mines traditions like Engineering Days, just to name a few.

And don’t get us started on our hometown. We are located in the heart of Golden, Colorado --with its charming historic downtown and nearby hiking trails – and in close proximity to all that Denver and the Rocky Mountains have to offer. That includes the sunny, high-altitude climate and outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities that make the Denver area an ideal place to live, work and play.

Are you looking for an inspiring, mission-driven workplace where you can contribute to solving the world’s problems and educating the next generation of change makers? Are you an individual who values a community where our individual perspectives and experiences enrich the educational and work experience?

Look to Mines.

Additional Information and Reasonable Accommodation Requests
It is the intent of Mines to comply with the applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, and their implementation rules and regulations, in support of equal opportunities for qualified applicants with disabilities. To meet this goal, Mines will make reasonable accommodations during the employment selection process and within our working environment.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to access job openings or apply for a job on our site as a result of your disability. You can request a reasonable accommodation by contacting our Human Resources team at [email protected] or 303.273.3250 for assistance.

Successful completion of a background investigation is required for this position.

Equal Opportunity

Colorado School of Mines is committed to equal opportunity for all persons. Mines does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), ancestry, creed, marital status, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status or current military service. Further, Mines does not retaliate against community members for filing complaints regarding or implicating any of these protected statuses.

Mines’ commitment to nondiscrimination, equal opportunity and equal access is reflected in the administration of its policies, procedures, programs and activities and in its efforts to achieve a talented student body and workforce.

Through its policies, procedures and resources, Mines complies with federal law, Colorado state law, administrative regulations, executive orders and other legal requirements to prevent discrimination (including harassment or retaliation) within the Mines campus community and to address potential allegations of inequality or concerns for safety.

Colorado's premier engineering and applied science university for 150 years and counting