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GENERAL SUMMARY OF POSITION: 

Under the general direction of the Executive Director of the Office of Technology Management, this individual will be responsible for contracts with commercial and other non-governmental parties.  This is a hands-on, details-orientated position and includes drafting, editing, and negotiating non-governmental sponsored research agreements, collaboration agreements, fee for service or core facility agreements and any other revenue generating agreements with non-governmental parties.  The Director of Contracts will work closely with the OTM Licensing Officers and other involved staff including from the Office of Sponsored Programs and department administrative assistants and principal investigators, who are responsible for sponsored projects and proposals. 

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Ensure that all contracts are negotiated, drafted and/or edited in line with institutional and governmental requirements.
• Serve as key resource for internal and external customers by providing guidance and information on contractual matters to ensure requirements for contracts are meet.
• Implement a tracking database to manage all pending and executed contracts to identify bottlenecks in the contracting process and ensure effective communication with the involved parties including the sponsor.
• Responsibility for all sponsored research and fee for service contracting activities within OTM with input from the Executive Director and through collaboration with the respective Licensing Officer.
• Personally draft, edit and negotiate changes to sponsor draft contracts for compliance with UMMS & OTM policies.
• Prepare and process agreement amendments.
• Advise OTM staff and, as appropriate, faculty and other UMMS staff on negotiation bottlenecks, problematic terms and agreement requirements.
• Ensure all relevant documents are in compliance with respect to institution policies, federal regulations, state regulations and sponsor guidelines.
• Work with Office of General Counsel as needed.
• Work with team to develop best practices and guidance documents.
• Develop procedures to ensure quality, compliance, and accuracy in contract activities.
• Develop and update resource materials for website and for sponsor correspondence.
• Propose, define, and implement changes in contract and proposal processes to streamline reporting and tracking activities so that all information is timely.
• Maintain the confidentiality of all business documents and correspondence per OTM procedures.
• Other related duties as required and assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree
• 7 – 10 years’ experience in Life Sciences transactional activity.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel PowerPoint required).
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize workload and manage time and projects appropriately.
• Possess high level communication skills, both oral and written; ability to provide information to others in a clear and understandable manner; receive and understand information provided by others; explain alternatives, recommend solutions and/or persuade others towards a course of action usually related to complex problems. .
• Strong organizational, time management, problem solving skills, and strong attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to prioritize, problem solve and work under pressure in a deadline oriented environment
• Demonstrated ability to act with discretion and judgment and maintenance of confidentiality.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• JD. and demonstrated success in contracting highly preferred
• Previous experience in or contract interactions with an academic institution
• Advanced degree in Life Sciences or related field

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