Penn State Job Catalog

Additional levels that exist for this job profile can be seen below.

The defined natural career progression within or between job profiles.

Research Operations Management

The Research Operations Manager provides strategic, operational, and administrative leadership for a high-impact, multidisciplinary research institute; is responsible for overseeing the daily operations, financial health, compliance, infrastructure, and long-term planning of the institute; ensures that research activities align with the university's mission; supports faculty and research staff; drives innovation and collaboration across academic and external partners.

• Oversee the comprehensive administration of the institute's operations, including strategic planning, resource management, and organizational development
• Lead the execution of the institute's mission and vision by aligning day-to-day operations with long-term strategic goals
• Design and implement new operational initiatives to enhance research productivity, efficiency, and impact; identify, propose, and implement continuous process improvements in administrative systems, workflows, and service delivery
• Manage large-scale, cross-functional projects across, ensuring timely execution, stakeholder coordination, and outcome evaluation
• Monitor the progress of strategic initiatives and research programs, using data analytics and performance metrics to inform decision-making and drive evidence-based improvements
• Promote innovation by identifying commercialization opportunities, accelerating translational research, and supporting interdisciplinary collaboration
• Develop, implement, and enforce policies and procedures that support research excellence, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance
• Ensure adherence to institutional, state, and federal regulations, including health and safety standards, IRB, IACUC, and export control requirements (if applicable)
• Collaborate with Human Resources to oversee staffing strategies, workforce planning, performance management, and professional development
• Supervise administrative and operational staff; provide leadership, mentorship, and training to ensure high team performance; foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Partner with the unit's Strategic Finance Partner to develop and manage budgets, including grants, contracts, gifts, and operational funds
• Provide oversight and consultation in the areas of award administration, salary allocation, purchasing, investments, and financial reporting; ensure alignment with institutional policies and sponsor requirements
• Lead efforts in financial forecasting, risk assessment, and strategic investment planning
• Oversee procurement operations, including developing and evaluating RFPs, vendor selection, contract negotiation, and purchasing approvals
• Coordinate space planning, infrastructure upgrades, and facilities maintenance in collaboration with the Office of Physical Plant and external contractors
• Collaborate with the IT Strategic Partner on information technology requirements and services to support advanced research activities
• Serve as a key liaison between the institute and faculty, internal departments, other research centers, and external stakeholders, including industry and government partners
• Cultivate partnerships to expand the institute's research portfolio, identify new funding opportunities, and enhance the visibility of the institute's work
• Support communications and outreach efforts, including conferences, symposia, marketing, and communications
• Work with senior leadership to benchmark operational performance; develop meaningful metrics and KPIs to evaluate programmatic success

Level:

– Manager

Base Description:

– Manages direct reports where primary duty is the management of a working unit.

Level Summary:

– Demonstrates proficient ability in work design, project management, financial planning and development of goals for accomplishing unit assignments. Reviews and guides work to ensure conformity to policy and effective approaches. Evaluates employee performance and recommend development opportunities. Demonstrates ability to coach employees. Presents and communicates key university indicatives and connects it to unit contributions. Provides broad guidelines. Develops, evaluates, enhances, and/or implements quality improvement practices. Recommends innovative solutions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

– Oversees a team (typically 4 or more; no fewer than 2) full
– time direct reports of individual contributors and/or first level supervisors.

Fiscal Responsibilities:

– Monitors and tracks department/area budget
– May plan, forecast, and/or assist in developing budgets
– May have final signature authority for specific area

Problem Solving:

– Encounters varied and complex problems
– Helps to develop creative and/or novel approaches to resolve problems that are difficult in nature but within limited scope
– Modifies, adapts, or refines guidelines if necessary to resolve issues or problems

Independence of Action:

– Works independently on complex or strategic assignments
– Uses existing practices and advanced working knowledge to determine appropriate work methods for the team
– Reviews completed work of others for conformity to policy, and effectiveness of approach
– Delegates advanced tasks to others

Communication and Collaboration:

– Communicates with both internal and external audiences
– Collaborates closely with team members and various areas across the University
– Prepares written and/or verbal presentations or proposals on complex issues and delivers to a broad variety of audiences
– Communicates key university initiatives and how unit’s work contributes to their achievement
– Presents ideas, concepts and instructions in a clear manner, and uses persuasion and negotiation to build consensus and cooperation
– Establishes and maintains networks to facilitate successful communication among units

• Comp Grade – 14
• Minimum – $97,100.00
• MidPoint – $121,400.00
• Maximum – $145,700.00

• Consulting
• Forecasting
• Operations management
• Policy implementation
• Presentation Skills
• Project Management
• Regulatory compliance
• Resource allocation
• Strategic Planning