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:

– Senior Manager

Base Description:

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

Level Summary:

– Demonstrates advanced skills in critical functions related to unit's success. Demonstrates advanced knowledge of emerging technologies and processes. Monitors completed work of others to ensure effectiveness and adherence to requirements. Sets clear expectations and holds team accountable. Establishes a shared team/unit vision. Demonstrates ability to evaluate and enhance team/unit practices that promote a strong commitment to inclusionary practices. Coaches others using appropriate strategies. Demonstrates diplomacy. Demonstrates ability to serve as liaison between senior-level management and staff. Resolves complex, controversial, or unprecedented issues and problems.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

– Oversees large team or teams of individual contributors and/or supervisors/managers
– Leads a department or functional area

Fiscal Responsibilities:

– Monitors and tracks large budgets
– Plans, forecasts, and/or develops budgets
– May approve budgets for specific area
– Typically has final signature authority for specific area

Problem Solving:

– Encounters highly varied and complex problems that impacts the team and possibly the unit
– Develops creative and/or novel approaches to resolve problems that are difficult in nature
– Independently resolves complex and/or unprecedented issues and problems

Independence of Action:

– Work results are not clearly defined
– Generally sets own goals and determines how to accomplish results with few or no guidelines to follow
– Monitors completed work of others to ensure soundness of approach, effectiveness of meeting requirements, the feasibility of recommendations and adherences to requirements
– Delegates more 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
– Fosters collaboration between units and engages others' coordinated efforts to reach desired outcomes with broad scope

• Comp Grade – 15
• Minimum – $109,300.00
• MidPoint – $136,600.00
• Maximum – $164,000.00

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