Associate Director, PreAward (HR Title: Associate Director Sponsored Projects)

**Salary Range: **

Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications

About SMU

SMU’s more than 12,000 diverse, high-achieving students come from all 50 states and over 80 countries to take advantage of the University’s small classes, meaningful research opportunities, leadership development, community service, international study and innovative programs.

SMU serves approximately 7,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students through eight degree-granting schools: Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Cox School of Business, Lyle School of Engineering, Meadows School of the Arts, Simmons School of Education and Human Development, Dedman School of Law, Perkins School of Theology and Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.

SMU is data driven, and its powerful supercomputing ecosystem – paired with entrepreneurial drive – creates an unrivaled environment for the University to deliver research excellence.

Now in its second century of achievement, SMU is recognized for the ways it supports students, faculty and alumni as they become ethical, enterprising leaders in their professions and communities. SMU’s relationship with Dallas – the dynamic center of one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions – offers unique learning, research, social and career opportunities that provide a launch pad for global impact.

SMU is nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to academic freedom and open inquiry.

About the Position:

This role is an on-campus, in-person position.

The Associate Director, Pre‑Award Services provides leadership, expertise, and operational oversight for pre‑award research administration. This position supports faculty, principal investigators (PIs), department administrators, and academic leadership by ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant proposal development and submission. The Associate Director plays a key role in advancing the university’s research mission and supporting strategic growth in externally funded research.

Essential Functions:

• Provide leadership and daily operational oversight of the Pre‑Award Services team.Supervise, train, mentor, and evaluate pre‑award staff, promoting consistency and best practices.Assist in setting goals, performance standards, and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Oversee end‑to‑end pre‑award activities, including proposal preparation, budget development, internal approvals, and submission.Review complex, high‑risk, and high‑dollar proposals for accuracy, compliance, and completeness.Provide expert guidance on proposal strategy, timelines, and sponsor expectations.Ensure proposals meet federal, state, industry, foundation, and institutional requirements.

• Interpret and apply sponsor regulations and institutional policies (e.g., Uniform Guidance, sponsor‑specific terms).Ensure compliance with cost principles, eligibility requirements, budget justifications, and documentation standards.Identify and mitigate proposal‑stage compliance risks.Support audits, internal reviews, and compliance monitoring activities related to pre‑award functions.

• Serve as a trusted advisor to faculty, principal investigators, and departmental leadership.Collaborate with Post‑Award, Contracts, Compliance, Finance, Legal, and Research Development offices.Communicate policy updates, sponsor changes, and best practices to stakeholders.

• Analyze pre‑award workflows to improve efficiency, accuracy, and customer service.Support implementation and optimization of research administration systems and tools.Contribute to the development of standard operating procedures, training materials, and reference guides.

• Assist with reporting on proposal volume, success rates, workload metrics, and trends.Support institutional research growth initiatives and strategic funding opportunities.Recommend improvements to policies, procedures, and staffing models.