By Den Gonzales, Sr. Research Administrator, FSM-Basic Science Administration
Tell us about yourself?
I am a dedicated, high performing and strategic thinking professional with more than eight years of research administration experience coupled with more than four years of payroll management experience. I have a proven track record in working with difficult situations, establishing rapport and building trust in the students, faculty and staff from a variety of backgrounds. I possess strong written and verbal communication skills and have the ability to partner across departments and schools to meet the needs of all faculty and staff. I have extensive experience in managing large scale projects from pre-award to post-award administration. I am highly skilled in tracking details, communicating deadlines, and following–up with internal and external research sites to ensure smooth collaboration between projects is met along with keeping them in compliance. I am always finding the need to simplify existing processes so that administrative burdens are reduced which in turn in-creases overall productivity in the workplace. As a manager, I strive to make sure my team is working collaboratively, producing high quality work, meetings deadlines while having a good work life balance.
Tell us about your professional background?
My NU career track started in the Office of Administration, Finance and Planning in the McCormick School of Engineering where I was a Financial Assistant. I was responsible for the school’s entire monthly payroll reconciliation statements -calling attention to errors and developing solutions for them. I developed and maintained spread-sheets that would help track day to day paper traffic since everything that came into the office required signatures of the Dean –and things would often get “lost”. I was the first pair of eyes in reviewing all 90-day exception requests, summer salary forms, HR appointment forms –anything really that came to our office for review. This required me to become well versed with interpreting and communicating NU policies. Over time I became the expert and my peers relied on me for this information. As my role grew more and more, I was tasked with helping the Research Administration side of things during staff transition periods. This sparked my inter-est even more as I got to learn more about the sponsored world along with the non-sponsored world. Taking a leap of faith, I decided to venture out into the sponsored world and took up a position as an Associate Research Administrator with the Department of Chemistry, Weinberg. I had some great mentors there and continued on the Research Administration path knowing one day that I wanted to grow and challenge myself into a leadership role. I currently manage a team of four Research Administrators. I enjoy every aspect of Research Administration –it really does keep you on your toes and there’s never a dull moment. More importantly, I learn something new every day!
What are some of the good experiences you’ve had working with your team/department?
I recently joined Basic Sciences Administration as their Manager for Research Administration –it’s been about six months now. I have to say, by far, this is one department that is so well organized structurally on top of being so huge. We are a roll-up of five departments and one center. We have twelve Research Administrators and three Managers that oversee the sponsored portfolio. The other areas of BSA include Financial Administration, Professional Affairs, Space & Facilities and Communications & Outreach. There is a tremendous amount of support lent to the staff in BSA –they really want to see you grow and learn continuously. The tools and processes offered here make getting tasks done a breeze. In addition, I love the high spirit and energy of working collaboratively with one another -a lot of it partly stems from the GREAT leadership we have -and I am truly grateful for working alongside such great people. Everyone here is respectful of each other’s viewpoints and everyone demonstrates such good work ethic, which is important to have in any workplace. “We like to keep things moving!” is what my Manager likes to say.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Other than being a mom to three little ones, one of the most challenging part of my job has been trying to get my own work done on to of managing four reports. I have five PIs that I oversee a sponsored portfolio for too, so some days it does get challenging to track that along with making sure my team is tracking theirs and getting all their work done on time. My calendar fills up so quickly with meetings throughout the week and often that does set things back a little for me when I am trying to manage my workload.
As a new Manager, I create a handy checklist of tasks for each day, add/set reminders on Outlook so I don’t forget what I need to accomplish in the comings days/weeks and setup follow-ups as needed. Some days I even set time for lunch just so that I can remind myself to take a break because I get so consumed in trying to finish a task. I am also a big proponent of setting the right expectations so for example if I know I am unable to complete something on time or am experiencing delays, I communicate effectively to let the other person know. I also like to make sure I am answering all emails within 24-48 hours. Doing so has allowed for me to become the high performer that I am today.
Do you have any advice for research administrators wanting to advance as managers and beyond?
I highly encourage anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in Research Administration as Managers or beyond. I love seeing people grow into higher roles. To me, it is the mark of great determination and speaks to one’s ability to excel. It is also greatly satisfying for me as a Manager to help my team members grow. Their personal and professional development is my challenge and if I am able to motivate someone to do better than that’s my reward. In addition, I highly recommend taking on more challenging portfolios as Research Administrators so as to receive maximum exposure in dealing with different award types and sharing your knowledge with others as a means of providing mentorship after. Learning the ground-work is very important because ultimately as a Manager you become the expert your team seeks. Being mindful and respectful of others thoughts is fundamental too; and especially keeping biases at bay. This does not come intuitively to everyone but attending a Root Compass Manager Development Program last year in Fall taught me just how to deal with that subconsciously. I love all the variety of responsibilities my role brings and would recommend it to anyone who seeks a similar challenge.