Department Contact: Graciela Unguez, 575-646-3613, gunguez@nmsu.edu

Internal or External Search: External - Open to all applicants

Advertising Summary: Seeking applications for Program Manager for U-RISE at NMSU.

Position Details

Position Title: Program Manager

College/Division: Arts and Sciences College

Department: 330350-BIOLOGY

Location: Las Cruces

Offsite Location (if applicable):

Target Hourly/Salary Rate: $39,874.35 to Commensurate with qualifications

Appointment Full-time Equivalency: .75

FLSA Status: Exempt

Bargaining Unit Announcement: This is NOT a bargaining unit position with American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Contingent Upon Funding: Contingent upon external funding

Standard Work Schedule: Standard (M-F, 8-5)

If Not a Standard Work Schedule: 

Job Duties and Responsibilities: The U-RISE Program requests support for a Program Manager position to ensure the successful implementation of the Program Plan and achievement of programmatic goals. This position is essential to the day-to-day operation, regulatory compliance, financial coordination, and trainee support functions of the U-RISE Program. The Program Manager will oversee and execute complex, time-sensitive administrative processes that are critical to maintaining compliance with NIH and New Mexico State University requirements, while allowing Program Principal Investigators (PIs) to focus on broader strategic priorities, including student mentorship, program development, interdepartmental collaboration, trainee outcomes, and long-term program impact.
The Program Manager serves as the central operational liaison among students, faculty mentors, university administrative offices, and external research institutions. This role is instrumental in fostering an efficient, supportive, and compliant infrastructure that advances undergraduate research training and promotes student success among historically underrepresented populations in STEM disciplines.
Primary responsibilities include:
• Coordinating with multiple financial and administrative units across campus, including Dean’s Offices, Financial Aid, Accounts Receivable, and Sponsored Projects, to ensure timely processing of student stipends, tuition payments, reimbursements, and other program-related financial transactions.
• Collaborating with the Honors College and other academic units to ensure accurate registration of U-RISE students during summer, fall, and spring semesters, including proper course enrollment and credit hour assignment.
• Monitoring and ensuring timely completion and submission of all required student certifications and compliance trainings related to NIH and NMSU policies, including IACUC, IRB, OSHA, research ethics, and responsible conduct of research requirements.
• Coordinating and processing student summer research internships with R1 research institutions across the country, including management of institution-specific financial agreements, onboarding requirements, and administrative procedures unique to each host institution.
• Managing student travel logistics and financial processing for professional development opportunities, including conference registration fees, abstract submissions, travel authorizations, reimbursements, and participation in conferences such as SACNAS.
• Assisting students with registration and status management in NIH eRA Commons xTrain systems to ensure accurate federal trainee reporting and compliance.
• Supporting the collection, organization, and tracking of student and faculty mentor outcomes data required for NIH annual progress reports, program evaluation, and institutional reporting.
• Ensuring faculty mentor accounts and research-related financial allocations are established in a timely manner, while monitoring expenditures to maintain fiscal accountability and prevent budget overages.
• Supervising and tracking timely submission of required monthly reports from both students and faculty mentors to support program monitoring and accountability.
• Assisting Program PIs during recruitment, application review, and trainee selection processes, including coordinating communications, scheduling interviews, and organizing applicant materials.
• Serving as a liaison among university financial, compliance, academic, and research offices to proactively identify and resolve budgetary, administrative, and compliance-related issues affecting the U-RISE Program.
• Supporting the development of a collaborative undergraduate research training community by assisting with program activities and coordination efforts that promote engagement, belonging, retention, and interdisciplinary collaboration among underrepresented STEM scholars across the NMSU campus.
The Program Manager position is vital to sustaining the operational excellence, compliance infrastructure, trainee support systems, and collaborative partnerships necessary for the continued success and growth of the U-RISE Program.

Qualifications

Required Education and Experience: 
Associate's Degree + 7 years of relevant experience or a Bachelor's degree + 5 years of relevant experience.

Equivalent Qualifications: 

Preferred Qualifications: 
Bachelor's degree in a related field and five (5) years of professional experience related to the job duties and responsibilities outlined.

Special Certification/Licensure: 

Working Conditions and Physical Effort

Environment: Work is normally performed in a typical interior/office work environment.

Physical Effort: Light physical effort. Effort applies to no more than two (2) hours per day.

Lifting Requirements: Requires handling of average-weight objects up to 10 pounds or some standing or walking.

Risk: No or very limited exposure to physical risk.