Internal Only Director, Research Development

25% - Strategy & Portfolio Leadership

• Set and steward in partnership with research leadership the One KU strategy for research development services including:
  • Large and complex institutional proposals
  • Training grants and institutional training programs (e.g. NIH NSF COBRE)
  • Proposal enhancement services and grantsmanship training of funding intelligence and faculty engagement
• Lead the organization of the Research Development unit around core service areask with designated leads for::
  • Large and complex proposals
  • Training grant programs
  • Proposal enhancement and training
  • Funding intelligence and faculty engagement
• Establish and communicate clear criteria for proposal support including scope of services levels of engagement and eligibility thresholds and align staffing and program design to support consistent implementation across campuses.

25% - Proposal Development & Enhancement

• Provide oversight of large and complex proposal development ensuring:
  • Clear criteria for full management versus enhancement-level support
  • Early engagement thresholds and expectations for faculty participation
• Oversee proposal enhancement services including:
  • Editing and strengthening proposal narratives and arguments
  • Improving clarity competitiveness and alignment with sponsor criteria
  • connecting faculty to external consultants and contractors for proposal development services including figure development and visual design support.
• Ensure internal seed grant and early-career awardees are paired with research development consultation to strengthen proposal quality and competitiveness.

20% - Funding Intelligence & Opportunity

• Set strategy and criteria for funding intelligence and opportunity prioritization and oversee execution by the Funding Intelligence & Faculty Engagement Lead including:
  • Identification and analysis of funding opportunities aligned with institutional priorities
  • Determination of where RD engages and how team resources are allocated.
• Oversee execution of opportunity communications including:
  • Determining which opportunities are broadly communicated versus targeted.
  • Coordinating with established communications channels and processes

10% - Faculty Engagement & Collaboration

• Support faculty team formation by:
  • Assisting in identifying collaborators and complementary expertise
  • Facilitating connections across campuses and disciplines
• Oversee grantsmanship training workshops and faculty development programs.

10% - Coordination & Integration

• Align research development activities across decentralized campus units and embedded RD professionals by convening and leading a One KU Research Development Community of Practice.
• Serve as the central integrator for One KU Research Development by establishing shared practices tools and expectations across campuses Resources & Infrastructure
• Oversee development and maintenance of shared research development resources including:
  • Facilities and Resources language libraries
  • Standardized training grant and COBRE support documents
• Ensure tools templates and guidance are current accessible and aligned with sponsor expectations.

20% - Leadership & Assessment

• Lead and supervise research development personnel including program leads RD Project Managers and other staff members.
• Establish standardized metrics and reporting to assess utilization outcomes and impact of research development services including:
  • Proposal volume and total requested dollars
  • Award success rate by sponsor and funding mechanism
  • Category/tier of RD support
  • Training grant program and pipeline health (e.g. T32 renewals mentor depth)
  • Faculty feedback and satisfaction on Overall impact scores and percentile ranking
  • Number of collaborators engaged/partnerships formed
• Engage regularly with AVCRs ADRs and research leadership to align services with institutional priorities.
• Conducts activities in a professional and ethical manner and in accordance with KUMC policies and applicable local state and federal laws and regulations.
• Performs job responsibilities in a safe and secure manner.
• Coordinate work with other University areas to ensure integration and support of the University mission.
• Develops maintains and expands job-specific knowledge and skills to keep pace with industry changes and supports the universitys commitment to excellence and innovation.
• Participates in relevant committees task force or other similar activities.
• Maintain confidentiality of medical center employee and patient information. Manages sensitive data with discretion and in accordance with KUMC policies and legal requirements.
• Maintains the highest standards of integrity respect professional conduct and ethical standards.

Disclaimer
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race color ethnicity religion sex national origin age ancestry disability status as a veteran sexual orientation marital status parental status gender identity gender expression and genetic information in the universitys programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and is the Title IX coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Room 1082 Dole Human Development Center 1000 Sunnyside Avenue Lawrence KSTTY.

• Eleven (11) years of progressively responsible experience in academic administration research development faculty affairs or a closely related field. Education may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.
• Demonstrated experience managing or overseeing internal funding programs limited submissions or faculty recognition processes.
• Experience working with senior academic leadership (e.g. deans AVCs provost-level offices).
• Three (3) years of supervisory or team leadership experience including responsibility for staff management performance evaluation and goal setting
• Experience developing and implementing policies processes or governance structures
• Experience using data to inform decision-making and assess program impact.

• Masters degree in a relevant field
• Experience leading institution-wide or multi-campus research programs or portfolios.
• Experience using data and peer benchmarking to inform strategic investment decisions.
• Experience developing standards or framework related to research funding review processes or conflicts of interest.
• Experience with faculty and senior leadership in a research university setting.

This position is only open to employees internal to KU-Lawrence & KUMC Office of Research/Research Administration employees.

The Director Research Development provides strategic leadership and coordination for One KU research development services across campuses. The role is responsible for overseeing the Research Development program at KU which is responsible for advancing KUs competitiveness for external funding by overseeing large and complex institutional proposals training grants proposal enhancement services grantsmanship training and faculty engagement and collaboration activities. The Director ensures a cohesive high-impact research development portfolio; aligns decentralized research development efforts; and works closely with campus and central partners to support KUs research priorities and growth areas. This role directly advances the One KU initiative by unifying research development across campuses and supports the University Strategic Plan along with Jayhawks Rising (Lawrence/Edwards) and the KU Medical Center Strategic Plan particularly their shared priorities to grow research innovation and impact and to increase national prominence in research.


This position is open to KU-Lawerence and KUMC Office of Research/Research Administration employees only.
We are not accepting off-campus applicants at this time.

Internal applicantsplease apply with the following items.
Resume and aCover Letter.

This position will be open for applications through Tuesday August 18th. You must apply by that date.