Senior Research Development Specialist (Hybrid/Remote)

Required Qualifications (as evidenced by an attached resume):

Bachelor's Degree (foreign equivalent or higher). Four (4) years of full-time experience in grants administration, research and/or project management in higher education or industry. Experience supervising professional staff. Experience writing, editing and/or producing written content for publications or grant applications. Highly proficient, professional experience in spreadsheet management, e-mail, internet research, and word processing applications (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Apps). Highly proficient in internet research (e.g., information or data mining). Experience coordinating workshops and special events.

Preferred Qualifications:

Advanced Degree (foreign equivalent or higher). Additional years (5+) of full-time related grants, research or research/project administration experience. Experience providing administrative support to an executive/administrator. Experience with internal seed grant programs. Experience working in a higher education or academic medical setting. Experience reviewing Funding Opportunity Announcements and extracting key information. Experience developing or managing budgets.

Brief Description of Duties:

Working within the Office of Proposal Development (OPD) in the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), and reporting to the Director of OPD, the Senior Research Development Specialist will provide leadership and strategic support for research development priorities at Stony Brook University. The Senior Research Development Specialist will also provide oversight and training of the research development staff with the goal of increasing University research expenditures. We seek a solution-driven professional who has strong project management or research experience and knowledge of externally sponsored awards. The successful incumbent will be proactive and creative, with a strong customer service ethic and excellent oral/written communication skills. Essential for this role is the adeptness to work independently as well as part of a team with a collaborative approach to problem-solving. The successful candidate will have team building and supervisory experience.

The Office of Proposal Development's primary focus is on large-scale and/or complex proposals involving multiple departments and external collaborators. OPD also supports early career investigators in launching or bolstering funding for their research program(s). OPD provides strategic, comprehensive assistance to Stony Brook researchers and their staff in finding funding opportunities, developing collaborations, supporting the proposal development process, and serving as a conduit for processes and communications during the development of their grant applications. The Sr. Research Development Specialist will work closely with the Offices of Sponsored Programs and Grants Management and will collaborate with campus constituencies involved in research development activities. Therefore, having experience effectively multi-tasking in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with a high degree of accuracy and organization is imperative for success in this role.

* Manage all aspects of the OVPR Seed Grant Program and all related special initiative seed grant programs as well as seed programs in which OPD is providing administrative support for other units. Manage both the pre-award and post-award processes; disseminate details of the opportunity to relevant groups on campus; maintain the submission portal; respond to questions about eligibility and application process; review the submissions for compliance; organize the review process; analyze the scores and comments from the review panel; making suggestions regarding funding decisions to the Sr. Associate Vice President for Research (SAVPR); handling award notifications and all related administrative responsibilities. Manage the post-award process for all OVPR seed grants by coordinating with the Offices of Sponsored Programs and Grants Management; communicating with project PIs throughout the life of the award; tracking account balances and addressing any issues related to overspending or underspending in a timely manner. Lead the internal evaluation of the impact of the OVPR Seed Grant Program by collecting progress reports from awardees and analyzing their responses in a way that creates meaningful statistical results.

* Supervise and mentor/train the expanding team of Research Development Coordinators. Provide training on research development activities and the OPD/OVPR workflow. Assist the OPD Director in building and training a strong research development team by taking a lead role in orienting new research development staff and providing day-to-day supervision and mentoring.

* Manage OPD's work searching for funding opportunities to support SBU investigators. Ensure the Research Development Team is identifying funding opportunities in line with Stony Brook, SUNY-wide, and national research priorities. Keep the Director and SAVPR up-to-date on new solicitations and potential sponsors for larger initiatives led by OPD, including limited competitions. Oversee Research Development Coordinators' administration of internal competitions for restricted submission and make final decisions regarding announcements, review processes, communications with all stakeholders (i.e., SBU faculty, sponsors), and strategies for effective project/program operations. Lead the research development team's efforts in promoting the use of Pivot and expanding training opportunities for Stony Brook investigators and research administrative staff. Manage the university's relationship with Pivot and ensure effective service delivery. Oversee the work of Research Development Coordinators related to identifying funding opportunities, determining the best distribution plan for those funding opportunities, and enhancing the Pivot features that are made available to the SBU research community.

* Lead the planning and execution of special events, with a focus on workshops designed to increase proposal submissions and/or the success rate of submissions. Seek out and determine areas of improvement among Stony Brook researchers and conceptualize training opportunities, workshop series, and other events to address common needs and university strengths. Identify internal and external speakers for events and manage the coordination of all logistics and administrative components. Create opportunities for Stony Brook investigators to share their research in settings designed to facilitate short- and long-term goals for research projects. Identify opportunities to expand OPD support services across campus, and lead the research development team in implementing new programs/events/services to meet the needs of additional faculty/departments. Have an awareness of research development activities happening at other research-intensive universities and make recommendations for implementing new programs/services at SBU when appropriate to the Director; direct Research Development Coordinators in related information gathering and program development work.

* Serve as liaison and point of contact for external support, including proposal editors, workshop presenters, and graphic designers. Connect faculty with external consultants by matching the research team with the appropriate consultant (based on area of expertise and workstyle), making introductions, and maintaining communication throughout the life of the project to ensure that OPD is fostering positive relationships with both internal and external contacts. Identify new external consultancy services as necessary to meet the increased demand and complexity of faculty requests. Facilitate onboarding of all external consultants and ensure that non-disclosure agreements are executed before work begins. Manage Research Development Coordinators' work on projects involving external consultants, and handle higher-level issues as they come up. Work closely with the Director of OPD and proposal team staff to ensure that proposals supported by OPD and external consultants receive the highest quality support.

* Assist the OPD Director and SAVPR with problem-solving of issues, strategic planning and implementing of new projects that arise and follow-up as appropriate while maintaining strict confidentiality. Draft and prepare all correspondence, presentations, meeting minutes, special reports, and other types of communication for various activities on behalf of the Director and/or SAVPR. Optimize research opportunities for faculty by working closely with the Director to prioritize the calendar, meeting schedules, conference attendance and special events to align with University strengths. Support Director/SAVPR on SUNY activities, including SBU's participation in ongoing SUNY-wide initiatives.

* Oversee OPD's communication with the SBU research community through email announcements, weekly newsletters, website updates, social media, etc.

* Oversee and take an active role in the upkeep of information related to OPD's support. Oversee the work of Research Development Coordinators on data collection and analysis projects. Assist the DIrector in data analysis and strategize ways to effectively communicate the data through various media methods, including presentations, written reports, etc. to various groups on campus.

* Responsible for developing inroads and relationships with key departments, units, and local partners as identified by OPD leadership.

Learn about the priorities of these departments/units/partners

Develop expertise in the funding opportunities available to meet these priorities.

Network between the departments/units/partner and OPD to communicate priorities and needs to ensure all parties are kept informed with the goal of generating new business for OPD and building a sense of trust and confidence with the departments/units/partner.

* Responsible for coming up with creative and innovative ways to expand SBU's portfolio of external funding for research.

* Other duties as assigned.

Special Notes:

The Research Foundation of SUNY is a private educational corporation. Employment is subject to the Research Foundation policies and procedures, sponsor guidelines and the availability of funding. FLSA Exempt position, not eligible for the overtime provisions of the FLSA. Minimum salary threshold must be met to maintain FLSA exemption.

Due to U.S. Export Control laws and regulations, the candidate hired will need to be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or other "protected individual" (as defined by 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1324b(a)(3).

This position is eligible for alternative workplace arrangements/telework (remote or virtual) or hybrid.

Resume/CV and cover letter should be included with the online application.

Stony Brook University is committed to excellence in diversity and the creation of an inclusive learning and working environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status and all other protected classes under federal or state laws.

If you need a disability-related accommodation, please call the university Office of Equity and Access (OEA) at (631) 632-6280 or visit OEA.

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The starting salary range (or hiring range) to be offered for this position is noted below, it represents SBU's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.