Assistant Director, External Fellowships and Scholarly Development

Stony Brook University•Stony Brook, NY

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Director for External Fellowships and Scholarly Development will join the Graduate and Postdoctoral Professional Development team in the Graduate School at Stony Brook University. They will contribute to External Fellowships’ mission to ensure Stony Brook scholars at all stages of their education receive well-rounded and multidimensional support when applying for external awards. This position contributes to maintaining and expanding the portfolio of structured advising for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral applicants. The successful candidate will contribute to creating a fellowships culture across campus by conducting outreach to and advising for competitive national and international fellowships programs (e.g. Fulbright, Critical Language Scholarship, NSF Graduate Research Program Fellowship, Gilman, Truman) and providing structured support for the application process. The Assistant Director will create and deliver programming and application resources to encourage fellowship application submissions and help scholars benefit from the related professional development inherent in this process. They will also assist with campus nomination committees and securing candidate endorsements. Working with the Director, the Assistant Director will contribute to the assessment of operational outcomes of all programming, procedures, and policies and in furthering the wider scholar development goals of Graduate and Postdoctoral Professional Development. Important to this position is knowledge of the skills and competencies students need to be successful applicants for merit-based fellowships and scholarships; creativity and adaptability in developing programs to support applicants from initial interest through application submission; awareness of the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in program development and participant engagement; a commitment to the process of professional development that accompanies external funding applications; and administrative and organizational skills in event coordination, proposal development, and stakeholder engagement. The ability to be a team member who works independently but has a collaborative approach to meeting project and unit objectives is essential for success in this role. Incumbent must have organizational skills and an ability to handle multiple tasks.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (foreign equivalent or higher).
Three (3) years of full-time experience working in an educational setting, which may include teaching, research, advising, administration, and/or student programming/support (will consider equivalent experience and/or graduate assistantship work experience).
Experience coordinating, organizing, and facilitating projects, programs, workshops, and/or events.
Experience in drafting communications for multiple audiences and reviewing and giving feedback on materials such as applications and proposals.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree (foreign equivalent or higher) in a discipline that emphasizes writing, communication, and analytic skills.
Research experience (e.g., graduate thesis, independent research, industry research), and/or experience with grant and proposal writing and development and/or scholarly activities represented by conference participation or public engagement.
Experience in advising students on the process of applying for nationally competitive awards, demonstrated through activities like supporting students to find funding opportunities, coaching students in writing personal essays and project proposals, and facilitating communicating with external contributors (e.g., referees, potential affiliates, funding organizations).
Experience working with a diverse (first-generation, historically underrepresented and/or economically disadvantaged) population of students in an academic environment.

Responsibilities

Lead the advising process for several awards.
Communicate policy, procedure, curricular, and other relevant knowledge, such as preparing and drafting nomination materials, to prospective applicants.
Promote external funding opportunities to students by developing materials to help students understand specific awards and programs (e.g., the Fulbright program, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Goldwater Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship) by hosting general interest sessions and award-specific information sessions.
Work with the Director, Assistant Dean, and other leadership in the Graduate School to assess outcomes related to programming and advising engagement.
Provide advising, support, follow-up, and strategies for success to students either individually or in a group setting.
Offer feedback about application materials to students, either directly or by organizing group or peer review opportunities.
Create internal process documents and application strategy guides to support successful application submissions.
Support faculty who participate in selection and interview committees for awards and serve as a nomination committee chair.
Track current and future fellowship applicants and engagement with unit activities to assist with annual assessment and reporting processes.
Monitor national best practices in fellowships advising to implement relevant new initiatives at Stony Brook.
Create, market, and implement activities and celebrations to foster engagement in the past, current, and prospective fellowship applicant community in conjunction with the Director.
Contribute to website and social media content that highlights opportunities and publicly celebrates the accomplishments of individuals and SBU.
Represent External Fellowships through workshops, tabling events, and other opportunities hosted by partner entities.
Develop written communications highlighting fellowships, including items for the fellowships newsletter and other media spotlights.
Maintain good relationships with faculty, staff, and other campus stakeholders to build a diverse pool of prospective applicants, including students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Serve on office committees and engage in University-wide programs and services.
Liaise with SUNY counterparts at other campuses and the national fellowships advising community.
Assist with Graduate School and Graduate and Postdoctoral Professional Development priorities.
Maintain positive and productive relationships with faculty, staff, and other stakeholders.
Liaise with student service area that support external fellowship operations.
Other duties or projects as assigned as appropriate to rank and departmental mission.