Assistant Director, Research Development-Engineering and Physical Sciences

Brown University•Searchlight, NV

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Director, Research Development (School of Engineering and Physical Sciences) is a member of the Research Strategy and Development team (RSD) within the Division of Research. The purpose of RSD is to catalyze creative scholarship by empowering individuals and teams to lead strategic research endeavors with global impact. The group works with faculty, the Vice President for Research, and senior leaders to provide research leadership, build research capacity, and enable federal funding for research at Brown. Our group offers strategic planning and team support for collaborative research proposals; identifies and disseminates federal funding opportunities; consults with individual faculty on their proposal development strategies; manages competitive and/or limited submission processes; develops and maintains relationships with mission-driven federal funding agencies; and helps connect and leverage Brown’s research investments across the university to help coordinate and optimize federally funded research. Reporting to the Associate Director of Research Development, the Assistant Director, in coordination with senior leadership within the units, will support the research goals of faculty of the School of Engineering and the Departments within the Physical Sciences, including Chemistry, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences. The Assistant Director also supports the research activities of all Centers, Initiatives and Institutes (e.g. ARIA, an NSF AI Institute) that reports to the assigned units.

Requirements

Graduate degree in the physical sciences, engineering, or related field required.
At least 5+ years of related experience in a university, federal agency, or research institute.
Experiential knowledge (proposal writing, program management, agency experience) of federal funding agencies (NSF, NASA, DoD, DoE) required.
Competent with spreadsheets and databases.
Ability to work independently, coordinating and prioritizing multiple projects.
Strong organizational and customer service skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate complex health research concepts for non-technical components of a grant.

Nice To Haves

PhD preferred.

Responsibilities

Establish collaborative relationships with faculty who are eligible to submit federal funding proposals.
Reach out to new faculty to provide guidance on a career in research.
Support current individual faculty proposals.
Learn about faculty research agendas in assigned portfolio, and identify potential funding targets.
Provide research development support and coaching for proposals in assigned disciplines.
Identify federal funding opportunities.
Assist in the writing of non-technical components of proposals.
Develop broader impacts, community engagement, and recruitment strategies by liaising with other offices and community partners.
Support the RSD leadership in building and strengthening relationships with mission-driven agencies, such as NASA, DoD and DoE and their affiliate laboratories.
Assist in the creation of workshops, support and coaching for faculty research and teaming.
Focus on skills such as NSF proposal writing, broader impacts, proposal writing for mission-driven agencies.