Associate Director, Research Development Services

Texas A&M • College Station, TX

9d • Onsite

About The Position

Texas A&M University’s Research Development Services (RDS), within the Division of Research, supports research capacity and competitiveness by partnering with faculty, researchers, and stakeholders on strategic initiatives, external funding, proposal development, professional development, and research services. The Associate Director will help advance the university’s research mission by delivering faculty training and proposal development programs, advising on funding opportunities, leading campus outreach and engagement, and overseeing RDS programs and staff. The role works with faculty, academic leaders, and research stakeholders to improve grant competitiveness, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, support professional development, and advance institutional research development efforts.

The Associate Director is part of the departmental leadership team and contributes to strategy, program planning, goal-setting, performance evaluation, policies, and operational coordination. The position oversees program delivery and HelpDesk and user support, monitors program activity and outcomes, manages budgets and personnel matters, and supervises staff and project teams. It also develops campus-wide outreach and partnerships, facilitates interdisciplinary networking, connects RDS resources with new faculty onboarding, and ensures compliance with applicable standards and policies.

Requirements

• Master’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Eight years of related experience in research development, professional development, grant writing, or research administration in higher education.
• Ability to multitask and work cooperatively with others.

Nice To Haves

• Certified Research Administrator (CRA) credential or active involvement in NORDP.
• Direct experience establishing faculty development programs and team science facilitation initiatives.
• Experience using research intelligence and analytics tools such as Academic Analytics, Elsevier SciVal, or Clarivate Web of Science.
• Demonstrated track record designing, delivering, and evaluating long-term faculty grant-writing cohort programs, such as NSF CAREER or NIH Early-Stage Investigator initiatives.
• Active participation in national research development organizations, such as NORDP committee leadership, conference presentations, or formal mentoring programs.

Responsibilities

• Organize and host professional and proposal development training programs for faculty and other users.
• Provide guidance and support to researchers in proposal development.
• Develop and coordinate documentation provided to customers.
• Participate in leadership-focused training and professional development.
• Serve on the departmental leadership team and assist with developing departmental research development strategies.
• Develop strategic plans and set goals for assigned programs in collaboration with administration.
• Establish performance goals and measures to evaluate areas of responsibility.
• Assist in formulating and implementing policies and procedures.
• Provide departmental leadership in areas of expertise.
• Monitor national trends and seek information relevant to faculty professional development.
• Participate in planning, directing, and coordinating operational matters related to programs.
• Develop, implement, and oversee programming for various services.
• Manage and direct HelpDesk and user support services.
• Collect and analyze data for reporting and progress tracking.
• Maintain program activity records and provide progress reports to leadership.
• Oversee personnel issues for supervised employees.
• Develop program budgets based on needs and available funding.
• Supervise and direct staff and project-team activities.
• Develop and execute a proactive, campus-wide outreach strategy using departmental presentations, digital toolkits, and targeted communications.
• Cultivate partnerships with deans, department chairs, and faculty leaders to support equitable access to proposal development resources.
• Facilitate interdisciplinary networking and ideation sessions for large-scale, multi-investigator funding opportunities.
• Integrate RDS resources into new faculty onboarding and establish feedback mechanisms to adapt services to campus research needs.
• Ensure compliance with unit, department, and government standards, policies, and procedures.
• Enforce ethical, regulatory, and performance standards.

Benefits

• Medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life and AD&D, flexible spending accounts, and long-term disability insurance; Texas A&M contributes to employee health and basic life premiums.
• 12–15 days of annual paid holidays.
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month.
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
• Free exercise programs and release time.
• Free LinkedIn Learning training, webinars, and limited financial support to attend conferences and workshops.
• Educational release time and tuition assistance for completing a degree while employed at Texas A&M.
• Living Well employee program.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior