Director of Training Grants

University of Chicago • Hyde Park, VT

19d • $140,000 - $200,000 • Remote

About The Position

The University of Chicago is an intellectual community and a globally renowned research institution dedicated to fostering innovative and impactful research in various domains, including the Biological Sciences. The Biological Sciences Division is at the forefront of cutting-edge research and the Research Administration Office plays a pivotal role in supporting and facilitating the faculty who conduct research. The job manages multiple related teams of managers and professional staff responsible to administer pre-award and/or post-award activities relating to grant and contract proposals/funding within a department or unit. The Director of Training Grants for the Biological Sciences Division (BSD) provides strategic leadership and expert guidance to strengthen and expand the University of Chicago’s portfolio of federally and privately funded research training programs. This role supports faculty across BSD departments and institutes in developing, submitting, and managing complex training grants—including NIH T32, T35, F31/32, K12, NSF training mechanisms, and foundation-sponsored programs. The Director serves as the Division’s primary resource for training and education grant administration, ensuring that UChicago maintains the highest compliance to institutional and agency policy.

Requirements

• Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Nice To Haves

• College or university degree in related field.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in research administration, training grant development, graduate or postdoctoral program management, or related roles.
• Extensive knowledge of NIH training mechanisms and federal sponsor policies.
• Demonstrated success managing complex, multi-investigator grant submissions.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to craft compelling narratives and synthesize scientific content.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and project-management abilities.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with faculty, administrators, trainees, and central offices.
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering diverse, equitable, and inclusive training environments.
• Experience with higher education administration within a research-intensive institution.
• Familiarity with UChicago administrative structures, especially URA, BSD Dean’s Offices, and divisional academic units.
• Experience with trainee tracking systems, data analytics, or program evaluation.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to craft compelling narratives and synthesize scientific content.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and project-management abilities.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with faculty, administrators, trainees, and central offices.
• Experience with trainee tracking systems, data analytics, or program evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Partner with faculty, department chairs, graduate training program chairs, the Office of Graduate Affairs, and the Postdoctoral Affairs Office to strengthen training environments across the Division.
• Identify emerging funding opportunities and advise departments, graduate programs, and institutes on long-term planning for new and renewed training programs.
• Lead and oversee teams of pre/post professionals within the Biological Sciences Division.
• Oversee creation and quality control of NIH training tables, data summaries, and outcomes documentation.
• Develop and maintain boiler plate language for T and F awards to meets general requirements for RCR, Rigor & Reproducibility, Data Management, Resources & Facilities, Vertebrate Animal Use, Human Subjects Use, and any additional 'other documents' that may be required.
• Work with training grant directors, their local administrators, and BSD’s faculty training grant coordinator to ensure competing new and renewal applications are fully meeting all agency requirements.
• Provide oversight for active training grants, including progress reports, appointments, reappointments, terminations, trainee tracking, and coordination with departmental and graduate program administrators.
• Ensure compliance with NIH and other sponsor requirements, including trainee eligibility, appropriate use of TRE and travel allocations, RCR training, appointment processes, RPPRs, and financial reporting.
• Develop and maintain divisional policies, procedures, and resources to standardize training grant operations across BSD.
• Help identify potential opportunities to apply for new awards and work with BSD’s faculty training grant coordinator to advise potential training grant directors regarding preparation of new proposals.
• Partner closely with the Dean of Students Office to align training programs with BSD-wide goals.
• Serve as BSD’s subject matter expert on training grants and represent the Division on relevant University committees and working groups.
• Participate in national and regional professional networks to stay current on evolving sponsor expectations, best practices, and benchmarking opportunities.
• Manages managers and professional staff.
• Establishes performance goals, allocates resources and assesses policies for direct subordinates.
• Establishes performance goals, allocates resources and assesses policies for direct subordinates.
• Ensures service and communication to PIs, standardized information, best practices development, and that all faculty and research staff are aware of any new grant policies and changes.
• Maintains knowledge of industry trends and remains current with agency and regulatory changes.
• Plans for department/ unit compliance with University, Divisional and Department policies and procedures and implements corrective actions for issues identified.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Benefits

• The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off.
• Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

What This Job Offers

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