Director, Research Development
About The Position
The Director of the Research Development Office (RDO) reports to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Capacity Building (AVC–RCB). The Director leads a team of Research Development professionals to craft and implement a targeted implementation plan for addressing large federal agency funding mechanisms, and topical growth strategies aimed at growing and diversifying UW–Madison's federally funded research portfolio. The Director draws on UW–Madison’s partnership with Lewis-Burke to inform campus strategy with federal landscape insights, helping ensure that research development work aligns with national funding trends and agency priorities. The Director oversees the development and implementation of programming within the Research Development team's assigned portfolios and drives networking, outreach, and sponsor relationship management activities. Working closely with the AVC–RCB and Research Development team, the Director strengthens and standardizes best practices and tools for effective support of large-scale, complex proposal development, supports UW–Madison-wide awareness and capacity-building programming and continues ongoing professional development for team members. The Director works with the AVC–RCB to guide development of UW–Madison-level, cross-cutting strategic initiatives based on research data, UW–Madison infrastructure, competitive analysis, and University priorities and has primary responsibility for implementing these initiatives across portfolio areas. The Director regularly interacts with and may advise college and center-level research leadership, representing the team on behalf of the AVC–RCB, and providing proposal development support for select, large-scale projects, based on available team capacity. The Director identifies opportunities for growth and development within the team and broader division and participates in discussions to inform overall University strategic research vision. The Director leads recruiting and onboarding of new staff and manages all performance management activities for the team, including corrective action and employee labor relations issues, in partnership with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research - Human Resources (OVCR-HR).
Requirements
- 10 years of relevant work experience.
- Experience working on research strategy and proposal development with a range of federal research sponsor agencies and programs.
- Demonstrated experience working with multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and/or convergence science teams on large-scale, national leadership level proposals.
Nice To Haves
- 15 or more years of relevant work experience, including a minimum of 5 years of supervisory experience with evidence of progressive responsibility, and a minimum of 5 years of experience working in a university research setting or in a position that required significant interaction with university researchers.
- Familiarity with federal research data including NSF HERD Survey.
- Knowledge of health, defense and/or space-related federal research environment.
Responsibilities
- Directs, implements, and monitors strategic planning initiatives to ensure appropriate use of financial, administrative, and staffing resources
- Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
- Recommends, reviews, and directs personnel resource allocation to ensure appropriate utilization of resources
- Serves as liaison to internal and external stakeholder groups providing organizational information and representing the interests of the institution
- Develops and audits administrative operating reports, budgets, policies, and procedures to comply with regulations, institution policies, and business objectives
Benefits
- This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
Ph.D. or professional degree
Number of Employees
251-500 employees
