Proposal Manager, Research

Arizona State University•Tempe, AZ

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Knowledge Enterprise (KE) Research Development Office (RD) at ASU seeks an energetic, creative, and analytical individual to join us as a Proposal Manager, Research to help our faculty uncover the lessons of the past, navigate the perils of the present, and reinvent the promise of the future. ASU is evolving into a New American University that achieves excellence, access, and impact. To that end, KE, the home base for research at ASU, is charged with managing and growing a research portfolio that exceeded $900M in FY23. This research encompasses fundamental and use-directed topics. The RD Proposal Managers work closely and collaboratively with faculty, staff, and other stakeholders to plan, develop, and submit competitive research proposals that secure funding for innovative and impactful projects. This role requires a deep understanding of cutting-edge research concepts and technologies, as well as the ability to guide teams through the proposal development process. Proposal Managers play a pivotal role in strategizing and aligning proposals with the goals of funding agencies, ensuring that proposals are compelling and meet all submission requirements. This includes collaborating with research teams to craft strong narratives, outline clear project objectives, and ensure compliance with university and sponsor guidelines. It is anticipated that the Proposal Manager will work exclusively with the Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery (CASD). CASD brings together researchers from diverse disciplines to develop groundbreaking technologies and methods to accelerate discoveries involving the structure and functions of biomolecules. The Proposal Manager will support CASD faculty and staff in the identification of potential funding opportunities, preparation and submission of research proposals, and execution of sponsored research projects. The Proposal Manager, Research in-office work location will be the Tempe campus.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and five (5) years of experience appropriate to the area of assignment/field; OR, Any equivalent combination of experience and/or training from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been achieved.
Demonstrated knowledge of and experience using Proposal Management principles, practices, and techniques needed for managing projects and proposals throughout the research lifecycle.

Nice To Haves

Proposal Management experience in STEM research and/or product development settings.
Master’s or Doctoral degree in physics, engineering, or physical chemistry and five (5) years related experience; two (2) of which are in proposal management.
Experience submitting proposals to U.S federal funding agencies, particularly DOD, DOE, and NSF.
Experience in leading proposal development for large collaborative grants such as the NSF STC, ERC, DMREF; DOE EFRC; and/or DOD DURIP.
Evidence of Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) certification.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Responsibilities

Identify Funding Opportunities: Stay abreast of state, national, and international funding opportunities and priorities. Identify grants, fellowships, and collaborative opportunities that align with research priorities. Work closely with faculty and staff to understand sponsors’ funding priorities and ASU’s assets to develop strategic messaging and consistent technical documents that align with sponsor requirements for submissions.
Proposal Development Support: Provide guidance on development of proposals that align with funding agency priorities and showcase ASU’s strengths. Work closely with faculty and research teams to develop compelling and competitive research proposals. Works within a university-wide network of faculty, project managers, and research administrators to extract requirements for the submission into a checklist (e.g., compliance matrix) using sponsor guidelines (i.e., solicitation and/or proposal guides); assign roles and responsibilities to team members; coordinate due dates using a team calendar; and prioritize documents using knowledge of the sponsor agencies’ implicit and explicit requirements. Actively participates in proposal development meetings with internal and external stakeholders in order to create and adhere to a central proposal calendar with an associated proposal production process. Offer expertise and actively participate in grant package development, i.e., refining project timelines, responsiveness, writing narratives, embedding and refining graphics, budgets while ensuring proposals meet the highest standards of quality and have a clear competitive advantage. Takes responsibility for all team management within the proposal development period from initial kick-off to final submission, including determining the appropriate proposal milestones and associated due dates to achieve all internal and external requirements; attaching tasks to each milestone and assigning an owner; organizing external and internal reviews, and quality control; establishing production process and version controls; coordination and prioritization of inputs, reviewing comments, and working with the team on comprehensive text revisions including finalization of the references. Works with Research Development’s Art Director to create compelling graphics for inclusion in proposals. Works within Research Development to adhere to and promote best practices for proposal management, including presenting and facilitating workshops and developing templates, boilerplates, and libraries to support submissions and teams.