Description

The Research and Faculty Development (RFD) Unit within the Office for Research Development (ORD) provides a wide range of strategic, proactive, and capacity-building services and resources that help to advance research, creative activities, and innovation at their earliest stages and beyond.
Focused on helping increase faculty and institutional competitiveness in obtaining funding through a variety of activities, RFD staff help faculty identify funding opportunities; manage and assess internal funding programs and limited submissions processes; provide comprehensive proposal and grantsmanship support; offer workshops, cohort training, research mentoring programs, and professional development; and facilitate strategic research partnerships and initiatives. At the core of all we do is a commitment to ethical and effective research practices.

Job Summary

The Assistant Director (AD) of Research and Faculty Development functions primarily as the central coordinator for Indiana University's competitive internal selection process for external funding opportunities known as "Limited Submissions" due to the limited number of applications an institution may submit. Many prestigious funding agencies including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and major private foundations limit institutions to submitting only 1 or a select few proposals per competition cycle. These specialized opportunities require timely and careful review throughout the calendar year, and success in this position directly impacts IU's ability to secure significant external funding and advance the university's research mission through strategic positioning in the most competitive funding environments.
Department-Specific Responsibilities

• Intensively collaborate with faculty researchers across all disciplines, helping them navigate the competitive internal review process while ensuring institutional compliance with sponsor guidelines.
• Balance competing priorities, manage tight deadlines, and facilitate fair internal competitions that identify IU's strongest proposals for external submission.
• Curate the selection, solicitation, and development of limited submission proposals.
• Assist with logistics surrounding the development of opportunities for faculty development and with assessing, monitoring and curating IU's internal funding programs.
• Reporting to the Director for Research and Faculty Development, work closely with staff from other units within ORD, including Team-Based Research Development, Arts & Humanities Proposal Development, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Proposal Development, and budget related pre-award services, as well as staff from other divisions of IU Research, academic, and departmental offices across IU.
• Continuously monitor funding opportunities from federal agencies, state programs, and private foundations to quickly assess alignment with faculty expertise and institutional priorities.
• Manage the Limited Submissions Program
  • Maintain a list of grant funding opportunities from federal, state, and private funding sources. Limited submission opportunities typically have specific deadlines and eligibility criteria. Monitor funding opportunities, interpret sponsor guidelines and deadlines, post limited submission opportunities in the internal competition platform, and track upcoming deadlines.
  • Review applications to ensure all submissions adhere to the sponsor's guidelines and IU's internal policies and procedures.
  • Coordinate the internal review process for selection of which proposals will be selected for submission and communicate selections to potential Principal Investigators (PIs).
  • Assist with identification of potential PIs for various limited submission opportunities, and follow up with selected applicants to ensure that submissions are completed in a timely fashion.
  • Monitor limited submission pre-applications, selection, and progress towards final application. Collaborate with ORD colleagues on pre-award management as needed.
  • Maintain detailed data and files of all proposals, reviews, and awards for our decision-making.
• Assist with faculty development programs, particularly pertaining to limited submissions
  • Provide assistance in developing faculty training, outreach, and development activities pertaining to limited submission programs with a view to incorporate outreach more generally and broadly to other research venues.
  • Provide logistical support for the creation of faculty development opportunities, curriculum, workshops, and other events.
  • Provide support for training and other development opportunities as they pertain to strategic research development and faculty funding.
  • Maintain a database of faculty expertise for use in coordinating research teams, notification opportunities, and other faculty and research development queries.
• Manage reporting and training related to limited submissions and the IU Research Internal Funding Program
  • Provide assistance with assessment of the success and outcomes the IU Research internal funding programs. Develop metrics and reports relevant to internal funding results.
  • Regularly query internal, federal, and private databases to maintain current knowledge of funding opportunities. Communicate results to faculty and ORD leadership.
  • Generate reports on all aspects of limited submission program activities, track trends, and provide analyses for review by ORD colleagues and university leadership.
  • Curate weekly communications for university-wide limited submission postings.
  • Collaborate with ORD colleagues to identify significant ($5 million plus) external funding opportunities that align with IU's strategic priorities, even if they are not limited. Collaborate with ORD to disseminate significant external opportunities to appropriate faculty.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

General Responsibilities

• Plan, direct and implement programs or events, including the creation of materials to support these events.
• Provide staff communications and serve as liaison to program participants, collaborators in other units, community partners, vendors and the public; approve staff purchase requests; arrange staff travel, accommodations, and research activities.
• Provide mechanisms, training, and advice on a variety of issues such as budget management software and advanced strategies for timely spending of grant funds. May be responsible for meeting revenue targets.
• Recruit, train, direct, schedule, and evaluate faculty and staff partners, students and volunteers. Mentor, serve as a resource, and provide guidance to team staff members as needed.
• Research available grants and work closely with managers to identify funding needs and potential sources. Create grant proposals that further advance support of the program and program participants. May be responsible for meeting revenue targets.
• Construct and administer program budgets and approves spending. Track progress on deliverables, analyze data on projected spending, and prepare reports for higher management and funding sources.
• Keep abreast of best practices to recommend policies and procedures that deliver a quality program experience.

Qualifications

Combinations of related education and experience may be considered. Education beyond the minimum required may be substituted for work experience. Work experience beyond the minimum required may be substituted for education.

EDUCATION
Required

• Bachelor's degree

Preferred

• Master's degree

WORK EXPERIENCE
Required

• 2 years in related field

Preferred

• Experience in a higher education research setting
• Experience with private, state and/or federal granting agencies and an understanding of the policies and procedures of external granting agencies

SKILLS
Required

• Proficient in written and verbal communication skills
• Maintains a high degree of professionalism
• Demonstrated time management and priority setting skills
• Demonstrates a high commitment to quality
• Possesses flexibility to work in a fast paced, dynamic environment
• Seeks to acquire knowledge in area of specialty
• Highly thorough and dependable
• Demonstrates a high level of accuracy, even under pressure

Preferred

• Familiarity with reporting on and assessment of internal funding programs
• Familiarity with online reporting and submission platforms, such as InfoReady, Research.gov, grants.gov, various funding agency systems, and others
• Familiarity with database, reporting, and data visualization platforms (such as Power BI or Tableau)
• Exceptional attention to detail when interpreting sponsor guidelines
• Sophisticated project management skills to coordinate multiple simultaneous processes
• Ability to provide strategic guidance to faculty while maintaining positive relationships during highly competitive situations
• Deep understanding of different sponsor requirements, complex eligibility criteria, and rapidly changing funding landscapes
• Ability to independently manage multiple small to large projects, from start to finish, ensuring on time completion
• Demonstrated ability to develop project plan(s), manage projects, analyze and forecast outcomes, and report on project metrics and shortfalls
• Strong communication skills and organizational skills and a commitment to staying in touch with all stakeholders on ongoing changes in tasks, goals, or performance
• Excellent collaboration skills to coordinate across teams and ensure that project objectives are achieved within established time frames
• Commitment to coordinate and communicate between various areas; ability to conduct project meetings and prepare regular reports

Working Conditions / Demands

This role requires the ability to effectively communicate and to operate a computer and other standard office productivity equipment. The position involves sedentary work as well as periods of time moving around an office environment and the campus. The person in this role must be able to perform the essential functions with or without an accommodation.

Work Location

Indianapolis, Indiana

Benefits Overview

For full-time staff employees, Indiana University offers a wide array of benefits including:

• Comprehensive medical and dental insurance
• Health savings account with generous IU contributions
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• Basic group life insurance paid by IU
• Voluntary supplemental life, long-term disability, critical illness, and supplemental accidental death & dismemberment insurance
• Base retirement plan with generous IU contributions, subject to vesting
• Voluntary supplemental retirement plan options
• Tuition subsidy for employees and family members taking IU courses
• 10 paid holidays plus a paid winter break each year
• Generous paid time off plans
• Paid leave for new parents and IU-sponsored volunteer events
• Employee assistance program (EAP)

Learn more about our benefits by reviewing the IU Benefit Programs Brochure .

Job Classification

Career Level: Career
FLSA: Exempt
Job Function: General Administration
Job Family: Program Management
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Posting Disclaimer

This posting is scheduled to close at 11:59 pm EST on the advertised Close Date. This posting may be closed at any time at the discretion of the University, but will remain open for a minimum of 5 business days. To guarantee full consideration, please submit your application within 5 business days of the Posted Date.
If you wish to include a cover letter, you may include it with your resume when uploading attachments.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer and provider of ADA services and prohibits discrimination in hiring. See Indiana University Notice of Non-Discrimination here which includes contact information .

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