Senior Research Development Officer

About Northeastern:

Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and the recognized leader in experience-driven lifelong learning. Our world-renowned experiential approach empowers our students, faculty, alumni, and partners to create impact far beyond the confines of discipline, degree, and campus.

Our locations—in Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; London; Portland, Maine; San Francisco; Seattle; Silicon Valley; Toronto; Vancouver; and the Massachusetts communities of Burlington and Nahant—are nodes in our growing global university system. Through this network, we expand opportunities for flexible, student-centered learning and collaborative, solutions-focused research.

Northeastern’s comprehensive array of undergraduate and graduate programs— in a variety of on-campus and online formats—lead to degrees through the doctorate in nine colleges and schools. Among these, we offer more than 195 multi-discipline majors and degrees designed to prepare students for purposeful lives and careers.

About the Opportunity:

Research Development at Northeastern:
The Office of Research Development at Northeastern University is situated under the Office of the Sr. Vice Provost for Research and supports Northeastern research, scholarship, creativity and innovation within the Research Division. The office provides specific assistance to all Northeastern faculty and researchers in the development and submission of research proposals and offers professional development opportunities to faculty and researchers.

Responsibilities:

Position Summary:
The Sr. Research Development Officer (SRDO) will be responsible for increasing institutional research competitiveness through targeted capacity building, supporting strategic initiatives, developing partnerships and interdisciplinary teams and large complex proposals, and research related professional development and programming. We seek a highly collaborative and versatile colleague with attention to detail, impeccable writing skills and strong facilitation skills. Characteristics of the ideal candidate include curiosity, creativity, and compassion, and someone who thrives in a dynamic environment. The SRDO will be a critical and valued member of the Northeastern Office of Research Development (ORD), and will work to cultivate a strong research culture and growth in this national R1 research university. This position reports to the Vice Provost for Research Development.
The SRDO will provide leadership, strategy development, and management of large/complex research proposals. They will develop deep knowledge of college-based and multidisciplinary research programs and will participate in the expansion of existing programs and the development of new initiatives, working with teams of faculty to develop strategies for multi-million dollar programs with broad impact across the Northeastern global research network. The SRDO will develop and maintain relationships with federal and non-federal extramural sponsors in support of faculty research development efforts, with a focus on building a sustainable matrix of sponsorship from diverse sources, including collaborative research with industry, and will leverage faculty strengths and internal funding programs to map to key sponsor activities. The SRDO will strengthen the institutional infrastructure for promoting interdisciplinary research and scholarly development across the university, working closely with members of research support services across the network.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a research related field, plus five years of experience in research development with an emphasis on multi-investigator proposal development; or Doctoral/terminal degree, plus three years of experience.
• Extensive knowledge of extramural federal and non-federal sponsors supporting research and education activities, preferably in a university environment.
• Knowledge of defense agency proposal and award processes is desired.
• Excellent oral and written communication abilities with particular emphasis on ability to understand, interpret, and summarize scientific research initiatives across a variety of subject domains for presentation to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing complex solicitations and translating technical concepts into a fundable proposal.
• Proven experience in business development, strategic planning, project management and technical writing.
• Ability to assume lead role in project and program management and demonstrated expertise in managing the development of complex documents, together with faculty colleagues.
• Ability to work simultaneously on multiple complex programs and activities in a timely manner with a high degree of quality, while remaining responsive to varying deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills with a demonstrated ability to build consensus and lead teams in order to achieve desired outcomes.
• The successful candidate will be a flexible, creative, scientifically literate professional and team player with ability to add value to the development of faculty-led research proposals and initiatives across a variety of subject domains.

Salary Grade:

 Salary commensurate with experience.

Additional Information:

Northeastern is a global university and NU-RES supports its team working remotely. Remote locations and work schedules are determined based on operational needs and in consultation with Team members, consistent with University policies and guidance.