Research Development Coordinator: Engineering Research Office - UTK

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) is seeking a dynamic and experienced individual to join our team as a Research Development Coordinator for the Tickle College of Engineering (TCE). The RD Coordinator will actively advance College goals by accelerating development of early career faculty toward securing external research funding and strengthening the quality of proposal submissions. The Coordinator will also promote large-scale, multi-investigator collaborations among post-tenure faculty. The position entails significant one-on-one engagement with faculty members and engages Engineering Research Office (ERO) strategic research-support goals by helping faculty articulate clear research funding agendas, identify and approach Program Officers at suitable funding agencies or foundations, leverage and utilize campus resources, develop strong proposal writing skills, and enhance team-building and leadership skills.

The coordinator collaborates with faculty to identify and prioritize federal funding agencies, providing guidance on concept papers, white papers, and pre-proposals, as well as engagement with program officers. They use Office of Research Innovation and Economic Development (ORIED) resources to aid faculty development and connect researchers to emerging opportunities through the DoD Portfolio Director, Director for Government-Industry Partnerships, and ORIED Research Development Office. The position conducts workshops and seminars to promote multi-investigator research collaborations and supports the brainstorming and initiation of large-scale research teams.

In addition, the coordinator assists faculty with proposal development, including outlining narratives, tailoring messages to specific agencies, and coaching faculty on proposal writing for federal sponsors. The role consults with on the ORIED Research Development Office concerning complex research proposals, helping connect TCE faculty with appropriate campus resources and personnel.

The coordinator also reports to the Associate Dean for Research about faculty progress, assists with professional development planning at the College level, and compiles data to tracking work outcomes and faculty research progress, and inform strategic research development goals.

Required Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Engineering, or STEM field.

Experience:

• Three (3) years of related work experience writing, editing, and/or developing competitive proposals, or one (1) year of such experience with a graduate degree.
• Experience interpreting funding opportunity announcements (RFAs/RFPs/PAs/BAAs) issued by federal, state, private, and corporate sponsors.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Fundamental knowledge and understanding of how federal sponsors support research activities, preferably in a university or national laboratory environment.
• Excellent communication (oral & written), analytical, strategic planning, and organizational skills.
• Ability to organize, analyze, and interpret complex scientific or technical data, including ability to translate complex technical information into language suitable for target audiences.
• Ability to take responsibility for and ownership of assignments; proactively and independently solve problems; prioritize and manage multiple projects and tasks in order to meet hard internal and external deadlines and work well under pressure.
• Ability to adapt to different personalities to assist individuals to recognize their best path forward and actions needed to achieve success; and build and maintain work relationships across a diverse workforce and departmental/campus unit boundaries to advance faculty research success.
• Flexibility to take on new tasks and re-prioritize in a constantly changing environment.
• Skilled commitment to, and delivery of, superior customer service.
Proficient in Microsoft Office suite, Adobe Professional, all web interfaces, and Windows and/or MAC operating systems, and the ability to quickly learn new software programs.

Preferred Qualifications

Education: Doctoral degree in a Science, Engineering, or STEM field.

Experience:

• Five (5) years related work experience writing, editing, and/or developing competitive proposals.
• Experience working at an institution of higher education, non-profit, or other entity as a grant writer.
• Experience as a research administrator.
• Experience in serving on grant review panels.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: Familiarity with sponsor online submission systems such as Grants.gov and Research.gov.

Work Location

• Location: Knoxville, TN
• Hybrid

Compensation and Benefits

• UT market range: MR 13
• Anticipated hiring range: $80-90k

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments. To be assured of full consideration, completed applications should include all requested materials:

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• List of 3 Professional References

About The College and ERO

The College: The Tickle College of Engineering provides 14 BS degrees, 17 MS degrees and 15 Ph.D. degrees through 9 departments. The College has a common freshman program administered by the College through the Engineering Fundamentals Directorate overseeing the general Engineering Fundamentals and Engineering Honors Programs. The total number of undergraduate students is over 4800 with over 1500 freshmen. The TCE has more than 200 tenure-track faculty. More information is found: Tickle College of Engineering .

ERO: Established in 2005, the Engineering Research Office is a premiere faculty support resource that provides concierge services to enhance the quality and success rate for securing extramural research proposals by faculty colleagues, while reducing their administrative burden.