Peer Review Project Director

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership and direction for Federal peer review contracts and task orders.
• Serve as the primary liaison between Government clients, reviewers, applicants, and contractor staff.
• Develop and implement project management plans, schedules, staffing plans, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Monitor project performance, budgets, deliverables, and timelines to ensure successful contract execution.
• Lead project kick-off meetings, status meetings, lessons learned sessions, and client briefings.
• Ensure all deliverables meet contractual requirements, quality standards, and submission deadlines.
• Direct the planning and execution of virtual, hybrid, and in-person peer review meetings.
• Oversee reviewer recruitment, screening, conflict-of-interest reviews, onboarding, training, and retention.
• Manage panel assignments and reviewer matching based on subject matter expertise.
• Carefully coordinate review schedules, scoring activities, discussion facilitation, and consensus-building processes.
• Ensure the integrity, confidentiality, and fairness of all peer review activities.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), reviewer guidance materials, and quality assurance protocols.
• Oversee peer review activities conducted through Federal grants management systems.
• Collaborate with Government staff to troubleshoot system issues and ensure continuity of operations.
• Support data validation, records management, and compliance reporting requirements.
• Implement comprehensive quality control procedures for all peer review activities.
• Ensure compliance with Federal regulations, agency-specific policies, privacy requirements, and information security standards.
• Monitor project metrics and performance indicators to identify opportunities for process improvement.
• Conduct quality reviews of reports, reviewer records, meeting documentation, and final recommendations.
• Develop corrective action plans and risk mitigation strategies when necessary.
• Monitor project budgets, labor utilization, subcontractor performance, and contract deliverables.
• Support invoicing, financial reporting, and contract administration activities.
• Manage subcontractors, consultants, and temporary staff supporting peer review operations.
• Ensure resources are allocated effectively to meet project requirements and performance objectives.
• Supervise project managers, peer review coordinators, logistics specialists, recruiters, and administrative personnel.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and performance management support to project staff.
• Foster a collaborative, customer-focused, and results-oriented work environment.
• Cooksurge staff and resource planning during high-volume review periods.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Project Management, Education, Science, Health Sciences, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience managing Federal peer review, grants management, or program administration activities.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience supervising project teams supporting Federal contracts.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex peer review programs involving multiple funding opportunities, large reviewer pools, and strict deadlines.
• Strong knowledge of Federal grant-making processes and peer review best practices.
• Experience developing project schedules, quality control plans, risk management plans, and performance reports.
• Excellent verbal, written, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and project management tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in a related field.
• Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Government Meeting Professional (CGMP), or similar professional certification.
• Experience supporting Federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Justice, National Institutes of Health, Department of Labor, National Science Foundation, or other grant-making agencies.
• Experience managing virtual, hybrid, and in-person peer review panels.
• Demonstrated experience using Federal grants management and peer review systems, such as: JustGrants Peer Review Management System (PRMS), GrantSolutions ARM (Application Review Management System), PRIMO eRA Commons, and other Federal grant and peer review platforms.
• Experience overseeing reviewer recruitment and management for large-scale discretionary grant competitions.
• Familiarity with Section 508 accessibility requirements and virtual collaboration platforms.