Research Dev Associate III

Job Summary

The University of Utah Vice President's Clinical and Translational (VPCAT) Research Scholars Program is seeking an experienced Research Development Associate III (RDA) to support the research and career development of early-career faculty scholars. VPCAT is a two-year faculty mentoring and career development program designed to help early-career clinical and translational researchers develop the skills, mentorship, and experience needed to become successful, funded investigators. VPCAT provides integrated support in scientific career development, grant writing and management, and leadership development through its Matrix Mentoring Model that includes scientific, senior, peer, self, and staff mentorship.

About the Role

This role focuses on providing individualized grantsmanship review, proposal consultation, education, and research development support to faculty scholars. Faculty scholars develop the scientific content; the RDA helps them strengthen how they organize, communicate, and align their research ideas with sponsor expectations while building their grant writing skills. The RDA will also contribute to VPCAT curriculum, research-development resources, funding landscape awareness, partnerships, and program improvement.

Core Responsibilities Include:

• Individualized faculty scholar grantsmanship review and substantive editing.
• Grant development consultation, proposal planning, and resource navigation.
• Grants and grant management-related curriculum development, teaching, and educational resources.
• Funding opportunity, sponsor policy, and research-development resource identification.

With strong knowledge of research development, this role independently implements a wide range of strategic, proactive, and capacity building activities designed to enable and enhance research and may include strategic research advancement, communication of research and research opportunities, enhancement of collaboration and team science, and proposal development. May train other Research Development Associates.

Responsibilities

Applicants must demonstrate the ability to perform the essential functions of the position. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Individualized Grantsmanship Review
  • Perform substantive review and editing of faculty scholars' research proposal narratives for organization, clarity, logical flow, thematic consistency, responsiveness to sponsor requirements, and reviewer perspective.
  • Assess proposal materials for responsiveness to sponsor requirements and identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen the overall presentation.
  • Provide constructive feedback that helps faculty scholars strengthen their applications and develop their own grant writing skills.
• Proposal Consultation & Planning
  • Review and interpret funding opportunities, sponsor instructions, and review criteria to help faculty scholars translate requirements into an application strategy.
  • Participate in and lead grant submission consultations with faculty scholars and, when appropriate, departmental pre-award staff and other research-support personnel.
  • Help scholars identify application needs, gaps, resources, and realistic submission timelines.
  • Recognize questions that require expertise outside the RDA's role and connect faculty scholars with appropriate institutional, sponsor, scientific, regulatory, or administrative resources.
• Curriculum Development & Teaching
  • Collaborate with VPCAT personnel to develop, refine, and evaluate curriculum related to grant writing, research development, and grant preparation and management.
  • Develop educational tools and resources that translate sponsor requirements and grantsmanship principles into practical guidance.
  • Teach or facilitate curriculum sessions within their areas of expertise.
• Funding Resources & Landscape
  • Identify and communicate relevant funding opportunities, sponsor announcements, policy changes, and research resources.
  • Help faculty scholars navigate VPCAT and institutional resources.
  • Develop and maintain practical grant-development tools, examples, and guidance informed by sponsor requirements, successful applications, and recurring scholar needs.
• Collaboration & Coordination
  • Work collaboratively with VPCAT staff, faculty mentors, scholars, institutional partners, and research-support personnel while maintaining clear role boundaries.
  • Contribute research development expertise to VPCAT partnerships and collaborative initiatives.
  • Identify recurring faculty scholar needs, grant development challenges, and funding changes that may warrant new resources or program approaches.
• Proficient with all the duties and responsibilities of a Research Development Associate II.
• Serve as institutional representatives to external visitors representing the broader portfolio.
• Interact with political and corporate partners related to research initiatives at institution.
• Spearheads strategic research initiatives by acting as a key partner with initiative directors to form strategic direction and guide initiatives.
• Pro-actively seeks new opportunities to grow and expand the University's strategic research mission.
• Coordinate pre-submission peer reviews of proposal drafts, particularly the multi-PI and very large/complex proposals.
• Develops and executes communication strategies to inform internal and external stakeholders of research operations.
• May participate as key personnel.
• Build competitive proposal teams for MPI applications.
• Consistently works on highly complex problems requiring independent action and decision making. Must determine best course of action to resolve problems and frequently makes recommendations for improvement.
• Knows how to apply theory and put it into practice with in-depth understanding of the professional field.

What This Role Does NOT Do

• Does not write scientific proposals or replace scientific mentors or content experts.
• Does not replace departmental pre-award or budget development functions.
• Does not manage submission systems (e.g., Cayuse).

Minimum Qualifications

Master's Degree or Bachelor's degree + four years of related experience or equivalency (one year of education can be substituted for two years of related work experience). Applicants must demonstrate the potential ability to perform the essential functions of the job as outlined in the position description.

Preferences

Strong candidates will demonstrate:

• Experience in grant development, research development, scientific writing, or a related area.
• Substantive editing and writing skills, with the ability to improve organization, clarity, consistency, and narrative flow.
• Ability to interpret funding opportunities, sponsor instructions, and review criteria and translate them into practical guidance.
• Experience providing consultation, education, or constructive feedback to faculty or other professionals.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines independently.

An ideal candidate will also bring:

• Familiarity with federal research funding, particularly federal mechanisms, requirements, and peer review.
• Analytical judgment, including the ability to identify what matters most, recognize gaps or inconsistencies, and distinguish high-priority concerns from lower-priority details.
• Experience working in an academic research environment and an understanding of the complementary roles of investigators, scientific mentors, research development professionals, and research administrators.
• Curiosity and adaptability, with the ability to learn unfamiliar research areas, funding mechanisms, and sponsor requirements.
• A consultative approach to faculty development: someone who asks good questions, offers constructive recommendations, and recognizes when additional expertise is needed.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

Work Environment and level of frequency typically required — Nearly Continuously: Office environment.

Physical Requirements and level of frequency that may be required — Nearly Continuously: Sitting, hearing, listening, talking. Often: Repetitive hand motion (such as typing), walking. Seldom: Bending, reaching overhead.

Schedule

This role typically follows a M-F schedule during standard business hours. This position supports and contributes to a wide variety of external grants with different deadlines. Some nights and weekends may be required, depending on business needs. This is a hybrid position with some required days in the office. Standard Hours per Week: 40. Full Time. Shift: Day.

Pay

Pay Rate Range: $78,300 to $91,000. FLSA Code: Professional. This is a benefited staff position.

Additional Information

Career Progression Track: G. Track Level: P4 - Advanced, P3 - Career. Patient Sensitive Job Code? No. VP Area: U of U Health - Academics. Department: 02508 - VPCAT. Location: Campus. City: Salt Lake City, UT. Type of Recruitment: External Posting. Open Date: 09/11/2026. Close Date: 12/31/2026. Priority Review Date: (Note - Posting may close at any time).

This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check and/or drug screen.

This response is AI-generated, for reference only.