Research Scientist - Grant Development

About the Role

This role is an advanced researcher that plans, coordinates, and executes complex research projects. Contributions are scientific or intellectual, characterized by unique originality and autonomous creativity. Works in collaboration with an established principal investigator to conduct research in a specific scientific area. Initiates and conducts independent experiments without direct supervision. Develops own research projects with the guidance of the principal investigator, including new experimental procedures and hypotheses for further investigation.

The Staff Scientist will play a central role in shaping and expanding a funded research portfolio through active participation in grant development. This role involves grant writing and management to maximize essential support for global health research initiatives, working closely with the PI to submit research grants, provide operational oversight, and manage established programs while developing new ones.

Responsibilities

Grant Writing (40%)

• Leads grant prospecting efforts to identify new funding opportunities, including creating and updating a growing list of relevant grants (NIH, foundation, etc.) for the lab.
• Works closely with the PI to lead the proposal preparation process, including communicating information to and from the PI, research team members, sponsor, sponsored projects office, and research business manager.
• Organizes grant preparation meetings, creates grant submission timelines, furnishes boilerplate language, and facilitates conference calls.
• Develops and manages plans for proposal completion, including drafting and collecting components (e.g., bio sketches, letters of support, facilities descriptions, personnel information), determining timelines, and maintaining collaborative workspaces.
• Serves as the frontline liaison between PI and investigators from other institutions (U.S. and non-U.S.) to facilitate cross-institutional research collaborations.
• Creates and maintains a database of funded grants and a repository of boilerplate grant material, including examples of facilities descriptions, bio sketches, and successful proposals.
• Develops research grant writing skills of global health trainees, aligning with PI to determine project needs and develop budgets in collaboration with the research business manager.
• Engages with the CHOP Sponsored Projects Office and collaborating offices to upload proposal documents for timely submission, ensuring all required elements are complete.

Program Management (40%)

Global Health Program Management

• Works closely with the PI to develop and implement strategic priorities and provides reporting on progress and outcomes to CHOP leadership and external partners.
• Collaborates with local stakeholders in partner communities (e.g., Africa, Asia, South America) to advance program initiatives, requiring international travel (approximately 10-20% of the time).
• Organizes and administers timelines and workflows with stakeholders to meet project goals and objectives, providing corroboration with leadership to manage outcomes.
• Leads collaboration across numerous departments/divisions (10+) at CHOP to advance global health research initiatives, ensuring adherence to CHOP policies and procedures.
• Communicates directly and regularly with leadership in partner communities to ensure effective collaborative management of projects.
• Manages the financial processes of research programs, including preparing invoices, monitoring supplies, and tracking budget expenditures in collaboration with the research business manager.
• Coordinates Penn medical, nursing, MPH, and undergraduate summer students rotating to study sites.

Manages Research Studies and Oversees Day-to-Day Operations

• Plans, directs, coordinates, and leads activities of several international research projects to ensure goals and objectives are met.
• Tracks progress of study tasks to ensure timely accomplishment of deliverables.
• Establishes work plans, timelines, and staffing for each project phase and arranges assignments and follow-up on action points.
• Manages communications with teams and partners, tracking study decisions and action points.
• Provides regulatory submission and oversight of Data Use Agreements, Material Transfer Agreements, and other agreements.
• Manages regulatory documents according to study sponsor guidelines and monitors protocol operations to ensure compliance with local and federal regulations.
• Provides IRB oversight and oversees the development of study documents, including protocols, SOPs, data collection tools, and training tools for implementing partners.
• Supports the study team to ensure protocol procedures are followed according to sponsor and organizational SOPs.

Human Resources

• Recruits, retains, and supervises staff, leading onboarding/offboarding, performance reviews, and troubleshooting HR issues.
• Assesses staff capacity, quality of work, and workload, identifying staffing needs and coordinating additional hiring as needed.
• Provides support to team members and ensures document organization for smooth team operations.

Marketing, Fundraising, and Communication (20%)

Marketing

• Develops and updates slide decks and informational documents about the lab’s work.
• Drafts timely content, including news stories and blog posts, to keep the lab web page up-to-date.
• Coordinates cross-promotion of global health research activities with communications teams across the enterprise, including Divisions/Departments, PolicyLab, Clinical Futures, and Research Communications.

Fundraising

• Works closely with the PI and the CHOP Foundation Team to identify funding opportunities.

Communication

• Manages scheduled and ad-hoc program progress reporting for key stakeholders.
• Prepares written and oral presentations, presenting program achievements and study progress to stakeholders.
• Supports manuscript writing and submissions.

Requirements

• Doctoral training in epidemiology, statistics, public health, or a related field with 2+ years of postgraduate research experience.
• At least three years of professional or administrative experience in an academic or research institute.
• At least 6 months living and/or working in a country other than the USA, ideally in a low- or middle-income country, and/or experience working in an underserved setting in the USA.
• Demonstrated experience writing and managing grants, contracts, and subcontracts.
• Working knowledge of key practices, regulations, policies, and procedures related to grants/contracts and grant budgeting.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to negotiate diplomatically in cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary settings.
• Experience in developing and supporting new projects.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including presentation development and delivery.

Desired Skills

• Expertise leading applied research, including generating research questions, conducting data analysis, and writing up results.
• Expert knowledge and practical experience in study design, sampling approaches, sample size estimation, descriptive and advanced statistical methods (e.g., longitudinal data analysis, multilevel modeling, causal inference methods, complex survey analysis, health and surveillance systems).
• Experience with data use agreements, security, and managing large complex datasets.
• Experience with scoping and systematic literature reviews (and meta-analysis).
• Knowledge of STATA, R, and data systems (e.g., web-based electronic data capture systems such as REDCap or ODK).
• Interest in maternal and child health, public health, and building research capacity in low- and middle-income countries.

What You Will Do

• Conducts research of significant scientific value in basic and/or translational science area(s).
• Functions independently in the development and execution of research projects in consultation with the PI.
• Plans, conducts, and manages research projects within federal and institutional regulations and policies.
• Initiates and maintains collaborations with researchers, external agencies, and institutions to develop cooperative research initiatives.
• Trains technical staff, students, fellows, and physicians in lab procedures.
• Reviews manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals.
• Monitors daily resource allocations and day-to-day lab personnel activities.
• Develops high-impact research initiatives.

Schedule

This position is based in Philadelphia with potential for international travel (approximately 10-20% of the time). The ideal candidate is expected to be available for two years, with renewal possible based on strong performance and availability of additional grant funding.