Strategic Proposal Development Specialist

Pay Range: Salary commensurate with experience

Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (may include some weekends). Travel is required.

About the Role

The Strategic Proposal Development (SPD) Specialist will expand the capacity of engineering-led faculty teams to prepare large, complex, transdisciplinary competitive research and programmatic proposals for federal, state, and private funding. The SPD Specialist will facilitate proposal development of large-scale, interdisciplinary, and inter-institutional projects in collaboration with VPRP and CFE research professionals, external consultants, and partnering institutions and organizations.

Responsibilities

• Develop a calendar of large and complex proposals to be submitted.
• Implement team science and project management principles to coordinate the submission of proposals with lead PIs and key team members.
• Provide proposal development know-how and input on grant readiness and competitiveness.
• Organize proposal review panels and facilitate faculty funding success by identifying and tracking major funding opportunities in collaboration with engineering deans, directors, and supporting organizations.
• Assist in promoting awareness of limited submission and large funding opportunities of $3M or more, supporting the development of proposal teams, managing the proposal process, and contributing to communications via website and email newsletters.
• Report to the Associate Dean for Research and collaborate with the Director of Strategic Initiatives, the Office of Research Advancement (ORA) team, and other institutional partners to manage research development initiatives and engagement events.

Departmental Duties

Large Proposal Support

• Foster and facilitate development and submission of complex, transdisciplinary, multi-institutional research grant proposals.
• Coordinate faculty teams from proposal concept development to submission, working closely with proposal support from ORS and other OU offices, and external consultants when needed.
• Assist PIs to determine institutional support needs at the proposal stage, such as designated space, space renovations, additional equipment, or dedicated staff.
• Plan and convene events with investigators to coordinate and enhance grant writing activities, such as proposal team kickoff or design meetings.
• Support the drafting of non-scientific/scholarly sections of grant proposals, such as Facilities and Other Resources, mentoring plans, or figures and graphical elements.
• Provide comprehensive editorial reviews of research proposals to ensure alignment with sponsor priorities and solicitation guidelines.
• Recommend text, graphics, and data that describe value-added differentiators to position the university as the optimal choice for project award.
• Work directly with principal investigators (PIs) to provide developmental editing of content, organization, wording, and tone of the full document.
• Organize targeted proposal pre-submission reviews such as Pink or Red Team panels with OU or external experts, or contracted consultants.

Program Management and Research Development Operations

• Coordinate and support engineering-led teams in development and submission of center-level or otherwise complex proposals by leading cross-functional teams of scientists, engineers, and other subject matter experts.
• Manage the proposal development and content lifecycle, including maintaining schedules, organizing resources, coordinating inputs and reviews, ensuring alignment with institutional strategy, compliance, and resolving internal team issues.
• Partner with PIs, administrators, and university central offices to anticipate and resolve strategic and operational challenges, especially those complex and without clear precedent.
• Coordinate with college and university communications to raise the profile of engineering strengths and increase visibility and impact of research with external funding sources.

Targeted Funding Opportunity Portfolio Management

• Coordinate with the engineering deans and directors and the Office of the VPRP to anticipate future submission opportunities in high-priority areas.
• Manage or assist with the formation of proposal teams, primarily supporting the PI through proposal project management.
• Contribute to continuous process improvement of proposal submission processes to establish efficient and effective systems and practices.
• Develop and share knowledge of the research funding landscape and federal funding agency strategic plans for sponsors of strategic interest to the university.

Professional Development and Training

• Perform various duties as needed to successfully fulfill the function of the position.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Public Administration, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 3 years of experience in proposal writing, technical writing, grant writing, or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5 years of experience in research administration, proposal development, or project management for sponsored programs in addition to a Bachelor’s degree.
• Professional experience and/or certifications in proposal management, project management, team science, and research development.
• Valid Driver’s License for travel.

Hiring contingent upon a background check.