Assistant Vice President for Research Development Services (Institutional Advancement Leader)
Indiana University

Department

RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT (UA-RSDE-IUINA)

Job Summary

The Assistant Vice President (AVP) for Research Development Services is a key leadership role responsible for enhancing the university's research enterprise. The AVP is a member of the IU Research Senior Leadership Team. The AVP will play a pivotal role in advancing the institution's research mission and achieving the ambitious Pillar 2 goals outlined in the IU 2030 Strategic Plan, including significant growth in large-scale, interdisciplinary funding opportunities from corporations, foundations, and federal agencies.

Department-Specific Responsibilities

• Provides proposal development support by lead training, workshops, templates, resources, webinars, on-demand content and support, broader impact workshops, etc.
• Manages strategic nominations and provides limited submissions leads proposal support for strategic, complex, large, center-level submissions (team development, proposal management, grant writing and narrative development and editing, budget construction, graphic design, external review/evaluation planning, ORA integrated hand-off, etc.).
• Develops content and executes professional development workshops and training programs to meet evolving faculty faculty needs to grow external funding for research.
• Assists faculty with seeking funding from corporate and foundation funding entities for research, and more.
• Manages Internal Funding Programs; all internal fellowship, grant, bridge, production, project, equipment, etc.; funding program coordination, management, and assessment.
• Designs and implements recognition for IU faculty achievements in research.
• Acts as IU's point of contact for consulting firm to lead engagement with federal funding agencies to foster and develop strong relationships and opportunities for federally funded IU research.
• Oversees corporate and foundation relations, proposal development services, pre-award services, and faculty training and development.
• Works closely with individual faculty members, leaders of research centers and institutes, as well as other internal and external partners.
• Fosters a vibrant team culture to develop and execute strategies that will enhance capacity and associated external funding for research and creative activity at Indiana University, which is a multi-campus, public institution of higher education with an R1 designation in Bloomington and Indianapolis.
• Ensures staff are knowledgeable, service-oriented, and appropriately resourced.
• Leads efforts to develop and maintain strategic partnerships with corporations and foundations that align with the university's priorities, including but not limited to research and creative activities.
• Cultivates relationships with key foundation industry entities to promote collaborative research and philanthropic partnership, and financial investment.
• Collaborates with IU Foundation and other development colleagues based in schools and units across the university to secure funding for research and creative activities from corporate foundation entities.
• Oversees the preparation of corporate and foundation grant proposals, prioritizing alignment with IU 2030 Strategic Plan goals.
• Provides leadership to Proposal Development Services, ensuring strategic workflow management and oversight of the team responsible for assisting faculty in crafting competitive research proposals critical to meeting IU 2030 Strategic Plan Pillar 2 goals.
• Ensures timely and high-quality development of complex, large-scale, multi-institutional, and interdisciplinary proposals, as well as strategic arts and humanities and other priority proposals.
• Fosters collaboration among faculty, staff, and administrators to enhance the competitiveness of grant applications.
• Develops and delivers training content and resources to help faculty improve their grant writing and proposal development skills.
• Oversees faculty training in research development, including but not limited to the design and implementation of new faculty orientation regarding IU Research services, faculty research recognition, and professional development programs that enhance faculty researcher capabilities, particularly in securing external funding.
• Ensures programming provides tailored guidance to faculty targeting IU 2030 Strategic Plan priority areas, as well as support for those seeking research collaborators.
• Works with faculty to identify emerging funding trends and opportunities, and develop strategies to pursue them effectively, including facilitating campus visits for key federal agency officials in partnership with faculty researchers and other relevant IU and IU Research leadership and planning federal funding agency's site visits when requested.
• Manages personnel dedicated to identifying IU faculty as part of a process to establish a pipeline of IU faculty ready for prestigious honors and awards.
• Contributes to the development of long-term strategies aimed at increasing external funding and enhancing the university's research and creative activity portfolio.
• Supports interdisciplinary and cross-campus research initiatives by fostering connections between faculty, research centers and institutes, and external partners.
• Works closely with the Vice President for Research, Associate Vice President for Research Development, and the Assistant Vice President for Arts and Humanities to align research development activities under the AVP's purview with institutional and strategic goals.
• Monitors and reports on key performance indicators (KPIs), including but not limited to proposal workflow, research development programming targets, funding success rates, and faculty feedback.
• Supervises and mentors staff within corporate and foundation relations, proposal development, and faculty development teams.
• Serves as a liaison between university leadership and the research community to address faculty needs, barriers to research success, and opportunities for growth.
• Represents the university at external events, conferences, and meetings to enhance visibility and foster strategic partnerships.

General Responsibilities

• Contributes on senior leadership teams to formulate strategic planning and the highest-level operational objectives for areas of institutional advancement, partnerships and engagement.
• Establishes long-term business plans and long-term strategic objectives.
• Directs leadership staff who provide supervision to engagement teams.
• Responsible for escalated operational issues, including human resources and/or people management situations.
• Drives innovation and excellence advancing institutional goals through outreach to a wide variety of stakeholders; reviews and creates policies and procedures facilitating partnerships.
• Determines overall budget for teams; reviews and approves financial proposals from direct reporting leaders; has significant fiscal responsibilities that require frequent interaction with executive leaders.
• Provides expertise and identifies grant and/or funding opportunities and university resources; develops business relationships and partnerships with key stakeholders across the university and externally.
• Stays up-to-date on new standards of engagement, advancement opportunities, collaborative programs, and available resources and works with other engagement leaders across departments and/or campuses in determining standards, best practices, and related policies/procedures; ensures the adoption and implementation by direct reporting leaders.

Qualifications

Combinations of related education and experience may be considered. Education beyond the minimum required may be substituted for work experience. Work experience beyond the minimum required may be substituted for education.

EDUCATION

Required

• Bachelor's degree in related field

Preferred

• Master's degree

WORK EXPERIENCE

Required

• 5 years of experience in strategic planning, relationship building, public relations, and/or development
• 3 years of management experience demonstrated leadership in academia, community, or government sectors

Preferred

• 10 years of research development experience working with faculty and researchers at a research-intensive, Carnegie R1 designated institution.
• Experience in developing research collaborations across universities, government, and industry.
• 10 years of direct experience working in federal research funding landscapes, including direct participation in applying for and receiving funding from NIH, NSF, DoD, and other major federal funders.
• 10 years of direct experience working in corporate and foundation relations, leading a team, building high-level funding relationships, and successfully securing large-scale funding.
• Experience in marketing and communications of research findings and results.
• Experience as a faculty member or lecturer.

SKILLS

Required

• Maintains a high degree of professionalism
• Ability to influence internal and/or external constituents
• Demonstrated time management and priority setting skills
• Demonstrates a high commitment to quality
• Excellent organizational skills
• Excellent collaboration and team building skills
• Effectively coaches and delivers constructive feedback
• Instills commitment to organizational goals
• Demonstrates excellent judgment and decision making skills
• Effective conflict management skills
• Builds and manages effective teams
• Ability to represent the company with external constituents
• Ability to drive multiple projects to successful completion

Working Conditions / Demands

This role requires the ability to effectively communicate and to operate a computer and other standard office productivity equipment. The position involves sedentary work as well as periods of time moving around an office environment and the campus. The person in this role must be able to perform the essential functions with or without an accommodation.

Work Location

Indianapolis, Indiana or Bloomington, Indiana

Benefits Overview

For full-time staff employees, Indiana University offers a wide array of benefits including:

• Multiple plan options for medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Health Savings Account with generous IU contribution
• Life insurance, LTD, and AD&D options
• Base retirement plan contribution from IU, subject to vesting
• Additional supplemental retirement plan options
• Tuition benefit for IU classes
• 10 paid holidays per year
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Learn more about our benefits by reviewing our online Benefits Brochure.

Job Classification

Career Level: Strategic

FLSA: Exempt

Job Function: Development & Advancement

Job Family: Institutional Advancement
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Posting Disclaimer

This posting is scheduled to close at 11:59 pm EST on the advertised Close Date. This posting may be closed at any time at the discretion of the University, but will remain open for a minimum of 5 business days. To guarantee full consideration, please submit your application within 5 business days of the Posted Date.

If you wish to include a cover letter, you may include it with your resume when uploading attachments.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Indiana University is an equal employment and affirmative action employer and a provider of ADA services. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment based on individual qualifications. Indiana University prohibits discrimination based on age, ethnicity, color, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status. Indiana University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its educational programs and activities, including employment and admission, as required by Title IX. Questions or complaints regarding Title IX may be referred to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights or the university Title IX Coordinator. See Indiana University's Notice of Non-Discrimination here which includes contact information.

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