Research Development Associate

Position Summary:

Research Development encompasses strategic, catalytic, and capacity-building activities that advance research. At UTHealth Houston, our research development program is focused on strategic research advancement, enhancement of team science, professional communications, and proposal development, which works hand in hand with our research administrators. The Research Development Associate will provide grant proposal development expertise to faculty members and research personnel to enable competitive individual and team extramural research funding and facilitate research excellence in collaboration with the Office of Research Development. One will be expected to support various grant types at the Research Development Associate level. Most of this work will be focused on investigator-initiated clinical research, complex proposal development of program project grants and training grants, and considerable time on technical and scientific writing, consulting on sponsor priorities or funding mechanism responsiveness, and gathering research intelligence. A Research Development Associate may support faculty in a single department or across multiple departments and/or center(s) in all phases of the research proposal development process.

UTHealth Houston is a dynamic, research-intensive academic medical center experiencing rapid growth, with double-digit increases in research funding year over year. We are committed to pushing the boundaries of discovery and have recently launched several new major initiatives. We have an outstanding research development program with strong leadership. With bold, moonshot goals driving our future, we are seeking a candidate who is ready to prove they have the right stuff!

This role will work at our Fayez S. and Susan K. Sarofim Research Building on Pressler. It will require the employee to be on-site and able to meet face-to-face with research teams.

Essential Functions

• They use their experience and scientific training to lead technical and scientific editing of grant proposals focused on significance, innovation, and impact.
• Provides analytical, technical, and professional support in writing funding proposals. This includes understanding funding trends and serving as a red team review member.
• Helps develop competitive project ideas with the use of chalk talks, research concept meetings, and best practices in team science to help faculty develop competitive hypotheses, aims, and objectives.
• Works cooperatively with grant/contract specialists and other research development team members to disseminate best practices and training.
• Works with research administrative teams to ensure the submission and management of complex grant programs.
• Monitors funding agency changes and helps identify research partners for collaborative research grants.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas’ resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That’s where you come in.

Once you join us, you won't want to leave. It’s because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you’d expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus:

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave days, both vacation and sick time – all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year)
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you’ll accrue!
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service)
• Build your future with our awesome retirement/pension plan!

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees’ well-being is important to us. We offer work/life services such as...

• Free financial and legal counseling
• Free mental health counseling services
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs
• Other employee discounts include entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc.
• Resources for child and elder care
• Plus, many more!

Certification/Skills:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, particularly the capacity for integrating and synthesizing written text that represents a melding of multidisciplinary research.
• Demonstrated capacity for independent decision-making, research development, and working on multidisciplinary teams on project and proposal development.
• Advanced use of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Reference Managers.
• Specialized software programs may be required.
• Requires ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others.

Minimum Education:

At least a Master's Degree in health administration, public health, or a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) field is required, and a Doctorate Degree is preferred

Minimum Experience:

1 year One year of experience writing peer-reviewed articles, grants, or dissertations. You may substitute required experience with equivalent years of education beyond the minimum education requirement.

Physical Requirements:

Exerts up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds frequently and/or a negligible amount constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive:

Security Sensitive: This job class may contain positions that are security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of Texas Education Code § 51.215

Residency Requirement:

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas and be willing to come onsite to our location.