Research Development Officer

Research Development Officer

Position Overview

The Hall Center for the Humanities seeks a Research Development Officer (RDO) with a proven history of leadership to direct the operations of its Research & Grant Development Office (RGDO). The successful applicant will demonstrate the ability to provide strategic planning and the innovation necessary to effectively meet the challenges of a changing academic and research funding environment. The RDO's primary directive is to provide the direction, oversight, and organizational management to ensure that the RGDO accomplishes its mission: To stimulate external grant and fellowship proposal development and enhance the quality of applications submitted by KU scholars engaged in humanities-focused research, which is a component of the Hall Center's mission: To foster and support research in the humanities and share the knowledge created with a range of communities, on campus and off. The RDO's work contributes significantly to the Research and Discovery component of the University of Kansas "Jayhawks Rising" strategic plan and KU Office of Research strategies for achieving "One KU"—the integration of major interdisciplinary initiatives across the Lawrence, Edwards, and Medical Center campuses. The RDO works closely with the Hall Center Director to support the Hall Center's applications for external funding to carry out its mission. The RDO is appointed by and reports to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in KU's Office of Research.

Job Description
55% - Research and Grant Development

• Responsible for managing services related to research and grant development activities for KU units, teams of faculty and staff, and individual scholars in the humanities, creative fields, and humanities-oriented social sciences disciplines.
• Facilitates collaborations across disciplines and schools at the university.
• Organizes teams of research partners and assists with complex interdisciplinary proposals.
• Supervises the RGDO staff.
• Trains research and grant development staff in grants administration, federal requirements, and university guidelines.
• Assigns the Research Development Specialist (RDS) to individual and interdisciplinary research team proposals and other tasks, and prioritizes work to ensure deadlines are met.
• Leads development of outreach and research development educational initiatives.
• Serves as the primary liaison between KU's Office of Research Awards Management Services (AMS), particularly Pre-Awards Services, and the investigator/research team, providing direct support for proposal preparation to the investigators/research teams.
• Monitors relevant humanities granting agency priorities and develops/maintains contacts with program officers for advance knowledge of new or revised funding programs and initiatives; communicates this information to researchers and research development teams.
• Researches and communicates funding opportunities based on specific investigator's/team's criteria.
• Assists individual humanities researchers/teams in developing long-term funding plans/strategies based on research agendas/career goals.
• Provides guidance to interdisciplinary investigators/teams on strategic approaches to funding calls based on analysis of funding calls and agency priorities.
• Develops project management plans for investigators/teams to meet proposal deadlines and advises investigators/teams on university/agency submission requirements, including issues of compliance.
• Reviews written materials and provides technical editing.
• Develops proposal materials related to standard elements such as management plans, educational outreach, and data management to include editing for format, page length, and coherence.
• Works with humanities/humanities-related investigators/teams to develop comprehensive budgets that support research needs based on the research plan and sponsor's guidelines.
• Reviews and preliminarily negotiates contracts and sub-contracts.
• Develops and presents investigator events such as trainings, workshops, and other activities on a variety of research-related topics.

25% - Outreach, Networking, and Integrated Research Development

• Collaborates with the KU Research Development community of practice, including the research development team in the KU Office of Research (KUOR) and embedded research development personnel in other research centers and institutes.
• Collaboration will include attending KUOR Research Development meetings, sharing KUOR communications and funding opportunity announcements with campus scholars in the humanities and humanities-related fields, aiding in generating programmatic synergy across KU, and taking part in interdisciplinary research development events. Also collaborates with leadership across relevant academic units and sub-units, as appropriate, and with the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Provost's Office on external funding issues, opportunities, policies, and practices.
• Participates with colleagues across KU campuses to support research development recruitment and education strategies.
• Oversees the organization and production of grant-related training materials and educational events for humanities and humanities-integrated scholars/teams.
• Represents the humanities and the University of Kansas to local, regional, and national constituencies.

10% - RGDO Administration

• Maintains responsibility for the organization and management of all activities of the Hall Center's Research & Grant Development Office (RGDO), including oversight of the Research Development Specialist (RDS) and, if applicable, graduate interns.
• Sets and ensures compliance with grant-related standards and policies.
• Oversees maintenance of RGDO's standard operating procedures.
• Maintains and continually develops the RGDO's sections of the Hall Center's website.
• Assists with new faculty recruitment.

5% - Professional Development

• Maintains active membership in appropriate professional organizations and participates in relevant conferences and workshops.

5% - Other Duties as Assigned

• This job description is designed to indicate the general nature and level of work for this position; it is not intended to provide a comprehensive inventory of all duties required

Position Requirements

1. Hybrid schedule possible, with one (1) day remote and four (4) days on-site: Non-negotiable.

Required Qualifications

1. Master's degree in a humanities or allied field and two (2) years of grant development or other relevant experience, including personnel management, OR bachelor's degree in a humanities or allied field and six (6) years of relevant experience.
2. Experience in grant-writing or otherwise assisting in the development of successful external funding proposals, as demonstrated by application materials.
3. Evidence of experiences that required strong writing and proofreading skills, including writing clearly and concisely and editing for grammar, spelling, syntax, and style as evidenced in application materials.
4. Experience working with word processing software and programs needed to create budgets, as evidenced in application materials.
5. Excellent organizational skills, as evidenced by application materials.
6. Two (2) years of supervisory experience.

Preferred Qualifications

1. PhD in humanities or allied field.
2. Professional Experience with any of the following, as demonstrated through application materials:
   
   • National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Pre-Award Certificate, Certified Research Administrator (CRA), Grant Professional Certification (GPA), or other nationally recognized professional certification related to grant proposal development and administration.
   • Experience working in a university environment.
   • Experience working as part of a team to accomplish goals, e.g., developing a major grant proposal for a collaborative research project.
   • Experience as a program officer or grant proposal reviewer for a granting agency, e.g., the National Endowment for the Humanities.
3. Experience that required success coaching and mentoring supervised employees (or faculty and research staff) to effectively accomplish their work and advance their own career objectives, as evidenced in application materials.
4. Experience that necessitated exceptional organizational, time, and project management skills, including accomplishing complex tasks in a detail-oriented and efficient manner, as illustrated in application materials.
5. Experience consistently meeting deadlines, as shown in application materials.
6. Experience with oral/interpersonal communication with a range of constituents, as evidenced by application materials.
7. Experience with handling sensitive information with discretion and diplomacy, as demonstrated by application materials
8. Experience using word processing, databases, spreadsheet software, website design and/or maintenance software, and conveying information/data with a variety of digital tools/applications, as shown in application materials.

Additional Candidate Instructions
This position has been reopened for additional applicants.

In addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position:

• Cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications.
• Resume.
• List of three (3) professional references.
• Writing sample of no more than three single-spaced pages, with one-inch margins and font size no smaller than 11-point.

Only complete applications will be considered.

Application review begins Monday, March 2, 2026 and will continue until a qualified pool of applicants is identified.

To apply, please visit https://employment.ku.edu/jobs/staff/research-development-officer/32095br

We are a major research university with global reach.

The University of Kansas is the state’s flagship university and one of just 65 invited members of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU). We consistently earn high rankings for academics and recognition as a premier research university.

We push the boundaries of knowledge, transform the academic experience, and create solutions through innovative research. The Jayhawk community extends around the globe, united by more than 150 years of tradition and by our commitment to creating a better world.

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