Research Development Officer

Heriot-Watt University; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 37,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days annual leave

9 buildings closed days

Job summary

Heriot‑Watt University seeks a Research Development Officer to support the Research Development Team in delivering pre‑award services for externally funded research across five Schools. You will help identify funding sources, cost, price, and coordinate submissions, working with funders and internal approvals.

The role emphasizes training delivery, data management, and policy guidance on ethics and governance, in a collaborative university environment.

Qualifications

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills across audiences.
• High attention to detail and accuracy in preparing proposals.
• Ability to manage day‑to‑day responsibilities with initiative.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills in a fast‑paced environment.
• Experience supporting research proposal development and budgeting.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive pre‑award support for externally funded proposals.
• Interpret funder rules, review costings, and ensure compliance.
• Coordinate submission of funding proposals via internal/external systems.
• Offer guidance on project finance and pre‑award budgeting.
• Maintain research information systems and develop training resources.
• Liaise with external funders and partner institutions.

Skills

Excellent communication

Organisational skills

Teamwork

Attention to detail

Proposal development support

Education

Honours degree or equivalent

Tools

Worktribe

Microsoft Teams

SharePoint

UKRI/Funding portals experience

Job description

Role Title: Research Development Officer

Grade and Salary: Grade 6, £31,861 - £37,369 per annum

FTE and working pattern: Full-time (35hrs per week), Open Ended

Reward and Benefits: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days for all full time staff. Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.

About our Team

Heriot‑Watt has an ambitious agenda for research excellence and impact, and the Research Engagement Directorate (RED) is the key professional services department supporting the development and delivery of this strategy. RED brings together a wide range of specialist and generalist expertise, offering flexible, responsive support that enables academic colleagues to pursue world‑class research and knowledge transfer opportunities.

The Directorate’s remit spans research development, Research Excellence Framework management, impact and knowledge exchange, public engagement, academic development, intellectual property and contracts. RED supports academics, researchers and senior leaders in building relationships with funders and partners, developing collaborative links with users of our research, and navigating the increasingly complex research funding landscape. We work closely with colleagues across the University and central services to ensure coordinated, high-quality support.

Within RED, the Research Development Team provides a centralised pre‑award service for academic colleagues across the University research portfolio. The team supports the full spectrum of externally funded research applications, offering guidance on scheme fit, compliance, costing, narrative development and submission processes. The postholder will contribute to the delivery of the team’s objectives, including the organisation and delivery of training events on campus, and the effective administration and coordination of associated activities.

Purpose of Role

Applications are invited for the role of Research Development Officer to support the Research Development Team. The post will be line managed within the management structure of the team.

Success for Heriot‑Watt rests in the ability of academic colleagues to respond to and take advantage of opportunities to carry out world‑class research and knowledge transfer supported by RED and by others. The Research Development Team provides an essential, high‑quality, pre‑award service for academic colleagues across all five Schools at Heriot‑Watt University who are applying for externally funded research including, but not limited to: identifying funding sources, preparing proposals, costing, pricing and submitting funding proposals, dealing with project finance, reporting to funders, advising on research impact, knowledge exchange, technology transfer, research strategy and policy, ethics and governance, information systems and audit.

The postholder will play a key role in enabling successful research applications by:

• Identifying and interpreting funding opportunities and guidance across UKRI, charities, government bodies, and international funders.
• Supporting proposal development, including preparing and reviewing applications for accuracy, compliance, and alignment with funder requirements.
• Costing and pricing research projects and coordinating the submission of funding proposals through internal and external systems.
• Providing guidance on project finance, including pre‑award budget preparation and liaison project approvers.
• Advising on research policy, including ethics, governance, data management, and audit.
• Maintaining and developing research information systems, ensuring data integrity and supporting effective reporting and decision‑making.

This role offers the opportunity to work collaboratively across the University research portfolio, contributing to a proactive, researcher‑focused service that underpins high‑quality research development.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The postholder provides comprehensive pre‑award support, ensuring research proposals are accurate, compliant, and progressed smoothly through internal and external systems.

• Interpret and apply complex funder budget rules alongside University pricing policies. This includes reviewing and validating detailed costings, ensuring all resources are appropriately justified, and confirming full compliance with funder guidance and institutional regulations.
• Track proposals from initial development through to outcome and award set‑up and deliver training to staff on research costing and the use of online grant‑submission systems.
• Produce data reports and statistical analyses for Research Leaders and RED Management.
• Support the University Strategy by maintaining research activity data and identifying, curating, and disseminating relevant funding opportunities.
• Contribute to staff inductions and deliver training.
• Support the implementation and operation of key research policies, including Peer Review, Ethics, and Data Management.
• Maintain the integrity and accuracy of University research management systems ensuring all data is up‑to‑date, compliant, and reliably recorded.
• Update and curate training resources and research communications, using digital collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams and SharePoint.
• Liaise with external partners such as research funders and collaborating institutions.
• Coordinate with other University departments to support smooth proposal submission and project set‑up.

Other Duties

• Contribute to the development and implementation of improvements to the Research Development Team’s working practices, services, and administrative systems.
• Undertake additional activities as agreed with the Research Development Manager.

Person Specification

These are the criteria on which the short‑listing and recruitment selection will be made.

Essential

1. Educated to honours degree level or equivalent, with the ability to apply this knowledge effectively in a professional administrative environment.
2. Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to produce high‑quality, accurate written work independently and convey information clearly to a range of audiences.
3. Proven ability to work proactively and use initiative to manage day‑to‑day responsibilities, anticipating needs and resolving issues without close supervision.
4. Flexible and adaptable approach, with strong prioritisation skills and the ability to manage competing deadlines in a fast‑paced environment.
5. Strong organisational and forward‑planning abilities, with experience working under pressure, handling changing priorities, and balancing multiple concurrent tasks or projects effectively.
6. Demonstrated customer‑focused approach, with experience shaping services or processes to meet the needs of colleagues and stakeholders.
7. High level of attention to detail and accuracy across all aspects of work, ensuring reliability and consistency in outputs.
8. Experience working collaboratively within a team, contributing positively to shared goals and supporting colleagues as required.
9. Ability to apply working knowledge of relevant theory, policy or practice, and to share this knowledge confidently with others when appropriate.

Desirable

1. Knowledge of full economic costing (fEC) and the ability to explain costing principles and compliance requirements to academic staff.
2. Experience supporting research proposal submissions, including interpreting funder guidance and coordinating multi‑stakeholder contributions.
3. Detailed understanding of research funding council regulations, with experience applying these rules accurately to grant proposals.
4. Experience using Worktribe or similar research management systems to prepare costings and support pre‑award processes.
5. Experience using external funder submission systems (e.g. UKRI Funding Service, EU portals, Flexigrant) and navigating complex digital platforms.
6. Experience preparing budgets and costings specifically for research or knowledge‑exchange projects.
7. Experience using digital collaboration tools (Teams, SharePoint) specifically for coordinating bid development, managing shared drafts and maintaining version control.
8. Awareness of emerging digital and AI‑enabled tools that support high‑quality research development activity.

About Heriot-Watt University

At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.

Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well‑being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.

Heriot‑Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities.Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

Heriot‑Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award‑winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ .

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part‑time working and job share options.

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University