Assistant Director for Student Research Programs

University of North Carolina Charlotte; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 52,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

University of North Carolina Charlotte is seeking an Assistant Director for the Office of Undergraduate Research to manage a portfolio of undergraduate research programs, engage with faculty and students, and coordinate professional development opportunities.

The role includes developing training, coordinating events and conferences, and building partnerships across campus to expand student access to mentored research experiences.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree and 1 year of experience in higher education.
• Doctorate preferred.
• Strong program management and communication skills.
• Experience coordinating undergraduate research programs.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Assistant Director for OUR's portfolio of undergraduate research experiences.
• Provide support and training to faculty mentors and develop onboarding of students and faculty.
• Manage the scholars program, recruitment, and program assessment.
• Collaborate on operations, budget, strategic planning, and program impact assessment.
• Teach research internship courses.
• Attend staff meetings and plan on-site events, conferences, and symposia.
• Act as liaison for campus partners and supervise student workers in outreach efforts.

Skills

Program management

Student engagement

Career development

Communication

Education

Master’s degree (MS/MA)

Doctorate

Job description

Assistant Director for Student Research Programs

Position Information

• Position Number: 003521
• Vacancy Open to: All Candidates
• Working Title: Assistant Director for Student Research Programs
• Position Designation: EHRA Non-Faculty
• Employment Type: Permanent - Full-time
• Months per Year: 12
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Hours per week: 40
• FLSA Status: Exempt
• Division: Academic Affairs
• Department: University College (Adm)
• Work Location: Barnard
• Salary Range: $58,000
• Primary Purpose of Department: The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) supports UNC Charlotte students, faculty, and staff in their endeavors to expand the quantity and enhance the quality of undergraduate research experiences on campus. OUR will seek to enhance and maximize efforts to engage more undergraduate students in research, scholarship, and creative performance; provide opportunities for greater levels of program coordination; enhance the visibility of undergraduate research; and equip students and mentors with resources for success in undergraduate research. The mission for the Office of Undergraduate Research at UNC Charlotte is to promote scholarly identities through experiential learning by advancing access to and engagement with mentored research and creative activities as an integral part of the undergraduate curricular and co-curricular programs for Charlotte's student body.
• Primary Purpose of Position: The Assistant Director for the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) at UNC Charlotte supports efforts and programming aimed at supporting faculty, staff, and students' participation in undergraduate research at UNC Charlotte. The Assistant Director will serve as the program manager for part of the university's portfolio of undergraduate research programs, liaison for on-campus partners and events, and support student engagement in professional development opportunities. This position is responsible for implementing and managing digital tools to collect student applications, facilitate student research presentations, and support professional development activities that build essential career competencies among students. Beyond these initiatives, the position will dedicate a portion of their time to building program engagement by delivering presentations, facilitating small group discussions, hosting drop-in support services, and providing individual coaching as needed. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in experiential learning, student engagement, and career development, with the ability to effectively manage programs and interact with student populations.

Summary of Position Responsibilities

Project Management

• Serve as the Assistant Director for OUR's portfolio of research experiences for undergraduate students. This involves participating in student recruitment for undergraduate students; matching students with mentors based on the students' discipline and areas of research; and creating and facilitating professional development training for students.
• Provide support, training, and consulting, in conjunction with the Director, to faculty mentors working with students. Develop and maintain best practices in supporting students in the research process, implement mentoring agreements, creating the necessary training and development structures for the onboarding of students and faculty.
• Manage the scholars program and process that includes process collateral, processes/policies, recruitment of student researchers, and program assessment. Will work in collaboration with the OUR team to meet these objectives.
• Collaborates with the entire team on operations, budget, strategic planning, and assessment of program impact.
• Will be responsible for teaching research internship courses.

Event Management

• Attends weekly staff meetings, training and planning meetings, and event team meetings.
• Collaborates with the OUR team in order to plan and execute on-site events, research conferences and symposia, other related events, as well as campus-wide programs, and assists with communication of these initiatives.
• Serves on Division and University committees and participates in Division and University-wide programs and events as appropriate.

Campus Community Outreach

• Serve as a liaison for campus partners that support OUR student programming and channels of opportunity and external entities that are interested in collaborating on initiatives and innovation that increase the awareness of research in students.
• Supervise student workers on student-focused awareness, communication, and branding efforts for undergraduate research across campus.
• Collaborate with the director in strategically connecting to Colleges/Schools at Charlotte, working towards expanding access to research for students and removing barriers while expanding the network of mentors.
• The Assistant Director will also attend local, regional, and national conferences to promote the university's initiative, as appropriate.
• Engage with students through clubs and organizations interested in learning about research, activating opportunities for students to attend conferences and symposiums.
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervise Student Workers

• Assist in the selection and management of office student workers

Minimum Education/Experience

• Master of Science or Master of Arts degree and 1 year of experience working in higher education.

Preferred Education, Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Doctorate.
• The capacity to independently manage and coordinate activities in a complex environment.
• Organizational and problem-solving skills to manage multiple initiatives and ensure program success.
• Demonstrated expertise in the student development process with undergraduates and awareness of key competencies needed.
• Experience managing student programs including recruitment, engagement, and outcome tracking.
• Experience with research programs, experience mentoring undergraduate students, and/or understanding of experiential education in university settings.
• Experience with program development and large event coordination.
• Experience in creating and implementing professional development seminars and/or training workshops for large audiences.
• Experience with quantitative data analysis, data visualization, database management, and using relevant digital tools.
• The ability to work collaboratively with students, faculty, and administrators.
• The ability to think critically and creatively to engage all individuals.
• Strong verbal and written communication, organizational, management, delegation, and presentation skills required.
• Experience with standard Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite, and basic statistical analysis

Posting Information

• Posting Open Date: 08/31/2026
• Posting Close Date: 09/23/2026
• Open Until Filled: No

Benefits Information

UNC Charlotte Benefits Information: https://hr.charlotte.edu/benefits/benefits-overview/