BARI Chief Strategist

University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of California, San Francisco seeks a Chief Strategist to lead aging and age-related research outreach within the Bakar Aging Research Institute. The role focuses on enriching aging research through community engagement, events, and strategic coordination across basic, translational, and clinical science.

You will develop and manage grant proposals with the BARI Directors, engage faculty, postdocs, and students, and build a thriving research-community network.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related area and/or equivalent experience/training.
• 3 years directly relevant, progressive work experience.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing. Highly organized.
• Ability to use discretion and maintain all confidentiality. Effective communicator.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Skilled at adopting and implementing new technologies.

Responsibilities

• Support community engagement and outreach initiatives within UCSF.
• Coordinate grant development and writing with leadership (BARI Directors).
• Plan, implement, and coordinate initiatives to support aging-related research groups.
• Nucleate the research and trainee communities within BARI and engage stakeholders.

Skills

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Highly organized

Discretion

Confidentiality

Analytical skills

Problem-solving

New technologies

Education

Bachelor's degree in related area

Job description

Job Summary

We are seeking a Chief Strategist who demonstrates knowledge in aging and age‑related disease research (i.e. basic, clinical, and translational research) and entrepreneurial efforts to facilitate development in our community.

Job Description

The Chief Strategist is a dynamic, hands‑on position that is responsible for supporting all related aspects of community engagement and outreach within our organization, with a significant focus on enriching aging and age‑related research in our community. The Chief Strategist plays a vital role in the strategic and operations management of our existing aging and age‑related research groups (e.g. basic, clinical, and translational research). This includes planning, implementation, and coordination of new and existing initiatives of moderate to high complexity to support each group’s priorities and ensuring that they are able to do their best work. The nature of the projects will be varied, from managing funding to addressing clinical, scientific, and administrative needs. This person is expected to execute project management work with minimal supervision, but in close consultation with the BARI program manager, faculty leadership, principal investigators, and other stakeholders. Their primary role will be to nucleate the research and trainee communities within BARI. The Chief Strategist is expected to become an active member in the research community, interacting closely with faculty, postdocs, and graduate students to develop a deep understanding of their research interests and expertise. This will involve attending works‑in‑progress seminars and strategizing and organizing events and initiatives that bring together researchers with similar and/or complementary expertise and interests. The Chief Strategist will explore opportunities to put together research proposals for grant writing agencies and potential industry and philanthropic sponsors. They will manage and assume primary writing responsibilities for grant proposals, working in tandem with the BARI Directors. They will determine and prioritize research proposals to pursue and will be responsible for developing efficient grant development processes with the critical skills of effective time management, active participation as a writer and editor, and managing the aggregation of various boilerplate materials such as bio sketches, letters of support, and PI waivers while maintaining effective communication with PI teams and funding agencies to ensure successful grant application. The Chief Strategist's success will be measured by the success of getting these projects funded, and in turn, managing these projects and funds flowing back into the office. This is a challenging and exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about advancing scientific research and fostering a collaborative community of researchers.

The ideal candidate

The ideal candidate will play a critical role in defining and implementing the strategic research vision for the next year or years in close collaboration with the BARI Directors, BARI Program Coordinator, and other stakeholders. They should have or be capable of a moderate-to-high degree of personal initiative and be able to adjust to an organization’s changing needs. Most of all, the candidate must have high zeal for this role and a willingness to learn. The candidate should be adaptable and able to manage multiple groups within an organization. The candidate should have or be capable of learning strong research and communications skills, a collaborative mindset, and change management experience as all will be important to this position when collecting information from individual groups and providing concise and timely updates to program leadership. The Chief Strategist reports directly to the BARI Director.

Department Overview

The Anatomy Department is a basic science department within the School of Medicine that performs scientific research, training and teaching. The Department includes 15 faculty members with primary full‑time appointments, 15 faculty with joint appointments, and about 150 postdoctoral fellows and students engaged in research that covers questions in cell biology, developmental biology and the neurosciences. Faculty have laboratories at both the Parnassus Heights campus, where there is a focus of interest in cancer biology, and at the Mission Bay campus, where many of the neurobiology faculty are located. The administrative office of the Department is located at the Parnassus Heights campus. Anatomy faculty and staff are committed to building a diverse community that is welcoming and supportive, one that will nurture education and research.

The Bakar Aging Research Institute is an institute in the Department of Anatomy that brings together scientists and clinicians from all UCSF campuses to address the most critical and intractable questions related to the Science of Aging. Members draw from the Memory and Aging Center, the Hillblom Center for Biology of Aging, the Division of Geriatrics, which supports the Claude D. Pepper Center, the Institute for Health and the Aging, Metabolism, and Emotion center, as well as 24+ departments.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
• 3 years directly relevant, progressive work experience
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing. Highly organized
• Ability to use discretion and maintain all confidentiality. Effective communicator
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Skilled at adopting and implementing new technologies

Preferred

• Experience in creating and managing sizeable budgets
• Ability to multi‑task with demanding timeframes. Working knowledge about biology of aging and geroscience research, including study design, protocol adherence, and data management
• Plus for someone with a scientific background in basic, translational and clinical aging research in the fields of biomedical, metabolism, biology, stem cell biology, cancer biology, neuroscience, cell biology, computation biology, chemistry, physiology, organogenesis, medicine, geriatrics, geroscience, therapeutics, organ systems

About Us

About UCSF

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate‑level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It is the only campus in the 10‑campus UC system dedicated exclusively to the health sciences. We bring together the world’s leading experts in nearly every area of health. We are home to five Nobel laureates who have advanced the understanding of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, aging and stem cells.

Pride Values

UCSF is a diverse community made of people with many skills and talents. We seek candidates whose work experience or community service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence – also known as our PRIDE values.

In addition to our PRIDE values, UCSF is committed to equity – both in how we deliver care as well as our workforce. We are committed to building a broadly diverse community, nurturing a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and engaging diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery, and patient care. Additional information about UCSF is available here.

Join us to find a rewarding career contributing to improving healthcare worldwide.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

Salary Information

The final salary and offer components are subject to additional approvals based on UC policy.

Your placement within the salary range is dependent on a number of factors including your work experience and internal equity within this position classification at UCSF. For positions that are represented by a labor union, placement within the salary range will be guided by the rules in the collective bargaining agreement.

To learn more about the benefits of working at UCSF, including total compensation, please visit: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/index.html