Pre-Award Grant Development Specialist
University of Missouri-Columbia
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
University of Missouri-Columbia's MURR seeks a Pre-Award Grant Development Specialist to provide end-to-end support for pre-award activities across federal agencies, industry sponsors, and foundations. The role partners with investigators and leadership to identify funding opportunities, craft compelling proposals, and manage the full pre-award lifecycle.
You will coordinate budgets, data management plans, and narrative documents while aligning with MU/MURR priorities and collaborating with
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree and at least 4 years of related experience.
- Experience supporting proposals to DOE, NIH, NSF, or similar agencies preferred.
- Ability to translate scientific goals into fundable narratives.
Responsibilities
- Develop full proposal packages with narratives, aims, and data management plans.
- Coordinate multi-institutional consortium proposals and subawards.
- Identify funding opportunities and maintain a 12-18 month pipeline.
- Support investigator and capacity building through coaching and workshops.
- Ensure compliance with sponsor formatting and deadlines.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
The Pre-Award Grant Development Specialist provides expert, end-to-end support for the competitive funding activities of MURR investigators and institutional strategic initiatives. Reporting to the MURR Associate Director for Research, this position partners with faculty principal investigators and MURR senior leadership to identify funding opportunities, develop compelling proposals, and manage the full pre-award lifecycle across federal agencies (DOE, DOD, NIH, NNSA, NSF, DARPA), industry sponsors, and foundations. The Specialist also advances MURR's strategic positioning by supporting cross-institutional consortia, facility user programs, and the development of whitepapers, letters of intent, and capability narratives that reflect MURR's unique research infrastructure.
MRR Research & Education.
- Serve as the primary pre-award resource for MURR investigators spanning nuclear science and engineering, radiopharmaceutical sciences, neutron scattering, nuclear forensics, materials science, and workforce development.
- Lead or co-lead the preparation of full proposal packages including project narratives, specific aims, statements of objectives, technical volumes, facilities and resources narratives, data management plans, and team qualification sections.
- Develop and refine budget justifications, cost analyses, and financial narratives in coordination with departmental business officers and the MU Office of Research.
- Draft and edit whitepapers, capability statements, letters of intent, expressions of interest, and pre-proposal documents that position MURR for strategic funding.
- Support multi-institutional consortium proposals, including coordination of subaward documents, collaborator biosketches, and inter-institutional communication.
- Adapt proposal language and strategy to agency-specific requirements and review criteria (e.g., DOE BES, NNSA NA-22, NIH study section formats, NSF merit review).
- Conduct systematic monitoring of federal funding opportunities through Grants.gov and agency program pages; synthesize and distribute relevant FOA summaries to MURR leadership and investigators.
- Maintain a 12-18 month funding pipeline database aligned with MURR's strategic research priorities.
- Track program officer relationships, agency priorities, and congressional appropriations relevant to MURR's portfolio (isotope production, neutron science, material science, theranostics).
- Support competitive intelligence efforts including landscape analyses of peer institutions, national laboratories, and emerging market entrants relevant to MURR's core competencies.
- Assist in identifying industry partnership and sponsored research opportunities aligned with MURR's strategic priorities and core facility capabilities.
- Work directly with faculty PIs to understand their research programs and translate scientific goals into fundable narratives for targeted audiences.
- Facilitate proposal development workshops, writing retreats, and one-on-one coaching sessions to build investigator grant-writing competency.
- Coordinate with MURR R&E Leaders (e.g., MITC, Neutron Scattering, Material Science, Archaeology) on strategic grant initiatives linked to facility development and workforce training.
- Assist new and early-career faculty in navigating federal sponsor requirements, MU research compliance, and institutional routing processes.
- Prepare and maintain a library of reusable proposal components including facility descriptions, equipment lists, standard biosketches, and institutional data.
- Coordinate proposal routing and submission through the MU eRA system (eRA Commons, Research.gov, Grants.gov, NSF FastLane, DOE PAMS) in compliance with institutional and sponsor deadlines.
- Liaise with the MU Office of Research, Sponsored Programs, and relevant department administrators to ensure compliance with cost-sharing policies, F&A rates, and export control requirements.
- Manage the submission calendar for assigned investigators and initiatives, tracking internal and external deadlines across concurrent proposals.
- Ensure all proposal components meet sponsor formatting, page limit, and eligibility requirements prior to submission.
- Contribute to the development of strategic planning documents, facility investment narratives, and internal roadmaps that connect MURR's research portfolio to long-term funding strategy.
- Support MURR leadership in preparing materials for university administration, external advisory boards, and agency site visits that highlight research productivity and funding capacity.
- Assist in drafting and revising strategic white papers, center development documents, and institutional capability profiles for DOE, NNSA, and NIH program offices.
Monday - Friday, 8AM - 5PM.
A Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience, and at least 4 years of experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired is necessary.
- Experience supporting proposals to DOE Office of Science (BES, NP, SBIR), NNSA, or NIH National Cancer Institute or National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
- Familiarity with radiopharmaceutical research, nuclear science and engineering, neutron science, or isotope production.
- Experience coordinating multi-institutional or consortium proposals involving national laboratories (e.g., ORNL, PNNL, LANL, LLNL) or federal facilities.
- Knowledge of federal cost accounting standards, OMB Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200), and export control regulations relevant to nuclear research.
- Experience with opportunity identification platforms such as SPIN, InfoEd, or Pivot-RP.
Salary Range: $70,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year
Grade: GGS 011
University Title: Grant Writer Lead
Internal applicants can determine their University title by accessing the Talent Profile tile in myHR.
Employment visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
A life-saving operation in the middle of America - the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) - needs you to help guide its future. MURR is expanding its critical cancer-fighting and medical isotope production.
MURR's reactor is the highest-power university research reactor in the United States, operating at 10 megawatts, 6.5 days a week and 52 weeks a year. The MURR facility enables research across many disciplines - From investigating ancient cultures and how plants respond to their environment, to analyzing industrial materials and developing radiopharmaceuticals that have lifesaving clinical applications. The MURR facility is a reliable resource for researchers, scientists, engineers and students across the country.
Be a part of the future of fighting cancer and saving lives.
Be a part of MURR
Columbia offers small-town friendliness with big city features and a high quality of life for people of all ages and interests.
Founded on education and known as an ideal college town, its location also makes it an attractive spot for businesses and travelers.
Located on Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 63, Columbia is right in the middle of the state and the nation. Just a couple hours' drive from St. Louis and Kansas City, Columbia is Boone County's largest population center offering big-city culture, activities, and resources with a low cost of living.
Columbia is home to a variety of restaurants and entertainment venues and hosts more than a dozen festivals each year. If you want to grow your career, continue your education, raise a family, and retire, Columbia is a good place to be!
This position is eligible for University benefits. As part of your total compensation, the University offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental and vision plans, retirement, paid time off, short- and long-term disability, paid parental leave, paid caregiver leave, and educational fee discounts for all four UM System campuses. For additional information on University benefits, please visit the Faculty & Staff Benefits website at https://www.umsystem.edu/departments-staff/human-resources/benefits-retirement
The University of Missouri is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
To request ADA accommodations, please call the Director of Accessibility and ADA at 573-884-7278.
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