Research and Proposal Development Manager-1

UM01 University of Maryland College Park (UMCP); United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Maryland College Park is seeking a Research and Proposal Development Manager to work with faculty and researchers to pursue extramural funding opportunities, especially interdisciplinary grants >$1M/year.

Responsibilities include managing all grant components, coordinating across departments and external partners, and guiding writers through proposal development and submission to the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Technical Communication, English, or a related field.
• At least three years of experience writing and managing proposals (RFPs, RFQs, RFIs).
• Outstanding written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and problem solving.
• Ability to translate complex technical solutions into clear narratives.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams.
• Advanced degree in engineering or related field preferred.

Responsibilities

• Assist with capture management for major research funding opportunities (>$1M/year).
• Decipher and extract proposal requirements and develop milestones for planning and adherence to guidelines.
• Lead communications and create/manage a virtual workspace for the proposal team.
• Administratively lead and manage all components of grant applications (budgets, biosketches, subcontracts).
• Coordinate with departments and external partners to enable large-scale collaborations.
• Assist faculty with writing editing non-technical portions and provide critiques for clarity and formatting.
• Coordinate submission of complete proposals to the Office of Sponsored Programs for review and submission.
• Respond to RFP questions and resolve inquiries with proposal team members.

Skills

Proposal writing

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Time management

Editing

Narrative development

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technical Communication/English

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Overview

The Research and Proposal Development Manager for the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland will work collaboratively with faculty and researchers to identify and pursue extramural funding opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Assist with capture management for major research funding opportunities (>$1M/year), especially interdisciplinary across units.
• Decipher and extract key proposal requirements from the funding opportunity and develop a timeline of milestones to facilitate proposal planning, development, and adherence to the application guidelines.
• Initiate and maintain regular communications and meetings, and create and manage a virtual shared workspace for the proposal development team to ensure timely progress toward successful proposal submission.
• Serve as the administrative lead and manage the development of all components of a grant application, including developing and maintaining a checklist, tracking action items and deliverables, and managing all proposal documents such as budgets/justifications, biosketches, subcontract documents, letters of support, and other required materials.
• Coordinate with multiple departments and external organizations to facilitate university‑wide and other large‑scale collaboration and/or interdisciplinary proposals.
• Assist faculty with writing, editing, and reviewing non‑technical portions of the proposal, providing critiques of proposal documents in terms of clarity, editing, format, and consistency with agency requirements.
• Work with investigators to submit complete proposals to the Office of Sponsored Programs for final review, approval, and submission to external sponsors.
• Respond to specific administrative questions required by the RFP, interact and communicate with proposal team members and others on campus to resolve questions.
• Work with designers in conceptualizing graphics, illustrations, layouts, infographics, templates, and guiding the writing and editing of content that supports research proposals and publications.
• Produce resources to advance research, including templates, project management documents, and other web‑based/public relations resources.
• Develop and offer resources and avenues to promote new collaborations and research interests within and beyond the campus.
• Design, develop, and facilitate workshops and other types of training on proposal and grant writing for diverse audiences.
• Gather, track, and analyze related metrics and prepare reports, spreadsheets, graphics, and other correspondence.
• Support early‑career investigators in establishing and managing research funding, providing training on internal processes and grant‑writing professional development opportunities.
• Provide a broad range of administrative support for day‑to‑day operations, including supervising or mentoring other proposal staff, performing informational searches, gathering and entering data, and researching materials.
• Continuously improve, practice, and document SOPs and maintain internal databases for office operations.
• Bring innovative new ideas to grow support for research activities.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Technical Communication, English, or a related field.
• At least three years of experience writing and managing proposals (RFPs, RFQs, RFIs).
• Outstanding written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong organizational and time‑management skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a proven track record of effective problem solving and decision making.
• Strong persuasive and technical writing skills.
• Ability to translate complex technical solutions into clear, compelling narratives, executive summaries, technical approaches, management plans, and past performance sections.
• Experience working successfully with cross‑functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in engineering or a related field.

Physical Demands

Using computer and keyboard; sitting for periods of time; standing for periods of time; no unusual physical or environmental demands.

Required Application Materials

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae
• List of references

EEO Statement

The University of Maryland, College Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment. Please read the University’s Equal Employment Opportunity Statement of Policy.

Title IX Non-Discrimination Notice

Learn how military skills translate to civilian opportunities with O*Net.