Research Development Officer

CSU Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation; Fullerton (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement plan with company match

Job summary

CSU Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation (ASC) seeks a Research Development Officer to support faculty and staff in developing external grants and contracts that advance CSUF's educational mission.

The role works with ORSP, college leadership, and academic units to stimulate proposal development, budget management, and alignment with sponsor guidelines. Funding and background checks are prerequisites.

Qualifications

• Experience in higher education, research, or government settings preferred.
• Can apply theories to develop policy, programs, and decisions.
• Skilled in policy development, evaluation, and program improvement.
• Proficient with Office suite, file sharing, and collaboration platforms.
• Ability to provide proactive client service during proposal development.
• Ability to translate complex information for diverse audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and collaborate across units.

Responsibilities

• Identify funding opportunities and assess eligibility and competitiveness.
• Provide expert knowledge of proposal development within colleges and research areas.
• Review and critique abstracts, SOWs, biosketches, and related materials.
• Support budget development and pre-award processes.
• Prepare and manage grants/contracts using funder policies.
• Coordinate pre-proposal efforts with ORSP and college leaders.

Skills

Higher education policy understanding

Proposal development

Budget development

Stakeholder coordination

Strong writing skills

Microsoft Office

SharePoint/OneDrive/Dropbox

Zoom/Teams collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree + 2+ yrs related experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Dropbox

SharePoint

OneDrive

Zoom

Teams

Job description

Research Development Officer

Under general supervision of the Manager, Office of Research Development, the Research Development Officer (RDO) provides exceptional support to faculty and staff in the development of external grants and contracts that support research, scholarship, and creative activity, and institutional projects that support the educational and service mission of California State University, Fullerton (CSUF).

Administratively reporting to the Office of Research Development and taking daily direction from college leadership, Research Development Officers work as part of a central research support team and in close coordination with all units in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), college deans and associate deans, department chairs, university advancement, and campus administrators to stimulate proposal-writing. In addition to supporting faculty and staff proposals, RDOs also support and contribute to campus-wide Research Development trainings, programs, operations, and strategic planning aimed at increasing research and scholarship on campus.

* Please be aware that funding for this position is awarded through a Grant/Contract over a specified period. Employment for this position beyond current Grant/Contract funding is contingent upon continued funding or new Grant/Contract.

Essential Duties

• Assist faculty with identifying appropriate funding opportunities for their research and programmatic activities and analyzing opportunities for eligibility, fit and competitiveness.
• Provide expert knowledge of the proposal development process within the designated college(s) and research areas.
• Review, critique, and provide constructive feedback on proposal abstracts, narratives, contract statements of work (SOW) and ancillary support documents required during the pre-award process, such as letters of support, biosketches, and other related supplementary materials, utilizing strong writing skills.
• Support budget development process.
• Prepare and manage research grants and contracts activities using prior knowledge of policies and practices employed by federal, state and private and non-profit foundation funders (e.g., NIH, NSF, DOD, NASA, DOE, ED).
• Participate in ORSP and College staff meetings. Work in a collegial and supportive manner with the Office of Grants and Contracts, the Office of Sponsored Programs, the University Advancement Office, as well as with the Directors of Development for their designated college(s). Coordinate pre-proposal efforts through ORSP to ensure operational effectiveness and continuity.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Experience working in higher education, a research laboratory, school district, or a government agency preferred.
• Working knowledge of and the ability to apply standard theories, principles, practices, and techniques applicable to the program and/or administrative specialty to develop conclusions and make recommendations.
• Skilled in the research, development, and evaluation of policies and programs.
• Proficiency using common software, including the Microsoft Office suite, file sharing software (Dropbox, SharePoint, One Drive), and collaboration platforms (Zoom, Teams).
• Ability to provide high levels of proactive customer service throughout the proposal development process.
• Ability to accept, utilize, and suggest collaborative feedback in a creative environment.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with academic units.
• Ability to interpret and translate complex information into easily digestible and comprehensible content targeted at the appropriate audience.
• Ability to guide others in the development of proposals that align with sponsoring agency guidelines and strategic goals.
• Ability to work independently, collaboratively, and collegially in a culturally diverse environment, proactively addressing & resolving issues with a positive outcome.
• A high level of integrity, ethics and professionalism.
• Ability to manage concurrent priorities effectively and efficiently.
• Ability to collect, evaluate, and interpret data to develop sound conclusions and make appropriate recommendations.
• Expertise in investigating and analyzing problems with broad administrative impact and implications.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively interpret, organize, and present information and ideas in written or presentation form to large & diverse audiences.
• Ability to take initiative and plan, organize, coordinate, and perform work in various situations where numerous and diverse demands are involved.

EDUCATION:

• Minimum Bachelors degree from an accredited four-year college or university plus two (2) years of related work experience or the equivalent, minimum six (6) years, training and administrative work experience involving the study, analysis, evaluation, development or improvement of administrative policies, procedures, practices or programs.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Prolonged sitting in front of computer. Walking, talking, hearing, pulling, bending, may carry 10-15 pounds of objects/material, not exposed to extreme noise level, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, reach with hands or arms, stoop, kneel, taste or smell.

BENEFITS:

Health, dental, vision, life, health care flex plan, LTD, vacation, sick leave, holiday, credit union, tuition reimbursement and retirement plan with company match. All benefits will be administered according to policies and/or procedures.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

CSU Fullerton, Auxiliary Services Corporation (ASC) is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you have the right to request an accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career center as a result of your disability. To request an accommodation, contact a Human Resources Representative at [phone].

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the ASC. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current ASC employees who apply for the position.

Benefits

ASC offers comprehensive benefits based on employment classification. To learn more about ASC's benefits please view the information here.

Equal employment opportunity, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

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