Strategic Research Project Director (CDC Grants)

University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Hybrid; USD 81,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia seeks a Project Director, School of Nursing to lead the ADRD Public Health Adoption Accelerator, overseeing day-to-day operations, budgets, and cross-institution collaboration across Penn, Drexel, Emory, University of Minnesota, and Brown.

Reporting to the PI Hodgson, you will coordinate sub-award activities, ensure CDC compliance, support grant applications, and mentor research staff while advancing funded projects and dissemination of findings.

Qualifications

• Master of Science and 5–7 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
• Experience with CDC cooperative agreement requirements, Grant Solutions reporting, and 2 CFR 200 compliance preferred.
• Multi-site project coordination experience required.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day cross-institutional project management across Penn, Drexel, Emory, University of Minnesota, and Brown sub-award teams; maintain work plan, milestone tracker, and deliverable calendar; facilitate biweekly all-team calls; ensure CDC reporting deadlines are met.
• Lead preparation and submission of Annual Performance Reports (APRs) to CDC via Grant Solutions; coordinate with Project Data Coordinator, PI, and sub-awardees to compile quantitative performance measures, narrative summaries, and budget reconciliations in CDC-required format.
• Serve as primary logistics contact for the HBI Collaborative beginning Month 1; coordinate Penn team attendance at all HBI Collaborative convenings; track agenda items and follow‑up actions requiring Penn response.
• Manage partner communications with ASTHO, NACCHO, DFA, USAging, LiveWell, EPN, and BOLD Launchpad sites; track letter of support renewals, consulting agreement milestones, and stakeholder engagement commitments; coordinate logistics for annual Expert Advisory Panel convening and Evidence Academy.
• Support grant compliance functions including sub‑award monitoring per 2 CFR 200.332, IRB protocol tracking, federal salary cap verification, and Penn OSR reporting requirements; coordinate with Penn OSR on budget amendments and sub‑award transitions (e.g., Epstein‑Lubow consulting to sub‑award transition).
• Contribute to preparation of future grant applications, progress reports, manuscripts, and conference presentations as directed by PI Hodgson; assist with dissemination of Accelerator findings through ASTHO/NACCHO channels.
• Supervise and coordinate work of Penn Research Assistants (RA1 and RA2) in collaboration with Dr. Hirschman and the Project Data Coordinator; provide onboarding support for all TBH Penn staff positions.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned

Skills

Data management

Grant proposals

Reporting

Work management

Stakeholder coordination

REDCap

Microsoft Office

Written and oral communication

ADRD experience

Education

Master of Science

Master of Public Health (M.S./M.P.H.)

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Grant Solutions

Job description

The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia seeks a Project Director, School of Nursing to lead the ADRD Public Health Adoption Accelerator, overseeing day-to-day operations, budgets, and cross-institution collaboration across Penn, Drexel, Emory, University of Minnesota, and Brown.

Reporting to the PI Hodgson, you will coordinate sub-award activities, ensure CDC compliance, support grant applications, and mentor research staff while advancing funded projects and dissemination of findings.