Strategic Research Proposals & Communications Lead

Howard University College of Medicine; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 89,000 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

Howard University’s Research Development and Innovation (RDI) team seeks a Senior Proposal and Research Communications Writer to translate research strengths into compelling narratives that advance the university’s mission. The role focuses on high-level proposal writing, research storytelling, and developing communications for sponsors and public audiences.

The position requires extensive experience with federal and foundation proposals, strong editing skills, and the ability to frame complex

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in English, communications, journalism, public policy, education, science writing, research administration, or a related field.
• At least five years of grant writing, proposal development, research communications, scientific or technical writing, or related work.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a lead writer, primary editor, or senior writing contributor on complex, multi-investigator proposals.
• Familiarity with federal sponsors such as NIH, NSF, DOE, DoD, USDA, NASA, NEH, IES, HRSA, or other major research sponsors.
• Strong ability to synthesize complex information and produce clear, persuasive, audience-appropriate written materials.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-level narrative strategy, writing, and editing support for competitive proposals, including large-scale, multi-investigator submissions.
• Develop clear and compelling research communications for sponsors, partners, and public audiences.
• Create and maintain content infrastructure: writing guides, templates, boilerplate language, and proposal examples.

Skills

Writing and editing

Storytelling

Proposal strategy

Interdisciplinary communication

Project coordination

Editorial standards

Confidential proposal materials

Education

Bachelor’s degree in English/related field

Master’s or terminal degree (preferred)

Job description

Howard University’s Research Development and Innovation (RDI) team seeks a Senior Proposal and Research Communications Writer to translate research strengths into compelling narratives that advance the university’s mission. The role focuses on high-level proposal writing, research storytelling, and developing communications for sponsors and public audiences.

The position requires extensive experience with federal and foundation proposals, strong editing skills, and the ability to frame complex