Senior Research Strategy and Development Officer

POSITION SUMMARY:

Boston Medical Center’s research enterprise is an innovative and collaborative organization led by the Chief Scientific Officer and at the forefront of equitable behavioral, population, and biomedical science. Our vision is to harness the power of equity in research to prevent and cure human disease and medical conditions on a global scale. Our team members are dedicated to our values and thrive in a dynamic environment.

Research Strategy and Development (RSD) stimulates research through strategic collaboration with and support of the research community that accelerates growth and diversification of research funding and robust innovation pipelines; leads and activates teams around emerging large-scale, multi-disciplinary, -department, -partner research in order to maximize competitiveness for research funding; build, assess, and refine grant-seeking resources and trainings available to researchers; and ensure seamless continuum of grant-seeking services. RSD helps both teams and individual researchers to amplify their research by becoming more effective communicators, grant writers, and advocates. Services and resources transcend disciplinary and administrative barriers in order to advance research that spurs discovery.

As a member of the dynamic RSD team, the Senior RSD Officer is an entrepreneur who will cultivate and manage a portfolio of government, industry, and foundation grants in support of advancing at Boston Medical Center (BMC) by securing $5M+ funding annually. The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker with strong political sensitivities and excellent judgment; an outstanding writer able to perform under tight deadlines; a skilled project manager able to drive the work of multiple people towards the submission of high quality, competitive research grant proposals; an accomplished multi-tasker; and seek to develop a keen understanding of the intricacies of government and institutional funders’ processes.

The candidate will be able to perform under stress and relish the many opportunities to develop new multi-disciplinary research programs aligned with BMC’s strategic priorities; broker new internal and external collaborations and partnerships; and cultivate new seven-figure funding sources and principal investigators.

The candidate will possess an in-depth knowledge of health care service delivery models and trends in the organization and financing of health care systems. Knowledge of research and evaluation methods is needed, along with the necessary background and experience in order to assess scientific proposals for innovation and impact; advise principal investigators concerning proposal content in relation to evaluation criteria; and strengthen proposal contents.

The successful candidate will work with senior clinical and administrative staff, including Research and/or Development colleagues, to brainstorm and generate new opportunities for BMC and manage proposal development. Initiative, drive and superior interpersonal skills are key to this position. The Senior RSD Officer will be responsible for generating new opportunities for BMC and capturing several million dollars of grant support.

Position: Senior Research Strategy and Development Officer

Department: Foundation and Government Grants

Schedule: Full Time

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES / DUTIES:

• Research and identify prospective funders and funding opportunities (government, foundation, and industry) in support of research initiatives.

• Research and identify government funding opportunities to solicit support for new and ongoing clinical initiatives and programs.

• Maintain a growing portfolio of prospects, both funders and principal investigators, and foster these prospects through regular communication and stewardship.

• Work with principal investigators, senior clinical and administrative leadership, and colleagues to brainstorm and generate new opportunities for BMC.

• Drive opportunities from concept through proposal.

• Under the direction of the Director of RSD, lead the preparation of government, industry, and foundation grant proposals, including authoring letters of inquiry, concept papers, and proposals; developing budgets and budget justifications; preparing collateral materials; and ensuring ability to comply with award requirements.

• Work with the Director of RSD and various hospital departments to obtain materials and information necessary to prepare proposals and reports (e.g., job descriptions, salary requirements, quotes for services or equipment, and project descriptions).

• Coordinate with BMC Sponsored Programs Administration, Research Finance, Research Technology Program, and Clinical Trials Office leadership and staff to ensure compliance with pre-award and post-award internal policies and all applicable laws.

• Generate and leverage cutting-edge project management tools to track deliverables and drive progress in a fast-paced environment; manage competing deadlines.

• Assist in the development of department, team and personal goals and annual strategic planning process.

• Readily deploy technological tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office (OneDrive, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote), Google products (Sheets, Drive), Raiser’s Edge, and InfoEd.

• Exercise mastery over federal, foundation, corporate and industry funding portals (ASSIST, Grants.gov, Proposal Central, etc.); be prepared to troubleshoot application technicalities for first-in-kind applications.

• Organize and lead “go or no-go” discussions with diverse teams to make feasibility determinations on potential grant opportunities.

• Counsel principal investigators who are applying for career development awards through encouraging communication with mentors, program officers, and collaborators across campus; work with principal investigators to ensure alignment of funding opportunities with short- and long-term career goals.

• Assist in training new staff in internal policies and processes, proposal development workflows, as well as grant-seeking industry best-practices.

• Track and record processes to ensure growth and maintenance of the RSD team’s institutional knowledge.

• Analyze potential funding opportunities for eligibility as well as risks and benefits; assess the opportunity’s relevance to investigators’ research portfolios as well as Boston Medical Center’s mission.

• Advocate for the needs of PIs, study teams, and the institution in budget negotiations with sponsors or partner institutions.

• Assist with the development of content and curriculum for internal educational initiatives, such as educating team members on health equity informed language, creating style guides, and developing communications or federal grants policy changes to be distributed to research teams.

• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned or as needed.

• Must adhere to all of BMC’s RESPECT behavioral standards.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s Degree required; Masters or PhD preferred.

EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum of five (5) years of grant writing, program development or research experience required. Health care, public health, social service or research setting a plus.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Proven ability to think critically.
• Excellent writing, editing and interpersonal skills.
• Adept with innovating and collaborating in large, complex systems.
• Track record in managing multiple tasks in a deadline-driven environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (especially Excel and Word) and Adobe Acrobat.
• Comfort working in Excel and preparing budgets.
• Facility in working both independently and as a team player.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential matters.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans

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