Executive Director

UNC Charlotte

Full-Time
Closes on Saturday, September 12, 2026

Job Description

The Executive Director provides strategic leadership to strengthen the university’s research ecosystem, leading efforts to grow external funding, support faculty, staff, and postdoctoral research success, furthers communication and outreach across the University, and enhances reporting in support of decision-making. The Executive Director works collaboratively with academic units, the library, and the Center for Advancing Faculty Success, along with other university units to elevate and expand the university’s research portfolio. The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing and managing research and proposal development, limited submissions, internal seed grant programs, Complex, Large, or Interdisciplinary Proposal Program (CLIPP), campus-wide faculty/staff research training/professional development programming, the postdoctoral fellows program, coordinating outreach, communication, and reporting for the Division of Research, ultimately facilitating and building a community of practice that supports research development and providing a wide range of support to researchers for obtaining external funding.

Strategic Leadership. Lead strategic research development and engagement initiatives aligned with the university’s research mission. Facilitates and directs proposal development (non-budget), including convening meetings and conducting team-building hat lead to the development of responsive and competitive proposals; serves as a mentor to faculty on proposal development; works with senior faculty who have exceptional experience and expertise in grant writing and preparation to establish a community of practice and mentoring network that supports research development and grant seeking; directs faculty support programs, including grant development services, proposal review, mentoring, and capacity‑building workshops; stays abreast of upcoming funding opportunities to proactively organize teams of faculty, working with Center and Institute directors; fosters cross‑disciplinary collaboration and strengthen the university’s research ecosystem.Reporting and Assessment. Provide data‑driven insights and reporting to leadership on research activity, funding trends, to guide strategic opportunities and decision-making. Develops assessment and evaluation processes and metrics for each of the programs within the Office of Research Development and Engagement.Communications & Engagement. Oversees communications and engagement within the Division of Research and across the University research community to foster connections and increase awareness of opportunities and impact via the website, newsletter, marketing materials, research events, presentations, and stories.Management. Manages unit operations, including identifying professional opportunities for research professional, program development, staffing, budgeting, and performance assessment.Senior Leadership. Serves as an active and team-oriented member of the Division of Research senior leadership team and shares experiences, knowledge and best practices with a goal to improve operations and research support. Full-Time UNC Charlotte
Executive Director - 174956