"Director, Research Division, College of Education"

Director, Research Division, College of Education

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Director, Research Division, College of Education at its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.

Position Purpose:

The Director of Research provides strategic leadership for the College of Education’s (COE) research enterprise, with primary responsibility for overseeing grant administration, leading research development efforts, facilitating internal and external research partnerships, coordinating initiatives designed to support and enhance faculty research, and managing grants staff. This position serves as the key liaison between faculty researchers, university research administrations, and external funding agencies.

Essential Functions:

• Serves as a key member of COE leadership team by working collaboratively with staff and faculty at all levels across the University and with internal and external partners. Serve as resource to faculty and staff throughout the entire grant lifecycle addressing issues as they arise to ensure successful implementation and stewardship.
• Provide strategic leadership in the COE research enterprise by proactively identifying emergent funding opportunities, cultivating alternative revenue partnerships with various organizations and industries, and building nimble research frameworks that allow faculty and staff to pursue innovative scholarship across traditional boundaries while navigating shifting federal priorities and economic constraints.
• Establish and maintain a comprehensive plan for identifying and disseminating external and internal funding opportunities across the COE.
• Work with faculty, college and university administrators, and external stakeholders to develop competitive individual and team research proposals for extramural funding.
• Lead research development efforts, including funding opportunity identification and targeted dissemination, grant/contract proposal development, consultation with funding agencies and institutional research administration and leadership, and interaction with institutional federal and state relations, outreach activities, and training.
• Prepare monthly reports to the College Assembly regarding matters of importance as well as celebrating scholarly accomplishments. Serve as the central point of contact for external partnerships, connecting prospective partners with faculty and staff and necessary resources, and providing support as needed for existing partnerships.
• Collaborate with the Division of Research & Innovation (DORI) to identify areas for growth including opportunities for faculty to collaborate on large scale, interdisciplinary proposals, and to leverage government relations and marketing supports to promote status of the College.
• Coordinate workshops, training, seed funding, federal updates, and other programming and initiatives designed to support, scale up, and enhance faculty research, including building capacity in grant writing, proposal development, and implementation.
• Remain up to date on industry trends, federal and state regulations, best practices, and benchmarks to support the College’s long-term goals. Provide support to Dean and his/her designee with special initiatives as needed.
• Oversee Research Office for pre-award services, including consulting, project alignment with agency priorities, ensuring budget allocations are appropriate for scale and scope of project, and identifying collaborators and partners as needed.
• Serve as a resource to faculty to identify and/or develop workshops to build capacity in grant writing, proposal development, and program implementation.
• Collaborate with Division of Research & Innovation (DORI) to leverage resources and refer faculty to internal funding mechanisms and supports such as bridge funding, special initiative funding and pre-submission review.
• Review and approve all proposals submitted in the proposal system prior to Sponsored Program submission.
• Collaborate with Division of Development & Alumni Affairs and with Corporate Engagement to identify private sources of funding and develop competitive proposals.
• Ensure internal and external deadlines are met, and proposals comply with applicable funding source requirements, laws and regulations, along with university policy and procedures.
• Maintain database of upcoming deadlines, pending grant applications, and awards.
• Manage post-award grant administration, identify and resolve issues in collaboration with principal investigators, divisional assistant deans, Dean’s Office, Human Resources, and Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA).
• Provide guidance to ensure grant funds are expended in accordance with sponsor, federal and university guidelines and established timelines; ensure agency and university protocols are followed for necessary revisions.
• Create/review reports on budget expenditures and prepare presentations as needed for college and university reporting purposes.
• Manage and track spending trends, review and approve budget revisions, redistributions, and no cost extensions.
• Maintain workloads across grant and contract administrators, monitor monthly reporting, and close outs. Identify areas for process improvement both at unit and university level.
• Respond to inquiries raised by SPA, Purchasing, Office of General Council, Internal Audit, etc.
• Coordinate stewardship reports with PI and, if applicable, Division of Development & Alumni Affairs and Corporate Engagement.
• Provide overall leadership and direction to a team of professional staff.
• Set expectations and unit goals, assign duties, delegate responsibilities, evaluate activities, prepare performance appraisals, and professional development plans.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and guidance.
• Manage the administrative process for assigned staff, including hiring, promotions, terminations, disciplinary procedures, and salary adjustments.
• Provide ongoing performance feedback, goal setting, and development plans for staff. Plan for future staffing needs.
• Provide timely communications to staff. Oversee workflow to improve operational efficiency. Identify areas for process improvements across all major duties and functions.
• Represent the Dean and the College at internal and external meetings and events. Collaborate with the Marketing Director to communicate research and community engagement initiatives, accomplishments and activities for the College via newsletters and press releases. Serve on the Associate Deans and Directors of Research Council coordinated by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. Serve as a liaison to college research centers including the Center for Health and Community Impact and the Detroit Partnership for Education Equity & Research.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education: Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in Public Relations, Business, Public or Academic Administration, or a related field.

Experience: 5-7 years' experience managing grant proposals and post-award activities. A minimum of 2 years' experience managing professional staff and developing and implementing policies and procedures. Experience in higher education is preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: [List as in text, but summarized for brevity]

Demonstrate strong leadership skills... [full list omitted for JSON length, but include key points]

School/College/Division:

H02 - College of Education

Primary Department:

H0201 - Deans Office Education

Employment Type:

• Regular Employee
• Job type: Full Time
• Job category: Staff/Administrative

Funding/Salary Information:

• Compensation type: Annual Salary
• Annual Salary: To be determined

Working Conditions:

Typical business, office environment, and equipment. Occasionally travel on and off campus to meetings and events.