Research Development Officer

Job Description

Prairie View A&M University seeks a Research Development Officer (RDO) who will support the university’s growing research enterprise and contribute to the institution’s long-term goal of advancing toward R1 research status. The RDO will work with faculty, researchers, and administrative units to enhance proposal competitiveness, strengthen multidisciplinary collaborations, and support the development of externally funded research projects.

This position is funded by a grant or restricted funding. Continued employment is contingent on the renewal or grant or restricted funding.

Responsibilities

Proposal Development Support (Large Multidisciplinary Grants)

• Assist in the development of large-scale, multi-PI, multidisciplinary, and center-type proposals (e.g., NSF Centers, NIH Program Projects, DoE Consortia, DoD Collaboratives).
• Coordinate complex proposal teams and serve as a strategic partner in shaping project concepts, narrative structures, and competitive strategies.
• Develop and maintain institutional boilerplate content (facilities, various plans, cybersecurity, workforce development, institutional data).
• Provide high-level editing, narrative refinement, and proposal project management to ensure submission of compelling, compliant, and timely proposals.

Funding Opportunity Identification

• Regularly review and disseminate funding opportunities relevant to PVAMU’s research strengths.
• Monitor federal and state agency announcements, upcoming deadlines, and emerging topic areas.
• Serve as a point of contact for faculty seeking clarification or assistance in understanding funding requirements.
• Disseminate tailored funding opportunity briefs to colleges, departments, and research clusters.

Capacity Building & Faculty Support

• Provide guidance to faculty, especially early-career investigators, on proposal preparation and developing competitive project ideas.
• Assist colleges and research groups to identify potential collaborators for interdisciplinary grants.
• Support initiatives that align faculty strengths with external research opportunities contributing to PVAMU’s R1 trajectory.

Workshops & Training

• Help develop and deliver workshops, seminars, and training sessions on research development topics (proposal development, budgeting basics, agency-specific guidance).
• Offer one-on-one consultations and small-group sessions to address specific proposal needs.

Internal Competitions & Administrative Support

• Coordinate internal review processes for limited submissions and assist in organizing multidisciplinary proposal teams.
• Maintain a database of faculty research interests and capabilities.
• Collaborate with Research Administration and other units to ensure smooth handoffs during the proposal development lifecycle.
• Performs other duties needed.

Required Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree
• Three years of experience securing federal funding through proposal development with experience in NIH funding requests for large proposals and experience writing on scientific and/or medical topics

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge of the National Institutes of Health and environment for biomedical research.
• Understanding of a broad spectrum of research designs, methodology, and scope, such as basic, clinical, translational, health services, and education research.
• Ability to multitask and work cooperatively with others.
• Oral and written communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or Doctoral degree.
• Three years or more of experience writing, editing, and/or developing competitive proposals to federal, state, or industry.
• Working knowledge of standard office equipment and software applications such as Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook, Qualtrics, and Adobe Acrobat Pro.
• Ability to work cooperatively with all people.
• Organizational skills.
• Ability to independently make decisions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work on multidisciplinary teams to develop proposals.
• Ability to multitask effectively on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Detailed and deadline oriented.
• Experience working with university research administration and faculty with knowledge of the scientific process and proposal development.
• Familiarity with Grants.gov, Research.gov, ASSIST, ezFedGrants, NSPIRES and key requirements for proposals requested by Justice, ED, USDA, NIH, NSF, NASA, DOE, and DOD.
• Demonstrated knowledge of proposal administration.
• Demonstrated knowledge of proposal development.