Director, Research & Product Development Operations , Radiology Services

Summary:

Directs the strategic development and research program planning for the Institute for the Department of Radiology by enhancing the research portfolio, preparing and submitting research proposals, reports, and updates to various government, industry, and philanthropic organizations, and increasing internal and external investigator collaborations.

Scope: 

Primary: Department of Radiology
Secondary: UTMB’s Research Stakeholders

Responsibilities:

• Develop funding strategies (e.g., pilot research programs, program projects, cores, basic science initiatives, and infrastructure). Identify, investigate, and qualify funding sources for these components, including traditional and novel approaches. As appropriate, facilitate the development of high-priority funding opportunities in partnership with institutional resources such as the Office of Strategic Research Development (OSRD).
• Collaborate with the Radiology Chairman and faculty to develop new research programs and initiatives. Coordinate preparing and submitting research proposals, reports, and updates to various government, industry, and philanthropic organizations, working closely with faculty, administrative support staff, program managers, and grant managers/coordinators.
• Manage a multi-institutional infrastructure for multi-center grant proposals. Oversee longitudinal grant submission initiative for Radiology faculty members.
• Facilitate the research planning efforts initiated by the Radiology Chairman and faculty by assisting with data collection, integrating cross-unit (department, division, institution) information, and synthesizing these data into planning documents.
• Identify and coordinate the implementation of strategies to enhance internal investigator collaboration and interaction among the IHII’s Research Program stakeholders, creating an environment that fosters new ideas for research initiatives.
• Develop proposal components as requested and in a manner that allows for re-using elements common to other proposals. Update standard proposal components as needed and to maintain conformance with sponsor guidelines.
• Serve as an expert resource for faculty and staff on sponsored research-related issues. Provide pre and post-award consultation services as needed.
• Support the Radiology research initiatives and include alignment with the institutional CRO research mission.
• Develop and coordinate educational and scientific activities that foster new agreements and opportunities or enhance existing relationships with external stakeholders whose interests are relevant to the Department of Radiology.
• Support departmental faculty and facilitate research collaborations and resource sharing with other UT System, Texas Medical Center, State of Texas, regional, and national entities.
• Develop metrics to monitor progress. Build the capability to efficiently and effectively report on these metrics periodically. Conduct analyses of performance across key metrics, including submitted and awarded projects.
• Develop new research administration processes to effectively link and leverage existing processes within units (departments, divisions, institutions) to reduce administrative barriers to cross-boundary collaborative initiatives. Enhance processes to become repeatable and scalable to support Department of Radiology growth.
• Serve as primary contact for the Office of Sponsored Research, department, division, and other institution stakeholders concerning policy changes and the resolution of issues.
• Perform human resource-related functions for direct reports.
• Adheres to internal controls and reporting structure.
• Performs related duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Comprehensive knowledge of large program projects and center grants, training grants, fellowships, and federal contracts with a proven track record of successful awards.
• In-depth knowledge of infectious disease research areas is needed to identify applicable funding opportunities and facilitate communications with sponsor program officers and collaborating scientists. 
• Scientific knowledge and expertise are essential for the planning and designing scientific studies in the proposals. Strong proposal writing/editing skills are critical to enhancing faculty proposals and obtaining fundable scores.
• Excellent leadership skills to properly and efficiently manage the preparation of multi-investigator and multi-institution proposals. Ability to facilitate team science initiatives.
• Outstanding time management, problem-solving, and prioritization skills are needed to properly and efficiently manage multiple proposals with the same deadline.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's degree in STEM-related and eight (8) years of research development experience to include five (5) years of management experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD in STEM-related field.
• In-depth understanding of grant and contract application processes for various sponsors, particularly the NIH and the Department of Defense.

• Grant/contract application processes for various Sponsors, especially the NIH and Department of Defense.