Who is Saint Louis University? Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic universities. SLU, which also has a campus in Madrid, Spain, is recognized for world-class academics, life-changing research, compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service.
About the Taylor Geospatial Institute
The Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI) is the nation’s leading geospatial research collaborative, rooted in St. Louis and the Midwest. TGI’s singular goal is to fuel the transformative scientific and technological revolution that is geospatial. The Institute draws on the strengths of eight outstanding, Midwestern research institutions and harnesses the energy of partnership with industry and government to grow talent and to cultivate solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. TGI believes that the next generation of geospatial scientific and technological advances will be essential in addressing national security and promoting peace, tackling climate change, realizing true food security and sustainability, and facing global health crises. For more information, please visit taylorgeospatial.org.
JOB SUMMARY:
The Director, Research Development (TGI) manages and leads a team of research professionals to provide comprehensive proposal development services, and to respond to relevant funding opportunities. This position's primary focus is on proposal development for large-scale (multi-million dollar) interdisciplinary geospatial grant proposals submitted by faculty teams assembled from the partner institutions. This position supports the government and industry partnership team to target specific funding opportunities and to develop strategic relationships. Additionally, the Director, Research Development (TGI) supports consortium engagement by providing a clear picture of capabilities within the consortium, as well as organizing workshops and events that lead faculty and researchers to submit high-quality proposals.
PRIMARY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provides comprehensive proposal development services to teams of principal investigators (PIs) across the Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI) consortium pursuing external research funding; proposal development duties include obtaining competitive intelligence on funding programs, facilitating PI team building and ideation, writing and editing proposal sections, and leading external review of proposals.
- Proactively finds, tracks, and assembles grant teams for relevant funding opportunities for the TGI geospatial research consortium and its members; builds and maintains the grant tracking tool that should include opportunity tracking, team building, grant submission and grant award and post-award transition.
- Supports the TGI government and industry partnership team in developing and implementing the funding strategies and research initiatives and maintaining relationships with funding agencies and industry partners; identifies consortium experts and synergies to build effective research teams to match government funding opportunities or industry research needs.
- Supports the TGI consortium engagement in sharing information of research activities and expertise of individual faculty to maintain an accurate and up-to-date ‘image’ of the consortium capabilities, connecting consortium members on research opportunities, coordinating the organization and hosting of workshops, seminars, and events to encourage collisions of ideas across disciplines and across partner institutions, and developing and implementing training activities for faculty and students seeking to build knowledge in geospatial research and improve their skills in grant writing and submissions.
- Manages a team of research scientists who are subject matter experts in TGI priority research domains.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:
- Advanced knowledge in geospatial science (remote sensing, GIS, photogrammetry, GPS/PNT) and applied areas.
- Advanced knowledge in applied domains that use geospatial technologies.
- Knowledge in new computational, analytical, or machine-learning methods.
- Knowledge of cloud computing.
- Basic knowledge of geovisualization, modeling, and GeoAI.
- Basic knowledge of GPS and UAV data collection.
- Advanced scientific and technical writing skills, including peer-reviewed publications.
- Proven ability to develop effective project plans, timelines, and deliverables and to assemble teams to provide the expertise to complete projects.
- Proven success in working effectively with investigators across multiple campuses and disciplines, and with administrative staff and sponsors.
- Strong time management and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication (verbal and written), interpersonal, and organizational skills.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret and understand funding agency and program priorities, policies, politics, and deadlines.
- Ability to analyze program announcements and work with senior management and researchers to develop proposal strategies.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
- Master’s degree in geospatial science, geoinformatics, geography, computer science, remote sensing, or a closely related field of study.
- Five or more years of experience in research development, with experience managing large proposal teams seeking $1M or more.
- Featured in peer-reviewed publications and top journals.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Ph.D. in geospatial science, geoinformatics, geography, computer science, remote sensing, or a closely related field of study.
- Record of scholarly research and publications.
- Five years of experience in research development, preferably in higher education, with experience managing large proposal teams.
Function: Research Support
Scheduled Weekly Hours: 40
Saint Louis University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for the position applied for without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, gender identity, or other non-merit factors. We welcome and encourage applications from minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities (including disabled veterans). If accommodations are needed for completing the application and/or with the interviewing process, please contact Human Resources at 314-977-5847.
