Strategic Research Investments Coordinator; R26-50

The Strategic Research Investments Coordinator is responsible for coordinating institutional research investments and strategic research initiatives, with primary responsibility for, but not limited to, Catalyst 2030, seed funding initiatives, center-development investments, and other high-priority strategic award programs that may be established in the future.

Under the direction of the Director of Strategic Initiatives, the Strategic Research Investments Coordinator supports activities from planning and launch through implementation, monitoring, reporting, and closeout. Responsibilities include maintaining project plans and timelines; tracking milestones, deliverables, commitments, and outcomes; administering systems and records; coordinating reviews and approvals; supporting award or investment setup and modifications; monitoring expenditures; supporting compliance requirements; and providing administrative guidance to faculty, staff, and institutional stakeholders.

Description of Duties:

Catalyst 2030 and Strategic Research Investments Coordination and Tracking

• Coordinate strategic research investment programs, including but not limited to Catalyst 2030, internal award programs, seed funding initiatives, center-development investments, and other high-priority institutional research initiatives.
• Maintain program workplans, timelines, milestone trackers, implementation schedules, and investment tracking tools to support timely execution and transparent award-cycle management.
• Track program status, funding commitments, deliverables, outcomes, deadlines, and follow-up actions across a portfolio of strategic research investments and future internal award programs identified as institutional priorities.
• Maintain program materials, intake forms, application processes, reporting templates, award documentation, proposal files, and historical program records to ensure consistency and alignment with program requirements.
• Coordinate communications regarding program schedules, eligibility and participation requirements, submission and intake procedures, review timelines, reporting expectations, and key deadlines.
• Coordinate cross-functional project activities and ensure key decisions, dependencies, and deadlines are documented and communicated to stakeholders.
• Prepare award and declination notifications.
• Respond to applicant inquiries regarding proposal status, award requirements, project extensions, reporting obligations, and program policies.
• Support annual assessment, portfolio reporting, and leadership briefings related to strategic research investments and internal funding programs.

Investment and Award Processing Administration

• Process transactions and documentation related to strategic research investments, internal award programs, and other DfRED-supported funding initiatives, in compliance with program guidelines and institutional requirements, including University, Research Foundation (RF), and program policies.
• Coordinate award setup, modifications, and related pre-award administrative actions, including budget revisions, scope of work changes, and no-cost extensions.
• Coordinate post-award administration activities through appropriate University and SPA systems.
• Coordinate with cross-functional partners to support efficient processing throughout the award lifecycle.
• Conduct quality reviews of award documentation and related administrative records.
• Monitor award expenditures and spending activity in accordance with approved budgets and program requirements.

Faculty, Departmental, and Stakeholder Support

• Provide process guidance to faculty, principal investigators, research staff, departmental administrators, and other stakeholders regarding intake or submission procedures, required documentation, routing processes, budget revisions, award or investment administration workflows, reporting expectations, and program policies.
• Assist with technical reporting requirements and award closeout activities.

Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement

• Participate in DfRED team meetings related to strategic research investments, Catalyst 2030, strategic internal funding programs, and other high-priority initiatives.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOPs), including recommending improvements to internal funding administration processes and workflows..
• Support the development of reports, dashboards, project schedules, and administrative resources to support portfolio visibility and leadership…