Research Development Manager

Position Summary

The Office of Research Development, an office within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR), seeks a dynamic and highly motivated individual for the position of Research Development Manager to support UNC Chapel Hill’s growing research enterprise. The Research Development Manager advances ORD’s efforts to help UNC Chapel Hill compete for large and complex external funding opportunities. The position works across schools, departments, centers, and institutes to understand UNC’s research strengths, identify strategic funding opportunities, and connect faculty investigators with the collaborators, sponsor information, and proposal development resources needed to pursue major awards.

This role guides proposal efforts from early concept development through submission, coordinating multidisciplinary teams and working with departmental pre‑award personnel, ORD colleagues, and sponsor contacts to shape competitive applications. The position contributes to proposal strategy, technical writing and editing, alignment of internal Strategic Research Areas with external funding priorities, and development of proposal resources that help research teams respond effectively to sponsor expectations.

The position also contributes to ORD’s broader research development work by engaging with external partners, guiding internally funded teams and early‑career researchers as they pursue extramural funding, and communicating timely funding intelligence to campus stakeholders through targeted opportunity notices, agency updates, newsletters, and related materials.

The Office of Research Development is a pan‑University office serving the broad faculty research and scholarship community at UNC‑Chapel Hill. ORD supports the Vice Chancellor for Research’s campus‑wide research enterprise that attracts over $1 billion in extramural funding. ORD’s mission is to expand the University’s capacity for innovative, groundbreaking research and scholarship by resourcing Carolina faculty and postdoctoral researchers as they work to address challenging problems for the benefit of the citizens of North Carolina.

The office’s services include scholar consultations, pre‑award and project team formation, funding search and project alignment, as well as a suite of proposal development services. ORD engages with representatives from federal grant‑making agencies to foster dialogue around funding opportunities. The office also supports and implements several strategic initiatives on behalf of the Vice Chancellor for Research, including the Creativity Hubs, the Idea Seed Grant Program, and co‑funds the Arts and Humanities Award Program with the Institute for the Arts and Humanities.

Finally, ORD administers Carolina’s selection process for limited submission funding opportunities.

Master’s or Bachelor’s degree and 0‑2 years of experience; or a combination of related education and experience may be acceptable.

• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and orally, both inside and outside the University.

Experience working in research development and/or research administration. The ideal candidate will have supported grant submissions and/or have obtained their own grant funding, with a strong scientific understanding of various research types being conducted at UNC‑Chapel Hill, and be organized and detail‑oriented. A publication record is expected but not required.

Full‑time employees receive a comprehensive benefits package, including paid leave, health, life, and retirement plans.

The University is an equal‑opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.