TERA Hub Launch Manager

The Division of Research and Innovation is seeking a TERA Hub Launch Manager. This is a full-time (1.00 FTE), 12-month, professional faculty position. The TERA Solutions Hub within the Division of Research and Innovation is seeking a dynamic Launch Manager to provide specialized startup support for newly funded large, complex, and multi-institutional research awards. This role will be focused on supporting research teams as they transition rapidly from award notification to project execution.

Working as part of the TERA (Transdisciplinary, Translational, and Engaged Research Advancement) Solutions Hub, this position coordinates critical project launch activities including team formation, project planning, hiring, onboarding, procurement, partner engagement, project documentation, communications, compliance processes, and operational readiness. The TERA Hub is a resource for all faculty, students, industry, government, and community members to collectively innovate to address Oregon’s most pressing problems via co-developed, team-based research.

TERA is designed to empower teams to quickly move from idea to application by providing leadership training, space for transdisciplinary collaboration, and project management training and tools. The Launch Manager serves as a key resource during the highest-risk startup phase of a project, maintaining a portfolio of multiple awards (3-5 concurrent projects for 3-12 months per project) and establishing the systems, administrative and fiscal management structures, and relationships needed for success before transitioning responsibilities to permanent project staff or long-term project managers.

This position develops and maintains systems, processes, and procedures to ensure timely and effective workflow on the projects they support. This role also focuses on collaboration and maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate program compliance support and promotion.

• Research Project Launch and Startup Planning – Serve as the primary launch coordinator for newly funded large, complex, and multi-institutional research awards, developing startup and implementation plans to move projects efficiently from award to operation.
• Project Management and Tracking – Develop and maintain project timelines, milestones, governance structures, communication plans, tracking systems, and project management tools that support successful project implementation.
• Operational and Administrative Coordination – Coordinate startup activities including hiring, onboarding, procurement, contracting, labor distribution, documentation, compliance, reporting systems, and access to facilities and research infrastructure.
• Team Formation, Onboarding, and Transition – Coordinate project kickoff meetings, team onboarding, partner engagement, and team alignment, and support the transition and handoff of responsibilities to permanent project personnel.
• Cross-Unit and Institutional Coordination – Partner with Principal Investigators, the OSU Division of Research and Innovation, colleges and administrative units, and other institutional partners to identify and address barriers affecting project launch and execution.
• Collaboration and Partnership Facilitation – Coordinate communication and collaboration among faculty, staff, students, community partners, industry, government agencies, sponsors, and collaborating institutions; facilitate meetings, workshops, project reviews, and partnership discussions.
• Team Effectiveness and Collaborative Practices – Help project teams establish shared goals, communication structures, roles, governance practices, and collaborative ways of working that strengthen team performance and project…