Assistant Director for Research Partnerships & Strategic Initiatives; Part-Time

Assistant Director for Research Partnerships & Strategic Initiatives (Part-Time)

This role supports the Madison Center for Civic Engagement at James Madison University. The Assistant Director provides strategic and operational assistance for grant development, enhances research design and dissemination, and coordinates post-award compliance in partnership with Center leadership and staff.

• Collaborate with Center leadership to advance the research agenda by identifying priority areas and funding strategies.
• Coordinate with the Office of Sponsored Programs and Corporate & Foundation Relations to build a pipeline of grant opportunities aligned with the Center’s mission.
• Support development of research frameworks, study designs, and evaluation approaches linked to Center initiatives.
• Cultivate and sustain research partnerships across campus, K‑12 partners, and national networks.
• Contribute to the development of research outputs such as reports, white papers, presentations, and publications.
• Support development and implementation of post‑award tracking systems and monitor project milestones, evaluation metrics, and reporting timelines.
• Provide coordination for reporting, compliance, and documentation in partnership with administrative staff and university offices.
• Assist with report writing, continuation proposals, and award modifications as needed.
• Support development of student‑engaged research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students aligned with the Center’s mission.
• Mentor students in research design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination.
• Collaborate with faculty affiliates to identify funding opportunities and support proposal development.
• Assist in building infrastructure for faculty‑student collaboration.
• Disseminate student and faculty research through presentations, reports, publications, and community outputs.
• Develop tools, templates, and processes to strengthen research and grant infrastructure.
• Ensure alignment across projects to integrate research, programming, and funding strategies.
• Promote evidence‑based practice, continuous improvement, and research dissemination.

• Demonstrated experience supporting grant proposals, sponsored projects, research initiatives, or other complex funding applications.
• Ability to develop, assess, or contribute to research designs, evaluation plans, data‑collection strategies, or evidence‑based program improvement efforts.
• Excellent written communication skills for proposals, reports, presentations, publications and other materials.
• Strong project‑management and organizational skills to coordinate multiple projects, manage deadlines, track deliverables, and maintain documentation.
• Collaborative ability with diverse partners such as faculty, staff, students, community organizations, K‑12 educators, funders, and administrative offices.
• Experience supporting, mentoring, or advising students, faculty, staff, or project teams in research, evaluation, grant development, or related scholarly activities.
• Knowledge of or demonstrated interest in civic engagement, civic education, democratic participation, public deliberation, or a closely related field (additional consideration).

Employment is contingent on a successful criminal background check. This part‑time wage position involves up to an average of 29 hours per week with no benefits. New hires must complete an I‑9 and provide documentation for work authorization via E‑Verify.

James Madison University is committed to a diverse and inclusive community free of discrimination. We do not tolerate harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. For questions or concerns, contact the Office for Equal Opportunity at (540) 568‑6991.

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance searching or applying for jobs, please contact us at (540) 568‑3597 or jobs. We also welcome visits to the JMU Human Resource Office at 752 Ott Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22807.