Programs & Planning Specialist

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The Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate (CCSD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a Programs and Planning Specialist to manage and direct the Strategic Partnerships Projects (SPP) proposal process as well as support ORNL’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) research program and National Institutes of Health proposal processes. Strategic Partnership Projects is a mechanism that enables other Federal agencies and non-Federal customers to work with the national laboratories, while the Department of Energy’s (DOE) ASCR advances high-potential, high-impact computing and computational sciences.

CCSD stewards all ASCR activity for ORNL.

The successful candidate will work closely withCCSD leadership and staff in the areas of proposal preparation and submission, planning, and programmatic management for SPP and ASCR research activities. The ideal candidate will be a team player who can achieve work objectives independently, accurately, and successfully, requiring minimal follow-up. Familiarity with terminology of the technical community and research fields would allow the candidate to be intuitive and proactive in capturing ideas.

The ideal candidate should be highly organized and have experience and background in proposal preparation and managing the production of various types of documents, reports, and libraries.

• Lead the end-to-end proposal process for SPP, ASCR, NIH, industry, and other agency opportunities, from funding announcement through submission.
• Review Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs); develop internal schedules, templates, checklists, and guidance; and prepare initial materials to communicate new funding opportunities.
• Coordinate with PIs and administrative staff to assemble complete, accurate, and compliant pre-applications, full proposals, Field Work Proposals (FWPs), and related documents.
• Conduct quality and compliance reviews to ensure proposals meet sponsor, DOE, DOE Office of Science, and ORNL requirements; provide feedback and recommend needed revisions.
• Submit and track proposals through applicable systems, including PAMS, Grants.gov, Research.gov, SPPS, RESolution, FWP systems, and other internal databases.
• Manage SPP proposal and agreement workflows, including project entry, approval tracking, change control, and documentation of sponsor-approved scope, budget, schedule, and PI changes.
• Track proposal outcomes, active-project status, no-cost extensions, closeouts, and required follow-up actions; develop related metrics and reports.
• Coordinate collection and review of project data for bi-monthly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports.
• Maintain shared resources, mailing lists, SharePoint sites, templates, and repositories for funding opportunities, proposal materials, and program information.
• Improve proposal and project-management processes, including development and maintenance of automated workflows using Microsoft 365 tools.
• Establish effective working relationships with researchers, laboratory staff, DOE representatives, universities, contractors, and other external collaborators.
• Mentor and guide administrative staff on proposal-development processes as needed.
• Support ORNL’s mission and core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service while fostering an inclusive, respectful workplace.

• B.S. in a science or business field with a minimum of 4 years of relevant work experience
• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office (including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, One Note, and One Drive).

• Demonstrated ability to design, implement, and maintain automated workflows using Microsoft 365 tools, including Power Automate, Forms, Lists, and Approvals.
• Experience assembling, reviewing, and submitting pre-applications and full proposal packages to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program.
• Experience preparing and reviewing DOE Office of Science Field Work Proposals (FWPs).
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize work, manage multiple tasks,…