Assistant Director, Postdoctoral Affairs

Assistant Director, Postdoctoral Affairs

Postdoctoral Affairs in the Office of Research & Partnerships at the University of Arizona seeks an experienced Assistant Director to help shape and guide the daily operations of the program. Working closely with the Director, this role is central to creating meaningful opportunities that strengthen the professional growth and success of postdoctoral scholars.

Position Highlights: The Assistant Director will design innovative career programs, cultivate partnerships across campus and with regional organizations and industry to expand funding opportunities, and build dynamic training initiatives to address the evolving needs of postdocs. They will also develop training opportunities that enhance professional development and career competitiveness.

The ideal candidate brings insight from academia, industry, or startup career paths, thrives in a collaborative environment, and is comfortable working with a high degree of independence. Success in this role requires strong communication and analytical skills, with flexibility to adapt to a variety of systems and applications.

The University of Arizona Office of Postdoctoral Affairs was established in 2017 and serves approximately 500 postdoctoral scholars on the Tucson and Phoenix campuses. Its mission is to advance postdoctoral scholars by providing career and professional development resources, fostering an inclusive academic community, and promoting excellence in research, discovery, and innovation across campus.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to recreation and cultural activities; and more. The University of Arizona is recognized for innovative work‑life programs.

• Guide postdocs in identifying emerging career trends and opportunities in biomedical and STEMM fields.
• Build connections between postdocs, regional industry partners, and grantee institutions to create new career and entrepreneurial pathways.
• Coordinate workshops to educate postdocs on funding sources across government agencies, industry, foundations, and nonprofit organizations.
• Develop trainings that strengthen networking skills and support the growth of professional relationships.
• Foster faculty mentor networks to enhance postdoc success in interview preparation, salary and contract negotiations and job talks.
• Measure program success through surveys and tracking postdoc career outcomes.
• Analyze data on career paths to refine program priorities and focus.
• Create and develop ad hoc reports as requested.
• Coordinate delivery of programs focused on essential research skills, including grant writing, manuscript preparation, and peer review, to strengthen postdocs’ ability to secure funding and publish their work.
• Develop publication planning sessions in collaboration with faculty experts, providing postdocs with guidance on effective strategies for writing, submitting, and disseminating scholarly publications.
• Connect with postdocs as they join the University community, ensuring a smooth transition into their roles.
• Link postdocs to resources in Postdoctoral Affairs, Human Resources, Research Operations, and other relevant campus services.
• Facilitate peer support opportunities and coordinate with the Office of International Faculty and Scholars to address the unique needs of international postdocs.

• Ability to provide strategic career guidance.
• In-depth knowledge of changing career options in government, industry, nonprofits, and education.
• Strong project management and organizational abilities.
• Strategic thinking and a sense of developing postdoc career trends.
• Ability to build working relationships.
• Ability to use data to assess and improve programs.
• Collaborative approach to working across university departments/colleges and regional government and industry partners.

• PhD and a minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience.

• Postdoctoral or similar…