Director of Award Pre-Proposal Support (APPS)

The Research Foundation of CUNY (RFCUNY) is seeking a Director of Award Pre-Proposal Support (APPS) to strengthen and coordinate system-wide research development capacity across CUNY. This role reports directly to the President of RFCUNY and provides centralized support services to enable greater faculty-initiated external proposal submissions and improve proposal competitiveness with federal, industry, and private sponsors. The Director complements campus-based pre-award functions without replacing local grants office authority.

What You Will Do

The Director promotes sponsored project development by assisting faculty, students, and staff in obtaining external funding, supports grants offices with proposal development and advisory review, and provides training on grant opportunities and proposal development. Specific duties include pre-award outreach, building strategic relationships with research stakeholders, identifying investigators for targeted projects, developing a unified curriculum for staff training and faculty consultations, and assisting with proposal development including budgets and partnerships.

Why It Might Be a Fit

This role requires a minimum of ten years of experience in grant administration or research development in a university setting, a Master's degree (PhD preferred), and deep knowledge of the pre-award lifecycle and federal cost principles. The position offers the opportunity to shape research development across a major university system and includes a salary range of $167,449 - $195,350 per year.

Requirements

• A minimum of ten years of experience in grant administration and/or research development in a university setting
• Master's degree required; PhD preferred
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with faculty from diverse disciplines, senior university staff, and officials of funding agencies
• Knowledge of federal cost principles; proposal development processes and strategies
• Deep knowledge of the pre-award lifecycle, grant regulations, and compliance specific to major funding agencies
• Experience with electronic proposal management systems such as Research.gov and Grants.gov
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Familiarity with federal research programs
• Ability to function effectively in a dynamic, growing university
• Ability to deal with complexity, ambiguity, and change
• Flexibility and creative thinking
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Flexibility in work schedule to accommodate proposal deadlines

Benefits

• RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals