Director of Program Development for Sponsored Research

The Director develops strategies and processes for complex, cross-disciplinary projects to identify and secure strategic funding opportunities between ULRI and academic partners with the promise for broad, societal impact. Examples of federal opportunities range from mid-level proposals like R01s to large center grants, such as NSF Engineering Research Centers, X-Labs, MRSEC, DOE Energy Frontier Research Centers and the Genesis Mission, DOD center-scale competitions, and federal appropriations requests. Securing funding from philanthropic organizations is another direction of program development, including foundations such as Schmidt Sciences, Moore Foundation, Alfred P Sloan Foundation, and other science-focused philanthropies, including international organizations.

Working closely with the Chief Program Development Officer, Institute leaders, researchers, and external stakeholders, the Director develops and implements a comprehensive proposal development process that strengthens ULRI's ability to secure and execute complex, multidisciplinary awards across UL Research Institutes. The Director serves as a catalyst for organizational growth by aligning emerging opportunities with institutional capabilities and creating scalable processes that improve proposal development effectiveness across the enterprise.

What you'll learn and achieve

• Direct the development and execution of ULRI's proposal development strategy, aligning federal and philanthropic funding opportunities with organizational priorities, research goals, and mission impact.
• Provide strategic direction for the identification, evaluation, and development of strategic funding opportunities across ULRI.
• Develop and maintain a pipeline of high-impact opportunities involving federal agencies, foundations, industry, academic institutions, and nonprofit partners.
• Oversee the development of complex, multidisciplinary proposals that expand ULRI's research, education, workforce development, and public impact portfolios.
• Develop frameworks, tools, and best practices that strengthen program development, proposal competitiveness, and organizational readiness, including a library of non-technical proposal components, such as data management plans, broader impacts and workforce development plans, technology transfer plans and project management plans.
• Edit technical and non-technical research proposal content, ensuring compliance with all RFP requirements in coordination with Institutes, Finance, IT/Research Security, and Grants & Contracts teams.
• Drive the adoption of efficient program development processes, including the use of data-driven and AI-enabled approaches to improve effectiveness and scalability.
• Lead a team of experienced program development professionals, setting strategic direction, ensuring accountability, and putting the necessary resources in place to execute the strategy.

What makes you a great fit

• Proven ability to develop and execute multi-year program development strategies, translating organizational priorities into sponsored research.
• Demonstrated expertise in executing successful complex funding proposals across federal and philanthropic sectors.
• Working knowledge of the federal funding landscape, including agency center-level and multi-institutional programs, and of philanthropic funding practice, including letters of inquiry, program officer cultivation, and stewardship and reporting requirements.
• Engaging, approachable leader who builds high-performing teams; sets standards and accountability; and develops organizational capability through collaboration, mentorship, and influence.
• Demonstrates sound judgment and data-informed decision-making, using strategic insights, organizational metrics, and external trends to guide priorities and drive continuous improvement.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment and to manage multiple concurrent, multi-partner proposals under compressed timelines.
• Demonstrated interest in applying AI-enabled tools to opportunity identification, landscape analysis, summarization, and drafting support, and in building durable processes around them.

Professional education and experience requirements

• Master's degree required; doctorate or advanced degree highly preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in program development, strategic initiatives, research development, or related leadership roles, including demonstrated success securing both federal awards and philanthropic grants.
• Experience developing center-scale or multi-institutional proposals ($5M+) for federal agency sponsors and/or multi-year philanthropic initiatives.
• Experience leading and developing a team of experienced professionals.