Program Director of Pre-Award Grant Services - Eberly College of Arts & Sciences

• 37.5-hour work week
• 13 paid holidays (

• WVU offers a range of
• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for

• The Program Director of Grants Services reports to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences (ECAS) Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies and is responsible for managing the administration of pre-award services in the ECAS including all college and departmental staff and graduate assistants assigned to serve the college in a similar capacity. The director will provide high quality, creative, and solutions-oriented grant and contract support, as well as make recommendations at the strategic and operational levels to the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. This position will be faced with multiple priorities, as well as difficult situations, and will be required to be flexible, adaptive, and able to articulate thoughts and explanations to those with varying levels of understanding in grant management. The Program Director will assist ECAS faculty with pre-award proposal development and submission to any federal or private funding agency, and compliance training to diverse audiences with a special emphasis on math, natural, physical, applied sciences, and the social behavioral sciences.
• The Program Director will advance the research mission of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and West Virginia University by supporting the development of a high volume of grant proposals. The Program Director will strengthen relationships with funders from the local through the international level and participate in the development of strategic efforts to increase the research profile of West Virginia University.
• The Program Director will work with faculty from the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences coordinating both internal and externally-sponsored proposal submissions, alerting faculty to funding opportunities, working with faculty on plans to recruit funding, and supporting the preparation of nominations for honorary research recognitions. The Program Director will also collaborate with the West Virginia University Office of Research on new initiatives for increasing proposal success rates. The Program Director will assist the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies on strategic planning for increasing external funding and faculty recognition.
• The Program Director will review grant and contract applications and supplies timely and effective editorial decisions regarding proposal content, format, budget, and innovation to ensure the highest level of competitiveness and success. They will ensure that all content are in compliance with specific funding agency and WVU, WVU Research Corporation, and WVU Foundation requirements and review processes.
• The Program Director provides professional writing and editing services. It is the responsibility of the incumbent to write portions of the technical components of the proposal and letters of support. Manages proposal preparation, pre-submission reviews and submission processes. Develops documents and processes to support the proposal development infrastructure. Includes working closely with faculty members and other key stakeholders on the development and structure for proposals to increase competitiveness for external funding. Reviews proposals for consistency with the requirements of the requests for proposals (RFP), the Office of Sponsored Programs, and the WVU Foundation, among other internal policies and procedures. Performs careful edits of the narrative sections of proposals to enhance the communication of ideas and support the development of management plans and gathering of letters of support and related materials.
• Provides oversight of any large grant/center-like grant proposals (including the preparation of budgets, formatting, and other elements and organization of internal and external reviews before submission to enhance proposal qualities).
• Builds and maintains expert knowledge of federal, state, and funding agency policies that are critical for successful grant applications and internal proposal submission policies and procedures. Works directly with faculty & staff to help them produce proposal budgets with optimal prospects for success by maintaining knowledge of professional principles, legal, and/or reporting requirements such as Office of Management and Budget (OMB) cost principles for educational institutions (Circular A-21), OMB uniform administrative requirements for grants and agreements with institutions of higher education, hospitals, and other non-profit organizations (Circular A-110), Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), and programs under the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other governmental agencies, as well as, adhering to applicable industry standards.
• Manages the operations of the ECAS Grants Services Office and serves as the supervisor of the Grants Administrator and graduate assistants in this office. Providing leadership, management, and development in support of the promotion and growth of externally funded activities.
• Oversees or reviews grant material, as appropriate, writing strategies; time management including the development of writing schedules; technical report development and management; documenting and requesting cost-share; and requesting letters of guarantee in advance of an official award.
• Provides professional guidance to faculty in identifying external funding opportunities and applications from agencies such as: private foundations, federal and state government, and corporate sponsors, for their scholarly activities. Develop and maintain consistent relationships with relevant funding agency staff and promote the relationships of faculty and funding agencies; also investigate, initiate, and nurture partnerships, networks and alliances between and among faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, other institutions, and corporations, to enhance institutional research competitiveness and to catalyze new scholarly and institutional collaborations. In coordination with the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, the Program Director functions as a liaison among deans, chairs, faculty and staff; the Office of Research, including the Office of Sponsored Programs, the WVU Research Office, the WVU Foundation, and academic units across the campus, with the purpose of improving processes for increasing research grants and academic honors.

• Master’s Degree Required in Humanities, Sciences, or Social Sciences. Ph.D. in related field preferred.
• A minimum of four (4) years of experience involving:

• Experience collaborating with research investigators on grant proposal development
• Working as part of an administrative team
• Budget development and management
• Experience working in research institutions preferred
• Knowledge of extramural funding programs, including expertise in analyzing and applying federal and non-federal regulations and guidelines.
• Knowledge of and comfort with building and maintaining relationships with representatives from funding sources.
• Demonstrated outstanding oral and written communication skills, including expertise in the different elements of successful grants with particular emphasis in the sciences, technology, and math.
• Organizational skills including the ability to meet internal and external deadlines, and experience in managing projects, personnel, and budgets.
• Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills including the ability to work independently with a variety of individuals and a demonstrated ability to build consensus, develop processes, and lead training efforts.
• Demonstrated ability to identify relevant funding opportunities and communicating these opportunities to faculty.
• Ability to provide in-depth, expert guidance to faculty to advise on writing styles and techniques for grant proposals, broadly defined.
• Demonstrated excellent professional and or technical writing ability
• Demonstrated ability to supervise and manage projects
• Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality, apply judgment, discretion, and initiative in coordinating complex tasks
• Ability to think creatively and strategically
• Strong attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines
• Strong mathematical skills necessary to perform financial calculations
• Demonstrated ability to maintain high ethical standards and a culture of inclusive excellence in meeting ECAS' vision, mission, and goals.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and apply new software/hardware packages (e.g., NIH ASSIST, Research.Gov,
• Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and Publishing software)
• Demonstrated ability to develop and conduct training sessions
• Strong customer service orientation
• Demonstrated ability to foster cooperation among diverse groups of people
• Ability to travel intermittently

West Virginia University