Position Information

Position Information

Working Title
Director, Center for Biotechnology (Open to University Employees Only)

Department
Center for Biotechnology-1318

Requisition Number
F_260024

Posting Open Date
03/10/2026

Application Review Date: (To ensure consideration, please submit all application materials before review date)
04/10/2026

Posting Close Date

Open Until Filled
Yes

Description of Work

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) seeks a new Director to lead the Nebraska Center for Biotechnology (NCB), an interdisciplinary, University-wide research center that provides state of the art technologies for research through its core facilities. Nebraska seeks a leader who can harness the potential of the Center core expertise and technologies for research growth across disciplines. The successful candidate must be a current UNL faculty member. They will retain 0.70 FTE of their faculty appointment and allocate 0.30 FTE to the Director position.

The Director

Reporting to the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, the Director will lead the Center's strategic vision. The Director will capitalize on the outstanding core personnel, instrumentation and facilities, while displaying the vision, energy, commitment, and organization/administrative skills to take the Center to the next level. The Director will work collaboratively with university administration, colleges, academic departments, research centers, and other partners across the University of Nebraska campuses, to help faculty achieve their research goals by providing instrumentation and technical scientific expertise, assisting with grant applications and manuscripts, training students and postdocs, and serving the needs of the NU research community to advance research across multiple disciplines.

The Director will proactively identify and pursue funding opportunities from federal, state, and private sources for acquisition and upgrading of major research instrumentation.

The Director will collaborate closely with other Center and Core Facility Directors across UNL and the University of Nebraska system to align and coordinate major equipment investments, optimize resource sharing, and promote efficiency across research units.

The Director will provide administrative and budgetary oversight for NCB. This includes responsible and transparent financial management of all Center resources, oversight of recharge structures for core facilities, and long-term financial sustainability planning.

The Director will create and sustain a welcoming environment in which faculty, staff, and students can excel and grow professionally and personally.

Duties

• The Center Director is responsible for developing and implementing a short-term (e.g., three-to-five years) and long-term (e.g., ten years) vision to support excellence in life sciences research at UNL.
• The Center Director leads a team of individual research core facility directors. The Center Director uses input from the directors of individual research core facilities to provide overall leadership for: administration of fiscal resources; strategic planning for equipment and services; coordinating, writing, and submitting annual reports for Nebraska Research Initiative (NRI) funding; and preparing, participating, and responding to external reviews (approximately once every seven years).
• Provides comprehensive fiscal oversight for the Center, including budget planning, monitoring of revenues and expenditures, recharge rate analysis, and long-term sustainability of core operations.
• The Center Director works with directors of research core facilities to maintain a website for the Center and other promotional materials that provide information related to available services.
• The Center Director ensures routine input from research core facility customers regarding existing equipment and services and their needs for new equipment and services to maintain excellence in life sciences research.
• Develops multi-year capital planning strategies for instrumentation renewal and replacement across all core facilities, ensuring the Center remains at the forefront of technological capability.
• The Center Director prepares and submits applications for internal or external funding to purchase new, state-of-the-art equipment to provide high-quality services in support of life sciences research at UNL. This includes tracking programs such as the NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI), the NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) and High-End Instrumentation (HEI) programs, as well as internal and external partnerships that enhance the UNL's research infrastructure.
• The Center Director is responsible for communicating the progress and needs of the center with the Office of Research and Innovation and Deans from the colleges which have faculty users of the Biotech core facilities. This communication will include updates on important topics and a formal report at an annual meeting.
• The Center Director works with faculty across UNL to identify and recruit outstanding internal and external scientists to participate in the Biotechnology Seminar Series.
• The Center Director coordinates the process to review applications and select recipients of the Milton Mohr Undergraduate Scholarships and Graduate Fellowships at UNL.

UNL offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, commensurate with the successful candidate's background and experience.

Minimum Required Qualifications

• Current UNL faculty member with a Ph.D. or M.D. plus five years of research experience in life sciences at a public or private institution or organization.
• Experience managing human and financial resources, including preparation of annual budgets and annual progress reports.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with demonstrated ability to develop and maintain constructive and professional relationships with a variety of stakeholders.
• Familiar with current and emerging technologies and state-of-the-art instrumentation used in life sciences research.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building, managing, or leading interdisciplinary research teams of faculty.
• Experience with strategic planning and working with university administrators at a major research university or research institution.
• Demonstrated experience in managing complex budgets, developing recharge models, or overseeing cost recovery operations for core facilities or research centers.
• Experience in pursuing and managing federal or foundation funding for major research instrumentation or infrastructure.
• Experience engaging with external funders to communicate research priorities and advocate for external support of university research infrastructure.
• Demonstrated knowledge of UNL's faculty and research strengths in the life sciences.

Work Location (City, State)
Lincoln, NE

Pre-Placement Driving Record Review Required

Criminal History Background Check Required
No

Posted Salary

How to Apply

Click "Apply for this Job," complete the faculty information form, and attach the following documents:

1. A letter of interest that highlights your qualifications for the position, explains your interest and motivation, describes your initial vision and anticipated contributions leading NCB, and includes information about your own research program or expertise, and how it may integrate with or benefit your role leading the Center.
2. A detailed curriculum vitae.
3. The names of 3-5 professional references.

For questions or accommodations related to this position contact

Ember Welsch
Human Resources Specialist Lead
Office of Research and Innovation
[email protected]

Job Category

Job Category (old)
Academic Administrative

Job Type
12 Month (Faculty Only)

Position funded by grant or other form of temporary funding?
No

If Temporary, indicate end date

Planned Hire Date

Appointment End Date

Organizational Location
Default Location