Announcement

Details

Open Date
06/02/2026

Requisition Number
PRN45231B

Job Title
Research Development Associate

Working Title
Research Development Associate

Career Progression Track
P00

Track Level
P4 - Advanced, P3 - Career

FLSA Code
Administrative

Patient Sensitive Job Code?
No

Standard Hours per Week
40

Full Time or Part Time?
Full Time

Shift
Day

Work Schedule Summary

This role will will typically be M-F & standard business hours. This position supports and contributes to a wide variety of external grants with different deadlines. Some nights and weekends may be required based on needs of the business. This is a hybrid position with a required 2-3 days in office, on campus. No fully-remote option is available.

VP Area
President

Department
00639 - VP for Research

Location
Campus

City
Salt Lake City, UT

Type of Recruitment
External Posting

Pay Rate Range
$70,000 - $95,000

Close Date
08/29/2026

Priority Review Date (Note - Posting may close at any time)
06/19/2026

Job Summary

The University of Utah is seeking an experienced Research Development Associate to support the development of large, complex, interdisciplinary research proposals. This position is part of the Large Infrastructure Funding Team (LIFT) within the Office of the Associate Vice President for Research.

LIFT supports center-scale, multi-investigator, and other large strategic funding opportunities - most commonly federal proposals exceeding $5M. The team partners with faculty to shape, coordinate, and strengthen proposals to maximize competitiveness.

This position is full time, benefited position with a hybrid schedule (approximately two days per week on campus).

About the Role
This role focuses on strategic proposal development and integration. Faculty authors develop the scientific content; this position ensures that proposals are well-framed, coherent, funder-aligned, and executable.

The Research Development Associate will serve as a lead integrator on large-scale proposals, working closely with faculty, proposal team members, and research administration staff to guide proposals from concept through submission.

Core responsibilities include:

• Strategic framing and concept development for large-scale proposals aligned with university priorities
• Narrative integration and substantive editing of multi-author documents
• Proposal architecture and planning, including structuring sections and aligning content to sponsor expectations
• Facilitation of interdisciplinary teams, including guiding key decisions related to scope, positioning, and partnerships

Learn more about the great benefits of working for University of Utah: benefits.utah.edu

The department may choose to hire at any of the below job levels and associated pay rates based on their business need and budget.

Responsibilities

Applicants must demonstrate the ability to perform the essential functions of the position. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Proposal Development
• Lead early-stage concept development and framing discussions with faculty teams
• Translate complex scientific ideas into clear, funder-aligned positioning
• Identify competitive strengths, gaps, and opportunities relative to sponsor priorities

Narrative Integration & Editing
• Integrate contributions from multiple authors into a cohesive, compelling proposal
• Provide substantive editing focused on clarity, structure, and reviewer perspective
• Ensure alignment with sponsor review criteria and expectations

Proposal Planning & Team Facilitation
• Establish timelines, milestones, and deliverables
• Facilitate meetings to drive progress and decision-making
• Guide teams through key proposal development phases, including red-team reviews

Collaboration & Coordination
• Partner with research administration, pre-award staff, and leadership
• Coordinate interdisciplinary teams and external partners
• Contribute to proposal tools, templates, and best practices

Funding Strategy & Landscape Awareness
• Interpret and identify funding opportunity announcements and sponsor priorities
• Provide strategic guidance on targeting and positioning proposals
• Support development of teams for future center-scale opportunities

What This Role Does NOT Do
• Does not write full scientific proposals on behalf of faculty
• Does not manage submission systems (e.g., Cayuse)
• Does not replace departmental pre-award or budget development functions

Minimum Qualifications

EQUIVALENCY STATEMENT: 1 year of higher education can be substituted for 1 year of directly related work experience (Example: bachelor's degree = 4 years of directly related work experience).

Department may hire employee at one of the following job levels:

Research Development Associate, III: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 6 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 4 years of directly related work experience.

Research Development Associate, IV: Requires a bachelor's (or equivalency) + 8 years or a master's (or equivalency) + 6 years of directly related work experience.

Preferences

Strong candidates will demonstrate:
1. Experience supporting large, complex, multi-investigator proposals (center-scale preferred)
2. Ability to interpret funding solicitations and align proposals to sponsor priorities
3. Exceptional writing and editing skills with technical content
4. Experience facilitating interdisciplinary teams
5. Strong organizational skills in deadline-driven environments
6. Ability to provide constructive guidance to senior faculty and stakeholders
7. Willingness to work flexibly to meet proposal deadlines

Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate:
• Thinks strategically about how to position research ideas for funding success
• Is comfortable working with senior faculty and guiding complex discussions
• Can balance big-picture thinking with attention to detail
• Excels at synthesizing and integrating information from multiple sources
• Thrives in a collaborative, fast-paced, deadline-driven environment

Type
Benefited Staff

Special Instructions Summary

Additional Information

The University is a participating employer with Utah Retirement Systems ("URS"). Eligible new hires with prior URS service, may elect to enroll in URS if they make the election before they become eligible for retirement (usually the first day of work). Contact Human Resources at (801) 581-7447 for information. Individuals who previously retired and are receiving monthly retirement benefits from URS are subject to URS' post-retirement rules and restrictions. Please contact Utah Retirement Systems at (801) 366-7770 or (800) 695-4877 or University Human Resource Management at (801) 581-7447 if you have questions regarding the post-retirement rules.

This position may require the successful completion of a criminal background check and/or drug screen.

As per University of Utah policy 5-108: Transfer of Benefits Eligible Staff Members, a new hire to the University of Utah who is still serving a 12 month probationary period will not be hired into another University of Utah job (a transfer) until the successful completion of the probationary period.