Interdisciplinary Grant Development Lead - Sustainability
Georgia Tech's Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) seeks an Interdisciplinary Grant Development Lead to support its Interdisciplinary Research (IR) group. This new position exists at an important interface between GT's research disciplines and its broader external impact. The focus of the work is "pre-award", helping teams of GT researchers prepare proposals for external funding (potentially as large as $10 Million) that require new team structures and collaborators to address comprehensive challenges in sectors of sustainability. In support of this goal, this position involves building networks, scouting for external calls, convening faculty, researcher, and partner teams, and offering support to increase the competitiveness of submitted proposals. The position requires a split of time between working with colleagues in the BBISS office, engaging with researchers from across Georgia Tech and liaising with external research partners and funders.
Start Date: July, 2025
In support of the BBISS Interdisciplinary Research team, you will work collaboratively to carry out the following responsibilities:
- Search for and find external funding calls related to sustainability. This will include professional and administrative work in researching, identifying, developing, and responding to federal, state, and foundation grant opportunities in support of the research units involved.
- Convene faculty and researcher interest groups around specific calls, as well as BBISS focus areas to position GT to be competitive to anticipated future calls. This will involve meeting regularly and with appropriate researchers to discuss current and new funding opportunities related to the area of expertise and research fields.
- Contribute to efforts to obtain external grants and other types of financial support for sustainability research and education projects and programs. This will include writing support and coordination for generating high-quality institutional proposals, whitepapers, applications, and supporting documents in response to solicitations consistent with all policies and procedures of the Institute, and the requirements and guidelines of the funding agencies. This will also include coordinating and tracking the progress of proposal development, by actively maintaining grant schedules and tracking grant progress.
- Track the impact of BBISS IR team support efforts on grants or contracts awarded to GT.
- Remain up to date on current issues relative to BBISS focus areas, and maintain awareness of BBISS' external contacts across government, private, and nonprofit entities for matchmaking with appropriate researchers and grant opportunities.
The position offers the opportunity for those with relevant expertise in sustainability fields to directly participate in proposal and project teams, such as serving as senior personnel on grants in their field of expertise.
Your allocation of effort at appointment will be 80% research / extension, 5% service, and 15% administration. This allocation of effort may be revised during the term of your employment. For this appointment, "research / extension" is a major part of the position, as you will be identifying external funders, collecting information to understand their needs better, and translating that to faculty and help with the research development activities in the space of sustainability, as well as have the opportunity to be part of proposal project teams in your area of expertise.
A preferred candidate will have some mix of the following experience or abilities:
- Previous federal or foundation grant team facilitation and development experience. Knowledge of scoring criteria and funding cycles.
- Excellent interpersonal, initiative, teamwork, problem-solving, independent judgment, organization, communication (verbal and written), time management, project management, and presentation skills.
- Project management relating to coordinating large, distributed teams towards proposal submission.
- Experience having designed, led, or supported interdisciplinary research programs.
- Contribution to obtaining and/or managing (preferably large) grants, with certifiable references.
- Previous experience with higher education or non-profit grant writing and coordination.
- Experience related to sustainable topics and/or technical areas.
- Further certifications, e.g., Certified Project Manager
- Able to handle multiple tasks or projects at one-time meeting assigned deadlines.
- Motivated self-starter with the ability to work collaboratively and independently with purpose and accuracy in a fast-paced environment.
- Highly organized with the ability to implement systems and follow-up processes, strong attention to detail, follow-up skills, customer service skills, and phone and e-mail etiquette.
This position vacancy is an open rank announcement. The final job offer, including title and salary, will be commensurate with candidate qualifications in alignment with Research Faculty ranks as outlined in section 3.2.1 of the Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook (https://www.policylibrary.gatech.edu/faculty-handbook/3.2.1-research-fac...).
Application Closing Date: Friday May 23rd, 2025
Interested? Please apply at:
Georgia Tech Careers portal: https://hr.gatech.edu/careers/ (Job #284712)
Direct Link (may not work in all browsers): https://lnkd.in/eEQVbryq
We are looking to add a team member excited about facilitating universities make a difference in the world. If you enjoy organizing ideas and people around a common objective, if you are a continuous learner who likes to connect the dots across different disciplines, and if you thrive in a mission-driven startup environment where initiative and resourcefulness are valued, we want to hear from you.
The ideal candidate will be comfortable leveraging institutional knowledge, forming connections across campus, and approaching challenges with creativity and determination. You'll join a team that values proactive problem-solving and collaborative innovation.
See the specific requirements below. The application deadline is Friday, May 23. If this job feels right but you don't meet preferred qualifications, we encourage you to apply anyway. This may just be the job for you, so please give us the opportunity to review your application!