Utah State University’s Caine College of the Arts (CCA) and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHaSS) seek a Proposal Development Specialist with a strong and proven record of working with proposals and grants to encourage, develop, oversee, and manage extramural grant, fellowship, and other award-seeking activities with the faculties of both colleges. Faculty in these two colleges have varying degrees of familiarity with the proposal development process. The successful applicant will serve three key facets of proposal development support in the two colleges: proposal growth, proposal writing, and proposal writing training. The Proposal Development Specialist will be a highly motivated, well-trained individual. They will mentor, support, and advise faculty members as they seek external funding opportunities, collaborate with other Principal Investigators (PIs), and prepare proposals for submission. This position will report to the Dean’s Offices of both colleges, coordinating closely with the Associate Deans for Research with an approximate split in effort and duties between the two Colleges. This person will also coordinate with an existing proposal coordinator who provides clerical support and budget development. Occasional telework or a hybrid telework schedule may be considered once the successful candidate is trained in all areas of the position. This position will be hired as either a Proposal Development Specialist or Proposal Development Specialist II depending on qualifications and duties assigned. Please see the Qualifications section below.

• Provide excellent proposal writing support through review and refinement of narratives and application-specific documents for external grants, fellowships, awards, residencies, and other funding opportunities.
• Work with faculty to take their complex content-specific ideas and articulate them in intelligible ways to external (and internal) funders.
• Make meaningful and approved changes to proposal scope, content, structure, and writing.
• Edit materials for completeness, accuracy, consistency, and appropriateness of content (including grammar and readability).
• Build, maintain, and share up-to-date knowledge of internal and external sponsored and non-sponsored funding opportunities relevant to college faculty in an easy to find database.
• Work with the proposal coordinator to develop and refine boilerplate materials to ease proposal submission.
• In cooperation with the proposal development support specialist, maintain a robust website with resources, common forms, and proposal writing techniques specific to our fields.
• In cooperation with the Associate Dean for Research, increase proposal writing knowledge and skills by providing on-demand and synchronous training and professional development activities specific to humanities, social sciences, and the arts.
• Work with the Office of Research and the Associate Deans to build a tracking mechanism to capture non-sponsored research activities in the college.
• Work with faculty to prepare, manage, and submit proposals in a timely manner, working closely with Sponsored Programs, business services representatives in both colleges, and other university compliance offices.
• Working closely with business services representatives, interpret and review award conditions with PIs immediately following award notification.
• Keep and share with the Dean’s Office an internal database of current, on-going, and closed projects for all faculty PIs in CHaSS and CCA.
• Write and provide regular reports to the Associate Deans for Research (or the Deans) on faculty proposals in-progress, submitted, rejected, and awarded.
• Assist PIs in collecting materials needed to write reports to funding agencies, as necessary.
• Track and advise PIs on no cost (and cost) extension requests, facilitating this process with SPA/SPO.
• When necessary, prepare, manage, and submit proposal packages in electronic submission portals such as Kuali and Research.gov.
• Participate in and collaboratively work with the campus-wide proposal writing network of the Research Development Division of the Office of Research.
• Positively contribute to a culture that encourages and empowers faculty to submit extramural funding opportunities.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• This position will be hired as either a Proposal Development Specialist or a Proposal Development Specialist II depending on qualifications and duties assigned:
  
  • For a Proposal Development Specialist I: Four years of related work experience or a Bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent combination of education plus experience is required.
  • For a Proposal Development Specialist II: Six years of related work experience or a Bachelor’s degree plus two years of related work experience or a Master’s degree, or an equivalent combination of education plus experience is required
• Experience writing, coordinating, and managing proposals with a variety of funders including federal, state, and/or private/foundation funding sources.
  Demonstrated project management experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a humanities, social science, arts, or related discipline.
• Experience as a principal investigator, grant administrator, or key personnel.
• Experience working with major funding agencies in the arts, humanities and/or social sciences.
• Experience with corporate support of research or creative endeavors.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in seeking and obtaining external funding.
• Experience working with a university sponsored programs and sponsored accounting office.
• Knowledge of Kuali Research.
• Deep familiarity of humanities, arts, and social science external funding agencies and proposal development.
• Demonstrated understanding of funders in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Advanced proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Flexibility, versatility, and ability to work multiple projects with tight deadlines across varying disciplines.
• Ability to facilitate proposal development by faculty with diverse backgrounds and experiences across college, departmental, disciplinary, and institutional boundaries.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills.
• Advanced problems solving and organizational skills.
• Service-oriented.

Along with the online application, please attach:

1. Resume/CV to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under “Resume/CV”.

2. Cover letter to be typed/pasted at the end of your application.

3. Name and contact information (email and phone number) of three professional references to be entered at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile.

**Document size may not exceed 10 MB.**

Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants, but not, necessarily, occasional temperature changes.  The employee is regularly required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions.

Caine College of the Arts:
The Caine College of the Arts (CCA) seeks to make the arts more visible, more innovative, and more fully integrated into the intellectual life of Utah State University and the communities it serves. The CCA is a collaborative community, representing the collective strengths and voices of the arts and it acts as a conduit for connecting people and programs. The CCA offers a visiting artist program that brings important artists, designers, and scholars to campus, is home to award-winning faculty, features a world-class performance hall, offers internships with prominent artists and designers, and operates several international study opportunities. The College houses the Departments of Art + Design, Music, and Theatre Arts, and is closely affiliated with the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art on the USU campus.

CHaSS:
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences has played an instrumental role teaching independent thinking and discovery at Utah State University since 1888. Students in our college confront the great questions and controversies that exist. They learn about the forces that have shaped our world and develop skills to tackle its most pressing challenges. Our graduates are creative problem-solvers with a passion for making a difference. The education they receive prepares them to address the problems of today and to succeed wherever their career path takes them tomorrow (chass.usu.edu).

Employment in this position is contingent upon a satisfactory background check. Utah State University is an AA/EO Employer and encourages gender and ethnic diversity. In recruiting for our team, we welcome the unique and diverse contributions that you can bring in terms of education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.

Founded in 1888, Utah State University is Utah’s premier land-grant, public service university, with a strong commitment to excellence, access, and inclusion, empowering people to lead successful lives of involvement, innovation, and impact. Utah State provides high-quality education to 27,500-plus students locations throughout the state, including at three residential campuses, eight statewide campuses, and 23 education centers. USU Online educates students from all 50 states and 55 countries. For over 25 years, USU Extension has served and engaged Utahns in all of Utah’s counties. As an R1 research institution, Utah State is dedicated to advancing knowledge through research and scholarly activities, providing a high-quality undergraduate and graduate education at an affordable price.

Utah State is committed to cultivating a community of inclusive excellence where all perspectives, values, cultures, and identities are acknowledged, welcomed, and valued. We seek to recruit, hire, and retain people from all walks of life who will champion excellence in education, research, discovery, outreach, and service. We believe that promoting a strong sense of community and belonging empowers and engages all members of USU to thrive and be successful. Forbes recognized our commitment to employees when they named Utah State the best employer in Utah in 2023. Learn more about USU. 

The university provides a Dual Career Assistance Program to support careers for partners who are also seeking employment. Additionally, USU is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, contact the university’s ADA Coordinator in the Office of Human Resources at (435) 797-0122 or hr@usu.edu. 

About the Region

U.S. News and World Report ranked Utah first for its strong economy, fiscal stability, education, and health care. Outstanding outdoor recreational opportunities abound throughout the state, including five national parks, 43 state parks and recreation areas, and 15 alpine ski resorts. The home of USU’s main campus, Logan, is a city of 54,000-plus people in a picturesque mountain valley 80 miles north of Salt Lake City. The Logan metro area claimed the top spot in the Milken Institute’s 2022 ranking for best-performing small cities in the nation. 

*updated 04/2024

In its programs and activities, including in admissions and employment, Utah State University does not discriminate or tolerate discrimination, including harassment, based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by University policy, Title IX, or any other federal, state, or local law.

The following individuals have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the application of Title IX and its implementing regulations and/or USU’s non-discrimination policies:

Executive Director of the Office of Equity Matthew Pinner, discrimination@usu.edu, Distance Education Rm. 401, 435-797-1266

Title IX Coordinator Cody Carmichael, titleix@usu.edu, Distance Education Rm. 404, 435-797-1266

Mailing address: 5100 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322

For further information regarding non-discrimination, please visit https://equity.usu.edu/, or contact:

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 800-421-3481, OCR@ed.gov

*updated 09/2023