Manager, Proposal Development

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Financial Administration (FAD) is dedicated to advancing Harvard University’s teaching and research mission by stewarding its resources; providing support, guidance, and consultation; ensuring compliance with university and federal guidelines; mitigating risk; pursuing operational excellence; and promoting the financial health of the University. 

More about FAD:  
Within and across the University, we aim to be exemplary colleagues, trusted partners, valued advisors, and agents of positive change.  
 
Within our own community, we aspire to:  

• Engage with respect, honesty, and integrity   
• Cultivate equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging   
• Welcome innovation, collaboration, and flexibility 
• Enjoy our work, grow professionally, and aim for the extraordinary 

Learn more about Financial Administration (harvard.edu) and our eight reporting units. (https://finance.harvard.edu/) 

Job Description

The Office for Sponsored Programs is a department within Harvard University’s Financial Administration (FAD) that is focused on providing high-quality administrative and financial assistance to faculty and other University affiliates performing sponsored research. OSP works with researchers and schools across Harvard to help obtain and negotiate awards from sponsoring agencies, assist with grant proposal preparation, ensure compliance with federal regulations and University policies, provide financial support including financial reporting and billing and collection services, assist with audits, and promote knowledge of sponsored research administration throughout the University research community through training and other educational programs.

Reporting to the Assistant Director of Proposal Development, this position leads one of three FAS Proposal Development Teams and manages a team consisting of three to five members. This position provides expert proposal development and Just In Time support and guidance, strategy, and process development. This role also works effectively with all stakeholders to resolve complex research administration issues. 

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

• Provide overall leadership and supervision for a central-office based proposal development team (junior and senior staff) embedded within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, including workload planning, assignment of complex proposals, performance management, and professional development to ensure consistent, high-quality pre-award support across departments.
• Oversee the full pre-award proposal development lifecycle for the portfolio supported by the team, from opportunity identification and concept development through final submission and Just In Time (JIT), establishing standards, timelines, and review processes that ensure compliance with sponsor and institutional requirements.
• Serve as the primary central-office liaison to Divisionals and Departmental Leadership, PIs, and other central units (Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP), compliance, finance, and legal), resolving escalated policy and risk issues, and supporting the aligning of departmental proposal strategies with institutional research priorities.
• Develop, implement, and continuously refine proposal development policies, templates, tools, and metrics; analyze proposal volume, turnaround times, and success rates to identify gaps and drive process improvements, training initiatives, and resource allocation decisions.
• Direct and coordinate the team’s management of JIT actions and other time-sensitive sponsor requests for complex and high-risk proposals, ensuring consistent interpretation of requirements, rigorous quality control, and timely, accurate submissions across all supported department. 
• Directly engage in proposal development and JIT related work for a portfolio of departments.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

Basic Qualifications are the minimum threshold a candidate must meet in order to be considered for this role.

For consideration, please include a cover letter. 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience required
• Minimum of 7 years’ relevant work experience
• Advanced knowledge of sponsored research regulations
• Supervisory experience

Additional Qualifications and Skills:

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