Vice Provost - Research Development

About the Opportunity

Position Overview

The Vice Provost for Research Development (VPRD) reports to the Senior Vice Provost for Research (SVPR) and holds a strategic leadership role within the university research enterprise. The VPRD will partner with the SVPR and the university research community to advance two strategic imperatives: leaping ahead in global reputation and impact as a global research university system and achieving $350 million in annual research funding by the end of fiscal year 2027, and $500 million by the end of fiscal year 2030.

The VPRD will work with the SVPR and other senior administrators to ensure that staffing, systems, and programs for research development meet the current and future needs of Northeastern as an RI research institution. The VPRD will be the primary driver for identifying and disseminating opportunities aligned with the university’s strategic research priorities and supporting individual faculty and teams to advance competitive submissions. This leader will optimize and manage a research development enterprise that meets or exceeds the standards and performance of a top-tier research university and facilitates enhanced levels and quality of funding submissions to diversified sources.

The VPRD will represent the SVPR and/or the University at meetings, functions, and events as requested.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Research Growth

• Develop and execute a comprehensive research development strategy aligned with Northeastern’s $500M funding goal and global research reputation objectives.

• Build and sustain networks across the university—including the Colleges, Institutes, and the University Network — to increase the quality, efficiency, and scale of the research enterprise.

• Coalesce faculty across disciplines around large-scale center grants and multi-investigator proposals, identifying strategic opportunities for coordinated pursuit of major funding vehicles (e.g., NSF centers, NIH P-series, DOE and DOD large programs).

• Monitor national funding trends and agency priorities, translating that intelligence into actionable opportunities for faculty and research teams.
• Leverage Northeastern's presence in London and Dublin to pursue Horizon Europe and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding opportunities, coordinating with campus leadership on eligible partnerships and lead institution arrangements
• Diversify and strengthen the resilience of Northeastern's funding portfolio by promoting industry partnerships and supporting faculty-led consortia spanning university, industry, government, and foundation sectors. 

• Partner with Government Relations to coordinate federal appropriation requests and programmatic funding increases, ensuring alignment between congressional engagement strategies and the university's research development priorities.

Staff Management and Organizational Performance

• Lead, develop, and manage the research development team, establishing clear workload expectations, role definitions, and professional development pathways.

• Design and implement a performance management framework with defined KPIs and metrics for research development staff, including proposal submission rates, win rates, award volumes, and faculty engagement.

• Conduct regular performance reviews, provide ongoing coaching, and hold staff accountable to productivity and quality standards.

• Assess staffing capacity against institutional goals and make recommendations for team structure and resource allocation.

Faculty Engagement and Proposal Development

• Cultivate strong relationships with faculty across colleges and research institutes, serving as a trusted partner in identifying and pursuing major funding opportunities.

• Lead or support the development of large, complex proposals, including coordinating across multiple investigators, institutions, and disciplines.

• Facilitate faculty coalitions around strategic research themes, center grant opportunities, and signature research initiatives with the potential for transformative institutional impact.

• Coordinate Northeastern's institutional responses to federal Requests for Information (RFIs), positioning the university strategically in advance of major funding announcements and program launches.
• Advise faculty on sponsor priorities, proposal strategy, and competitive positioning.
• Interact with and help coordinate activities of the Research Council advisory group.

Systems, Infrastructure, and Reporting

• Evaluate and strengthen systems, tools, and processes that support proposal development, pipeline tracking, and post-award transitions.

• Develop and maintain a research development dashboard with metrics that track progress toward institutional funding goals and inform resource decisions.

• Report regularly to the SVPR on pipeline activity, team performance, and strategic opportunities.

• Ensure research development operations are aligned with compliance requirements and institutional policies.

• Oversee the university's limited submission program, establishing clear and equitable competition processes, coordinating faculty review and merit-based selection, and issuing institutional nominations that reflect both scientific excellence and strategic fit with Northeastern's research priorities.

• Coordinate internal seed funding programs and manage institutional cost-share requests, establishing systematic processes and clear communication protocols across colleges, institutes, and the Office of the Provost.

Qualifications

Required

• Ph.D. or terminal degree in a relevant field; in exceptional cases, a graduate degree combined with a substantial record of success in a comparable senior role will be considered.

• Demonstrated experience in research development at a research university, with a track record of success in large, competitive grant programs.

• Five to seven years of progressively responsible leadership experience in a university research environment.

• Demonstrated knowledge of the federal and private funding landscape, including major sponsor priorities and funding mechanisms relevant to a comprehensive research university.

• Proven ability to build faculty coalitions and lead multi-investigator proposal efforts, including center grants and large programmatic awards.

• Strong management skills, including experience setting staff workloads, establishing performance metrics, and holding teams accountable to goals.

• Excellent communication, relationship-building, and networking skills across a complex institutional environment.

• Ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives simultaneously in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.

• Willingness and ability to travel as needed.

Preferred

• Experience serving in a research development leadership role at an R1 institution.
   
• Experience working across interdisciplinary research themes and complex institutional partnerships.

Position Type

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.  

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compensation Grade/Pay Type:

Expected Hiring Range:

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.