Interdisciplinary Grant Development Lead - Sustainability

Georgia Tech's Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems seeks an Interdisciplinary Grant Development Lead to support its research group focused on sustainability. The role involves pre-award proposal development, building networks, and collaborating with faculty and external partners to secure funding for sustainability projects. Responsibilities include researching funding opportunities, coordinating proposal efforts, and tracking grant progress. The position requires on-site collaboration in Atlanta, GA.
Job Summary

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.

Responsibilities

In support of the BBISS IR 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.

Required Qualifications

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-faculty-hiring-and-promotion-guidelines).

Extension Professional II
• A Masters degree in any discipline relevant to sustainability research or related fields, and three (3) years of relevant full-time experience after completion of that degree, or
• A Master's degree in any discipline relevant to sustainability research or related fields, and five (5) years of relevant full-time experience after completion of a Bachelor's degree, or
• A Doctoral degree.

Senior Extension Professional
• A Master's degree in any discipline relevant to sustainability research or related fields, and seven (7) years of relevant full-time experience after completion of that degree, or
• A Master's degree in any discipline relevant to sustainability research or related fields, and nine (9) years of relevant full-time experience after completion of a Bachelor's degree, or
• A Doctoral degree in any discipline relevant to sustainability research or related fields, and four (4) years of relevant full-time experience after completion of a Bachelor's degree.

Preferred Qualifications

A preferred candidate will also 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.

Application Closing Date: May 20, 2025

Start Date: July, 2025

Interested? Please apply at:

Georgia Tech Careers portal: https://hr.gatech.edu/careers/ (Job #284712)

About The Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS)

BBISS is Georgia Tech's hub for interdisciplinary sustainability research and education. The vision of BBISS is to grow and mobilize Georgia Tech's knowledge assets to create a sustainable future for all by addressing the biggest regional, national, and global challenges of our time, relentlessly serving the public good, and developing exceptional leaders that strive for positive societal impact. Our focus areas include climate science, solutions, and policy; ecosystem and environmental health; sustainable cities and infrastructure; sustainable resource and material use; just sustainable development; and the economics and business of sustainability. Our activities are organized around three axes: catalyzing high-impact research, developing future leaders, and fostering partnerships that translate knowledge into practice. Within BBISS, the Interdisciplinary Research (IR) group supports researchers from across GT in pursuit of external funding, especially when related to sustainability focus areas that require the expertise of multiple GT colleges and/or external partners.