Research Training Specialist

8:00 am - 5:00 pm; Monday - Friday with occasional evening and weekend hours required, as necessary.

The Center for Research Excellence ( CRE) serves as the university's central research development office and is housed within the of Division of Research (DR). CRE supports the research needs of UNC Charlotte faculty by (1) promoting new strategies and entrepreneurial approaches to research development, (2) coordinating faculty professional development programs, and (3) offering an array of services aimed at enhancing the grant-seeking skills of early and mid-career faculty. The Center serves to strengthen the competitiveness of collaborative, multi-disciplinary, complex research proposals from teams of UNC Charlotte faculty through project-opportunity-sponsor alignment, advanced preparation, and proposal development support. The Center also manages several signature seed and planning grant programs to support and stimulate disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and promote the development of collaborative proposals for external funding.

The Research Training Specialist will lead multiple training and professional development initiatives related to research administration and link these initiatives to DR's strategic goals. Primarily, the position will lead DR's efforts to build a robust roster of research-related training (in-person, virtual) and professional development programming to advance excellence in research-related work within DR and throughout the UNC Charlotte campus. Training programs will be designed to: 1) develop and deepen cross-functional, cross-project expertise for research administration staff; 2) support unique training needs of campus-wide groups interested in, or already engaged in disciplinary or interdisciplinary research; 3) train and support building and managing teams; and 4) train and support staff in strategic, developmental, administrative and reporting roles at the nexus of faculty and research (i.e., department chairs, college associate deans of research, deans). The position will report to the CRE Director and interact with DR's Associate Vice Chancellor and other DR Unit Directors to develop and deliver division- and unit-level training.

Program Administration and Project Management: Develop and implement a comprehensive training strategy for the Division of Research (DR). Identify and assess current and future training needs and inform DR Directors. Plan, create, and coordinate training and professional development initiatives for internal and campus-wide DR stakeholders. Ensure training initiatives meet the needs of each DR unit and align with DR's strategic goals. Monitor the effectiveness of training and professional development programs. Provide exemplary customer service at all times. Lead and facilitate workshops and training sessions in a credible and engaging manner. Oversee the logistics involved with training (e.g., place catering orders, book rooms, manage documents and invitations, etc.). Assemble ad hoc teams and working committees to support training initiatives. Maintain records on all relevant training activities. Manage training and program-related projects, including budgets, timelines, and resources. Perform other special projects as assigned.

Training-Related Curriculum Development: In collaboration with DR stakeholders, create curricula informed by needs assessments and aligned with DR's training and professional development needs. Design and develop new course content (as needed). Evaluate available instructional design, learning methodologies, and delivery options (e.g., classroom, online, hybrid, coaching, team/group learning) to meet unique training needs. Convene meetings with various stakeholders to discuss ongoing training needs. Customize training and delivery to specific end-user needs. As appropriate, incorporate e-learning and learning management systems to enhance content delivery. Work on file organization and preparation of training presentations for various DR Directors.

Professional Knowledge: Keep up to date with research administration topics and emerging areas to advance knowledge of training topics and materials. Research publicly available training practices in peer institutions to benchmark internal training programs.

Metrics, Reporting, and Analysis: Establish metrics for reporting program activities as described above to assist DR Leadership in making strategic decisions based on training data. Track and measure ongoing progress and success, adjusting delivery methods and content as needed to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and impact. Track and maintain a training database of users attending training. Identify customer needs and gaps and inform DR Directors of training needs.

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