Assistant Director of Research Operations

Assistant Director of Research Operations 

 

The Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain Body Interactions at George Mason University invites applicants for the position of Assistant Director of Research Operations to be involved in the creation of a nationally and internationally recognized research and scholarship program on chronic disability. George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason’s academic and culturally inclusive environment.

 

Overview: 

The Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain Body Interactions (CASBBI) was recently chartered by the Office of the Provost as part of a university-level initiative for establishing Transdisciplinary Centers of Advanced Study. The vision for CASBBI is to improve function and quality of life of individuals with physical and psychosocial disability across the lifespan. CASBBI pursues transdisciplinary translational and clinical research to understand and modulate complex adaptive systems underlying human movement and behavior. CASBBI researchers, comprising basic scientists, engineers and clinicians, come from six academic departments across Mason, and have a network of collaborations across multiple universities, clinical centers and federal laboratories. CASBBI faculty currently have over $8 million of active federally-funded research grants. The successful candidate will play a major role in developing the overall research strategy of CASBBI, with emphasis on development of transdisciplinary research and scholarship capacity and substantially growing the base of research support.

 

There will be plenty of opportunities for the successful candidate to be directly involved in research activities at the Center. 

 

Responsibilities: 
Specific responsibilities include:

• Project management responsibilities: 
  • Establish and implement a project management pipeline to ensure submission of high-quality research proposals on time, both for small proposals as well as large interdisciplinary proposals. Organize planning and preparatory meetings, assist with development of proposal drafts, coordinate an internal review and feedback process, draft and maintain supplementary documents, and work with the Office of Sponsored Programs and the Office of Research Development to develop competitive proposal submissions.
• Grant writing responsibilities: 
  • Understand the CASBBI research portfolio and faculty expertise and assist with writing of interdisciplinary research proposals in collaboration with center faculty.
• Research administration responsibilities: 
  • Develop and maintain the CASBBI budget, coordinate financial and research progress reporting, coordinate with Office of Sponsored Programs and post-award support personnel across academic units, work with CASBBI faculty to coordinate and support interdisciplinary research and educational initiatives. 
• Outreach responsibilities: 
  • Facilitate efforts to increase the visibility of CASBBI nationally and internationally by planning and implementing outreach strategies, developing and maintaining internal and external stakeholder relations, and generating content for the website and other publicity materials. 
• Team building responsibilities: 
  • Facilitate and host workshops, seminar series, research retreats, team-building events and open houses aimed at fostering a vibrant environment of research and scholarship. 

 

Required Qualifications: 

The ideal candidate would be an enthusiastic and energetic individual who is comfortable working in highly interdisciplinary research settings, has high-level relationship building skills and excellent communication skills, and have experience developing and implementing research development or support programs. Additionally:

• A Master’s degree in a science, engineering or clinical field such as neuroscience, bioengineering, psychology, rehabilitation science or similar;
• Exceptional oral, written, interpersonal and organizational skills; 
• Significant demonstrated experience working in interdisciplinary teams and supporting team science; and
• Experience in project management. 

 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience working with a range of stakeholders including industrial partners and community partners;
• Experience with research proposal development; 
• Experience working in an academic research or policy environment; and 
• Experience with fundraising. 

 

About the Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions

CASBBI researchers focus on transdisciplinary research questions of major public health and societal significance such as chronic pain, substance misuse and addiction, autism spectrum disorders, and mobility impairments. Our goal is to develop improved clinical interventions and improved clinical outcomes for these conditions. Recognizing that chronic disability is characterized by dysfunction in multiple inter-related systems across physical biological and psychosocial domains, CASBBI brings together experts in neuroscience, physics, engineering, psychology and rehabilitation to pursue convergence research involving the integration of knowledge across disciplines to uncover underlying neurobiological mechanisms of disability, to modulate them through novel technological approaches and develop measurement tools sensitive to changes resulting from the interventions. The core methodological expertise is in multiscale neuromodulation and neuroimaging, human machine interactions, and sensorimotor integration and human movement. The core facilities include shared research instrumentation, core imaging facilities, shared wet and dry lab facilities on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University. Many CASBBI researchers have state-of-the-art laboratory space in the newly opened Peterson Health Sciences Building.

 

Special Instructions to Applicants: 

For full consideration, applicants must apply for position number FA27Fz at https://jobs.gmu.edu/; complete and submit the online application; and upload a curriculum vitae, a writing sample, cover letter, and a list of three professional references with contact information.

 

George Mason University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, committed to promoting inclusion and equity in its community. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.