Consultant

About MQ Foundation

MQ Foundation (MQF) is a New York-based nonprofit that funds early-career mental health researchers and supports research partnerships. MQF's flagship funding program, the MQ Fellows Award, supports outstanding early-career scientists in establishing independent research careers while addressing major challenges in mental health, spanning discovery science through clinical, population, and implementation research. Priority areas include children and young people's mental health, digital and emerging technologies, eating disorders, and suicide prevention.

Position Overview

MQF is seeking an experienced outreach consultant to lead applicant sourcing and pipeline-building for the 2027 MQ Fellows Award cycle. The consultant will proactively identify, contact, and engage early-career researchers and research institutions to build a strong, diverse, and internationally competitive pool of applicants, with the goal of ultimately supporting four (4) Fellows through three-year, $400,000 grant awards. This is an outreach and relationship-building role, not a scientific review role: the consultant will not participate in application assessment or funding decisions, which remain the responsibility of MQF's independent Funding Committee.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute an outreach strategy to identify strong prospective candidates for the 2027 MQ Fellows Award, aiming to build a robust and diverse applicant pool from which four Fellows will ultimately be recommended for funding.
• Research and maintain a target list of universities, research institutes, academic departments, and early-career researcher networks (e.g., postdoctoral associations, professional societies) relevant to MQF's priority research areas: children and young people's mental health, digital and emerging technologies, eating disorders, and suicide prevention.
• Directly contact prospective applicants, research office staff, department chairs, and postdoctoral/fellowship program coordinators to promote the Fellows Award and encourage Expressions of Interest.
• Distribute outreach materials, including emails, social media content, and informational one-pagers, in coordination with MQF's and MQMHR Communications and Development team.
• Track outreach activity, applicant engagement, and pipeline progress using MQF's grants management system and/or a shared tracking spreadsheet; provide regular status reports to the Executive Director.
• Field candidate questions about eligibility, the application process, and award terms, referring scientific or programmatic questions to MQF staff as appropriate.
• Pay particular attention to expanding geographic and institutional diversity in the applicant pool, building on lessons learned from prior funding rounds.
• Coordinate with MQF staff on timelines aligned to the Expression of Interest, Full Application, and Applicant Video Response stages of the assessment process.

Qualifications

• Based in or able to work U.S. Eastern hours preferred (MQF is based in New York, NY)
• Prior experience in academic outreach, grants administration, research development, or nonprofit fundraising/program development, ideally within a research funding or higher education context.
• Familiarity with the academic research landscape, including how to identify and reach early-career researchers (postdocs, junior faculty) at universities and research institutes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; comfortable engaging with researchers, administrators, and academic leadership.
• Strong organizational skills and comfort managing a multi-institution outreach pipeline independently.
• Familiarity with mental health research or the scientific grant application process is a plus but not required.
• Experience with grants management platforms or CRM/pipeline tracking tools is a plus.

Program Context

The MQ Fellows Award provides funding for independent mental health research across the full research pathway. For the 2027 cycle, MQF aims to identify and support four (4) Fellows, each to receive a three-year grant award of $400,000. Prior funding rounds have attracted applicant pools of 200+ Expressions of Interest from researchers across 25+ countries and 150+ institutions; a core goal of this outreach role is to sustain and, where possible, broaden that reach ahead of the 2027 call.

Deliverables & Success Metrics

• A documented outreach plan and target institution/researcher list, developed within the first month of engagement.
• A robust and diverse pool of Expressions of Interest sufficient to support the recommendation of four fundable Fellows in the 2027 cycle.
• Regular (e.g., biweekly) pipeline and outreach activity reports to the Executive Director.
• Positive engagement and responsiveness from targeted institutions and researcher networks, tracked via outreach records.

To Apply

Please submit a resume/CV and brief cover note describing relevant outreach or research development experience.