Executive Director Research Engagement - Associate/Full Professor - Tenure

Department/Organization

704102 - Office for ASSIST

Rank

Associate/Full Professor

Position Summary

At The University of Alabama, our commitment to research excellence is at the heart of our academic mission. As a premier R1 research institution, we are aggressively executing our Research 2030 Strategic Plan to scale our research enterprise, expand our global footprint, and significantly increase annual research expenditures. We are dedicated to fostering a culture of transformative innovation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and groundbreaking discovery across all academic fields and departments. The Division for Research plays a pivotal role in this growth. Through our Integrated Venture Development (IVD) unit, we provide the foundational resources, strategic runway, and intentional guidance necessary to empower our faculty, staff, and students as they pursue complex scholarly endeavors. To lead this charge, we are seeking a visionary, peer-level leader to serve as the Director for Research Engagement. This unique 50% faculty appointment is designed for an active, highly respected scholar who possesses deep credibility "in the trenches" of academic grant-seeking. The successful candidate will be a collaborative, multidisciplinary generalist with a proven track record of securing and executing major, center-scale federal programs (such as DoD, DoE, NIH, or NSF initiatives). Overseeing the Research ASSIST Office, this leader will champion an end-to-end institutional framework focused strictly on proactive research development rather than administrative compliance. They will build a trusted, visible ground game across campus, working non-invasively alongside Deans, Center Directors, and Institute Directors to build consensus and cross-functional teams.

Detailed Position Information

The ideal candidate will bring a proven and active history of leadership as a Principal Investigator or Co-PI, with a demonstrated track record in securing, executing, and scaling major federal grants and center-level programs across agencies such as the DoD, DoE, NIH, or NSF. They must possess exceptional success in building proactive, multi-year relationships with national laboratories, federal funding agencies, and industrial consortia to advance institutional research agendas. Furthermore, this leader must be a true champion for multidisciplinary advocacy, showing a deep capacity to understand, respect, and support diverse fields of scholarship while exhibiting a genuine commitment to advancing the entire university enterprise across both STEM and non-STEM disciplines.
Interpersonal excellence, tactical diplomacy, and high emotional intelligence are absolutely paramount for this role, as the Director will need to navigate deep institutional complexities, bridge administrative silos, and seamlessly coordinate across diverse colleges. We are looking for someone who can establish an active, trusted "ground game" with faculty peers, building administrative consensus and mutual respect without imposing top-down compliance burdens. This requires elite written and verbal communication skills, characterized by transparency, reliable accessibility, and an open, approachable communication style that resonates across all levels of university leadership and operational staff.
Finally, the successful candidate must exhibit strong operational resilience and the adaptability required to thrive in a highly dynamic, fast-paced research environment. They should demonstrate patience, reliability, and emotional stability when balancing the competing priorities of diverse stakeholders under pressure. This role demands advanced strategic planning skills paired with the realistic foresight to manage constrained operational resources, pace deliverables, and establish multi-year, "long-runway" planning. Ultimately, we are seeking a motivational leader with a collaborative demeanor who naturally inspires and mentors faculty, builds effective research teams, and acts as a cultural catalyst for cross-disciplinary team science.

Minimum Qualifications

Tenured Associate Professor or higher academic rank, with preference given to candidates at the Full Professor level. Terminal Degree.

Preferred Qualifications

Demonstrated track record of securing competitive external funding from multiple federal, state, industry, or other external funding agencies.

About the University

The University of Alabama is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, named one of Travel + Leisure’s 25 Best College Towns and Cities in the U.S. As one of the nation’s premier universities, UA offers bachelor’s, master's and doctoral degrees in nearly 200 fields of study. With more than 1,400 acres of tree-lined academic core campus and over 300 state-of-the art facilities, UA has been ranked among the most beautiful and most impressive college campuses in the South, in the state of Alabama and in the nation.

In Fall 2023, the Capstone set a new enrollment record with more than 39,000 students, including more than 8,200 in the freshman class. The current enrollment includes students from every county in Alabama, every state in the nation and 92 countries around the world. More than 1,100 National Merit Scholars are currently enrolled, making UA one of the largest enrolling institutions of the scholars in the country.

UA was recently recognized as a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. students for the seventh time in nine years, as well as a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. Scholars for the first time. UA is one of only 12 universities in the nation to receive both honors.

For reasons like this, the University made Forbes list of America’s Top Colleges for 2023 and Time magazine’s list of Top 50 Best Colleges for Future Leaders. It also made Princeton Review’s list of Top Value Colleges.

UA is also designated among the top doctoral research universities in the United States in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. One of the fastest growing major research institutions in the nation, UA saw a 21% increase in sponsored awards in the 2023 fiscal year.

Since 2015, UA has invested over $1.1 billion in the physical campus, adding more than 2.55 million gross square feet of space, over 150 new research-intensive faculty, signature research areas (e.g., “The Alabama Research Institutes”), and a growing number of partnerships with industry and with state and federal agencies.

The University employs nearly 2,100 faculty and over 4,500 staff, with 52 UA researchers included in the National Academy of Inventors. An additional 40 current faculty have received the NSF CAREER Award, the nation’s most prestigious recognition of top performing young scientists in disciplines ranging from nanoscience and engineering to biological sciences.

Background Investigation and EEO Statement

Background Investigation Statement: Prior to hiring, the final candidate(s) must successfully pass a pre-employment background investigation and information obtained from social media and other internet sources. A prior conviction reported as a result of the background investigation DOES NOT automatically disqualify a candidate from consideration for this position. A candidate with a prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags will receive an individualized review of the prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags before a hiring decision is made.

Equal Employment Opportunity: The University of Alabama is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment or volunteer status without regard to any legally protected basis and will not be discriminated against because of their protected status. Applicants and employees of this institution are protected under Federal law from discrimination on several bases. More information is available in the EEOC’s Know Your Rights: Workplace ( discrimination is illegal poster.

The University of Alabama affirms its longstanding commitment to institutional neutrality, free speech, and academic freedom.