Assistant Director for Research Communication

The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs seeks an Assistant Director of Research Communication to provide support for graduate and professional degree students and postdocs in the broad area of research communication. Working as part of a dynamic team within the University’s PhD Plus program, the Assistant Director will support an essential component to the Office’s efforts to help students and trainees build professional competencies that contribute to long-term success in a wide range of future careers. Areas of focus for the selected candidate will include providing training to graduate students and postdocs in presenting research to multiple audiences and through different modes (oral, written, graphic, digital), in fellowship and grant writing, and in communication skills required for careers in areas such as public humanities, research communication, public engagement and science policy. We seek candidates with interest and skills in research communication training in a combination of areas, including the arts and humanities. The Assistant Director will report to the Director of Career and Professional Development in the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs.

Specific responsibilities of the Assistant Director will include:

Presentation and Professional Writing Training:

• Enhancing and delivering workshops, collaborative training programs, and courses via PhD Plus on oral and written research communication.
  
• Leading training, preparation, and execution of the University’s Grad Thesis Slam competition for doctoral students.
  
• Collaborating on research presentation training for UVA student- and postdoc-led conferences and symposia, including the University’s Postdoctoral Research Symposium.
  
• Supporting programs in writing for diverse career paths (i.e., professional writing skills, op-ed training programs, dissertation writing support).
  

Career Development for Communication-related Career Areas:

• Offering individual career advising appointments for students and postdocs interested in a wide range of career fields, including but not limited to faculty roles, public humanities careers, writing and communication careers, digital humanities, and more.
  
• Collaborating with program partners and student groups on the development and implementation of training in dissertation writing, op-eds, public-facing research communication products and related skill development.
  
• Developing communication components that support and complement the PhD Plus program’s core modules, including future faculty, public humanities careers, research communication, and business, etc. Specific examples include training for podcasts, public writing (blogs, op-eds), research pitches, media interviews, data and graphical storytelling, digital humanities, press release, communicating research on social media, public-facing e-blasts, professional memoranda, etc.
  

Fellowship and Grant Training and Support:

• Enhancing and developing workshops and offering individual advising sessions for a wide variety of specific funding opportunities, such as the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Fulbright, NIH individual fellowships, AAAS fellowship, etc.
  
• Developing and implementing resources to facilitate and advance grant and fellowship proposal writing skills, including organizing workshop series, bootcamps, writing retreats, and more, in collaboration with other units and personnel as appropriate .
  
• Developing and executing strategies for the collection, management, and curation of data on trends in the numbers of proposals submitted and funded across the University .
  

To facilitate these goals, the Assistant Director will have access to existing University resources such as institutionally subscribed systems and databases including GrantForward and will have the opportunity to leverage additional resources to meet specific objectives .

Minimum Qualifications :

• A master's degree is required .
  
• Two years of experience in career development, placement, and counseling.
  

Preferred Qualifications:

The Assistant Director will possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and a strong desire to work with graduate students, postdocs, faculty and administrators from a wide range of fields across the University. They will be able to manage multiple projects and priorities with various content and organizational responsibilities and separate deadlines.

A PhD (in any field) or terminal degree at the time of appointment is preferred, as is advising and/or counseling experience in a higher education setting and knowledge of the current funding landscape for graduate students and postdocs.

Additional desired qualifications and experience:

• Demonstrated success in grant/fellowship writing (including as a student and/or postdoc). Experience supporting trainees in writing applications and/or serving as a reviewer on selection panels or committees is preferred.
  
• Experience in the general area of research communication.
  
• Instructional experience, including teaching, leading workshops, etc. at the college-level.
  
• Development of electronic resources and communication (websites, newsletter, e-blasts, social media posts, etc.).
  

Physical Demands

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

About the Position :

The position is an exempt level, benefited position. For more information on the benefits at UVA, visit www. hr.virginia.edu/benefi ts . Anticipated Hiring Range: $67,500.00 - $77,500.00 commensurate with education and experience.

This position is Hybrid located in Charlottesville, VA . This position is a restricted position and is dependent upon project need, availability of funding and performance.

This is a n Exempt level, benefited position. This position will remain open until filled . This position will not sponsor applicants for work visas. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.

To Apply:

Review of applications will begin April 7, 2025. Please apply through the UVA Job Board and search R0070601. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile by searching 'Find Jobs'.

Complete an application online with the following documents:

• CV
  
• Cover letter
  

Upload all materials into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Alternatively, merge all documents into one PDF for submission. Applications that do not contain all required documents will not receive full consideration.

References will be completed via UVA’s standardized process Skill Survey. A total of five references will be requested via SkillSurvey during the final phase of the interview process.

For questions about the application process, please contact Jon Freeman , Recruiting Specialist, at jf2sw @virginia.edu

For more information about UVA and the Charlottesville community please see http://www.virginia.edu/life/charlottesville and https://embarkcva.com/.

The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Click here to read more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.