Postdoctoral Program Coordinator

8:00 am - 5:00 pm; Monday-Friday with occasional evening and weekend hours

required, as necessary.

The Center for Research Excellence ( CRE) provides research development support to individual researchers, collaborators, and multidisciplinary research teams across the university. To advance our goal of increasing external funding to the University, we offer project-opportunity-sponsor alignment, ongoing proposal development support, plus training and professional development programs designed to support increased research productivity among faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. To further encourage seamless development of increasingly larger external grant applications, CRE also provides training for research administration professionals and manages several signature internal grant programs.

The Postdoctoral Program Coordinator will be the primary point of contact for UNC Charlotte's postdoctoral fellows' program while also providing research development support to postdoctoral fellows and faculty mentors. The main functional areas of this position will include postdoctoral program administration and management, research development and training support to postdocs, some support in the described areas to other faculty and staff researchers, and developing baseline data and tracking metrics for the postdoctoral program overall. The position will liaise with faculty mentors, the Division of Research's Office of Budget and Personnel, and other internal and external stakeholders. Responsibilities include planning and coordinating postdoctoral programming (e.g., organizing events), managing resources, providing outreach and follow-up communication, establishing metrics for tracking program outcomes, supporting an assessment process for the postdoctoral program, and regularly connecting with the postdoc community. This position will report to the Executive Director of the Center for Research Excellence.

Program Coordination and Support:
Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to develop, revise, and implement policies and procedures for postdoctoral programs (Office of Legal Affairs, Division of Research, Academic Affairs, Graduate School, International Student and Scholar Office, Center for Advancing Faculty Success, National Postdoctoral Association, etc.). Ensure visibility of postdoc support and professional development among PIs and other faculty through meetings and presentations. Develop and execute a structured orientation plan for new postdocs, including familiarizing them with campus resources and opportunities. Provide or source one-on-one career development consultations. Support postdoctoral scholar employment processes and job search programming. Convey and promote via newsletter and social media platforms professional development opportunities, job postings, grant and fellowship deadlines, and other news relevant to postdocs. Plan and execute programming for National Postdoc Appreciation Week each September. Support the writing of postdocs into grants, offer proposal development support, and consultations when appropriate. Make campus stakeholders aware of classification, policy, and procedural concerns related to postdocs. Maintain postdoc "alumni" network. Attend relevant professional development workshops and conferences.
Research Development & Training Support:
Plan and execute training and professional development for postdocs aligned with the six core competencies identified by the National Postdoctoral Association (discipline-specific conceptual knowledge, research skill development, communication skills, professionalism, leadership and management skills, responsible conduct of research). To support the development of research skills among postdocs and faculty, this position will collaborate with all DR units and DR's Research Training Coordinator to deliver mentee, career development, funding search, compliance, and proposal development training and/or workshops (promotion, scheduling, securing training space, recruiting participants, managing day-of-training logistics). Conduct funding opportunity and collaborator searches on behalf of postdoctoral and faculty researchers seeking curated searches to support securing external funding. Coordinate demonstrations of funding database tools ( COS-Pivot, Academic Analytics, Grants.gov, foundation funding).

Program Administration & Management:
Maintain accurate records of postdoctoral scholar rosters, programs, and activities- Liaise with DR's Office of Budget and Personnel on fiscal and HR-related issues related to postdoctoral fellows. Keep postdoc departmental representatives updated on related program policies, regulations, procedures, and current events through written communications and periodic training sessions. Arrange for and support postdoc community-building events. Maintain and update the postdoc tab of the DR website.

Metrics, Reporting, & Analysis:
In alignment with strategic goals for postdoctoral programming and outreach, develop and coordinate a process for tracking participant progression, program and training assessments, and reporting outcomes. Document, organize, and file programming information plus historical data in a shared program drive. Maintain updated benchmarks with postdoc peer programs. Track and file postdocs' annual performance reviews. Track, analyze, and report on postdoc program and activity outcomes. Other duties as assigned

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