Research Development Advisor

Overview

Job Title: Research Development Advisor

Directorate: Research Engagement Directorate

Contract Type: Open-ended, 0.6 FTE - Hybrid working is considered for this role

Grade and salary: Grade 7 (£37,694.00-£47,389.00 for full-time equivalent)

Annual Leave: 33 days, plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday).

Staff on grade 6-10 can opt to join the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). The University currently contributes the equivalent of 14.5% of an employee's annual salary and the employee currently contributes 6.1%.

The primary purpose of this role is to provide researchers with both direct and indirect support in developing, costing, and managing research proposals. The post‑holder will help ensure that proposals are prepared efficiently and that the University achieves maximum cost recovery. In addition, the role will contribute to pre‑competitive development activities that strengthen and streamline the overall research development process. We would particularly welcome those with some experience of EC and/or other international funding applications.

The successful candidate will work closely with colleagues across the University, as well as external partners and funders. We are seeking a highly organised individual with strong communication and financial skills, and experience in research support—ideally within a university or relevant industry setting.

About our School/Directorate and Team

The Research Engagement Directorate (RED) provides high quality support for the Heriot-Watt research community across three divisions:
Research and Researcher Development, Legal, and Policy, Strategy and Impact. Working closely with the Business and Enterprise Directorate, RED works to deliver the Excelling in Research and Enterprise theme of Strategy 2025 and to shape the direction of Strategy 2035.

As a result of a recent restructuring, the Research and Researcher Development division has a renewed focus and extended remit with two teams who together support researchers from post-graduate to professorial level in an integrated way. The Research Futures Hub is being established within the Research and Researcher Development division and it incorporates a Graduate School to support an equitable and high-quality experience for the global community of post-graduate and post-doctoral researchers.

The Research Development team provides support for pre-award research proposal development, working in partnership across Schools to advise and target significant funding opportunities and enhance researchers’ skills and experience to succeed in attracting research grant funding. The team works at pace, in response to strict funder deadlines.

Following the restructuring, a vacancy has arisen for a Research Development Advisor to lead the pre-award service. They will be responsible for shaping and delivering high-quality support for research proposal development across the institution.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a newly integrated division that champions researcher development and research success, and to help shape the future of research support at a time of renewed institutional focus and investment.

• Identify relevant funding calls and disseminate these to appropriate research staff
• Support the preparation and development of proposals to Research Councils, the European Commission, charities, public bodies, and multi-sponsor industrial partners. Assist with costing, electronic submission processes, and authorisation on behalf of the University
• Provide support to researchers and support staff on proposal development to ensure the optimal benefit for the University from the costing and pricing of funding bids principally by maximising cost recovery from funding bids
• Support and maintain research management and administration systems
  • Coordinate the submission and award processes for research proposals and contracts, including electronic submissions to systems such as TFS (Research Councils) and e-GAP (Royal Society)
  • Ensure proposals comply with financial, legal, ethical, and commercial requirements
  • Manage the flow…