Director, Award Development

Staffing Advisors has been exclusively retained by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (“PCORI”) to conduct a search for a Director, ADI. PCORI is an equal opportunity employer.

Please submit your application to Staffing Advisors through this link: Director, Award Development & Implementation - Staffing Advisors

Staffing Advisors is committed to reducing bias in every aspect of the hiring process. We have long recommended a competency-driven approach to hiring. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. We encourage you to apply even if your experience is not a 100% match with the position description; we will consider people from a variety of backgrounds and career experiences.

Please do not contact PCORI directly; all resumes sent to PCORI will be routed to Staffing Advisors for handling and will create delays.

About Us

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010 and the leading funder of patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research in the US. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers, and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to continually seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.

Position Summary

As Director of Award Development & Implementation (ADI), you will report to the Chief Officer, Program Operations, and oversee a high-performing and mission-driven team of staff and contractors within both hybrid and remote work models. The mission of Program Operations is to enable the success of PCORI funding initiatives by providing leadership, expertise, collaboration, and management across the full award process lifecycle, spurring innovation and optimization and accelerating progress toward achieving PCORI’s overarching mission for health. ADI responsibilities enable the effective development and implementation of PCORI funding awards.

PCORI receives hundreds of funding applications per year through multiple funding cycles and a diversity of funding opportunity types. The Director of ADI will be instrumental in leading ADI’s program and project management functions, providing strategic leadership, collaboration, and/or coordination across PCORI for critical activities including funding opportunity development and release; funding opportunity outreach and communications; post-review funding approval processes; and development and implementation of PCORI funding policies and processes.

This position is primarily internally focused, supporting the ADI team and fostering active collaboration across all Program Operations units (Contract Management (CM), Merit Review (MR), Peer Review (PR), Award Process Management (APM)), Patient-Centered Research Programs Department divisions (PCRP), and all other divisions of PCORI. The Director will also lead evaluation of award funding processes to ensure best practices and high achievement regarding industry benchmarks. While the key focus is internal, some external liaising with nonprofit healthcare research funding partners on best practices and innovation in funding practices is expected.

This role requires thoughtful, effective management including organizing ADI activities and mentoring ADI staff, leveraging strengths across the team and fostering productive collaboration. Success depends on an ability to create an environment of trust and respect, evaluate and refine current processes while incorporating effective change management, and put in place practices that are understood and used by all involved PCORI leaders and staff. An ability to build strong relationships and collaborations to confidently and effectively interact, engage, and negotiate with PCORI leaders and staff is essential.

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and leverage close collaborations across the programmatic divisions of the Patient-Centered Research Programs Department, including 1) Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research (CER), 2) Engagement, Dissemination, & Implementation (EDI), and 3) Research Infrastructure & Innovation (RII) to effectively implement PCORI’s programmatic goals with respect to PCORI’s National Priorities for Health and Research Agenda.
• Lead the coordination, collaboration, and development of all new funding opportunity initiatives, fostering environments to gather and exchange information from all key internal stakeholders (e.g., CER, EDI, RII, CM, MR, APM, Office of the General Counsel, etc.).
• Lead the development, implementation, and/or refinement of ADI activities, including the PCORI funding cycle timeline, and create multi-year strategic goals that align with PCORI’s strategic plan and priorities.
• Engage and foster collaboration with PCORI’s Communications division to advance award outreach and communications strategies.
• Build, evaluate and/or refine current policies and processes, and put in place relevant best practices and/or innovative business procedures and efficiencies that are understood and used by all involved PCORI leaders and staff. As appropriate, work externally with peers and their research communities, ensuring that PCORI is a strong voice in and contributor to the nonprofit health research funding sector.
• Collaborate with PCORI’s Planning & Evaluation division to identify methods to track unit, division, and department progress in achieving goals, interpret evaluation findings, proactively report on progress, and incorporate lessons from evaluation activities to adjust associated strategies, policies, and processes as needed.
• Provide expert guidance and leadership to intra-ADI and cross-functional interactions across all divisions of the PCRP as well as divisions within other PCORI departments (Communications, Planning & Reporting, DIGITAL (IT); Procurement Services; Office of the General Counsel, and others including but not limited to those listed above).
• Serve as a key member of the Program Operations leadership team, overseen by the Chief Officer, Program Operations, to contribute to strategies and special projects that improve the division’s work and successfully develop division staff.
• As requested, serve as a member or leader on cross-PCORI groups conducting special projects to advance organizational goals.

Oversight and Management of ADI Team and Responsibilities

• Oversee and support the professional development of a highly effective team of staff and contractors of multiple levels and areas of responsibility to ensure the successful execution of award development and implementation strategies.
• Oversee and provide guidance for the effective and collaborative development, refinement, and execution of the PCORI annual funding cycle timeline.
• Oversee and ensure consistency, efficiency, and efficacy in the development of funding opportunities for research and research-related projects. This includes a broad range of activities such as engagement in PCORI Research Project Agenda Topic Themes development; leadership and process refinement for internal Funding Opportunity Plan development and approvals; and leadership and process refinement for PCORI Funding Announcement development, approvals, and release. Provide keen attention such that all process requirements be value-added, balancing the needs of staff and applicants.
• Maintain close collaboration with the APM unit to ensure that PCORI’s existing or new technological functionalities (e.g., Award Management System set-ups) meet the requirements of upcoming funding announcements and the award funding lifecycle overall.
• Provide leadership, guidance, and support for cross-division meetings and other modes of effective internal communication to advance collaborative award development and implementation to achieve programmatic goals.
• Provide guidance for and enhance collaborative outreach and communications strategies with respect to PCORI funding opportunities through support of the ADI team’s communications-related activities and active collaboration and partnership with PCORI’s Communications division.
• Oversee and ensure consistency, efficiency, efficacy, and integrity in ADI’s leadership, coordination, and management of funding approval processes across PCRP programmatic goals and award programs, including but not limited to the major function of administration of the Standing Selection Committee, a subcommittee of the PCORI Board of Governors.
• Oversee and support PCORI Library Strategies and Services (LSS), which provides PCORI staff with access to scholarly information resources necessary to inform the organization's work. This includes research consultations, literature search support, library instruction, and managing subscriptions to library resources. LSS also manages the awardee publication tracking process and PCORI payment of Public Access fees for Journal Articles, while ensuring compliance with LSS policies and procedures.
• Across all areas of ADI responsibilities, develop and execute proactive, strategic efforts to improve DEI in PCORI funding processes.
• Oversee and support activities to develop, maintain, or refine workforce or other needs of the team.
• Develop, manage, and maintain the ADI unit's annual operating budget.
• Interact effectively with all members of the ADI team (including staff, third-party workers, and interns), members of the PCORI senior staff, and PCORI staff at all levels, and external stakeholders/sector leaders, as requested.
• Foster, support, and align with the Program Operations goal of proactively cultivating, through actions and attitudes, a culture of support, synergy, respect, trustworthiness, and accountability with all PCORI leaders and staff.

Award/Funding Policies

• Lead the identification, formulation, revision, implementation, and compliance monitoring of PCORI policies and procedures relating to the broad scope of award development and implementation activities.
• Develop or refine coordination and/or collaboration processes to ensure that policies are effectively informed by and communicated to all internal (and external, as appropriate) stakeholders.
• Build and support collaboration and/or partnership as needed with the department of Strategy, Planning, & Outreach or other internal groups as stakeholders in PCORI policies and procedures.

Visibility in Sector

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with other nonprofit health research funders, leading experts, and other stakeholders.
• Represent PCORI at relevant sector events, including the research communities, and promote our unique patient-centered approach to merit review.

Incumbents in this position may be required to perform other duties and special assignments not specifically stated above.

Statements outlined in this section are designated as essential job functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.