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Executive Director for Research Initiatives - Houston, United States - Rice University

Rice University

Verified Company

Houston, United States

1 month ago

Posted by:

Mark Lane

beBee recruiter

Description

Position Summary

The Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice University was established in 1986 and is dedicated to the advancement of research in the fields of AI, Data, and Computing.

While most of the Institute's members are in engineering and natural sciences, the Institute has members from several schools at Rice.

The Institute fosters the development of fundamental and applied research in AI, Data, and Computing, and assists multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research efforts challenging traditional limits.

The Institute fiercely supports activities that connect its members with each other, with other institutes at Rice, with its immediate community, including the Texas Medical Center, and globally with other universities, government labs, industry, and philanthropic and private foundations.

The Institute coordinates large-scale proposals that are aligned with the mission of the Institute and Rice University.

It also seeks to build an endowment to support research through top-tier graduate student recruiting, prestigious postdoctoral fellowships, and invitations to global scholars.

The Ken Kennedy Institute works to create a sustainable eco-system that promotes long-term growth and international preeminence in AI, Data, and Computing.

In collaboration with the Faculty Director of the Institute and its Advisory Board, the Executive Director develops plans to achieve the Institute's mission and strategic priorities and is responsible for directing the implementation of these plans.

The primary responsibilities of the Executive director are (a) fund-raising, which includes identifying, qualifying, and developing potential funding sources and opportunities that will bring additional research funding aligned with the Institute's research directions, and developing and writing proposals to leverage these opportunities in collaboration with interested faculty members; and (b) community-building internally and externally which includes facilitating intersecting research communities within the Institute, connecting them with researchers at other institutions at the local, national and international level, and establishing long-term strategic relationships and partnerships for the Institute (with state and federal agencies, industry, foundations, philanthropic entities, universities, the Texas Medical Center, and other relevant organizations).

In addition, the Executive Director, aided by the Director of Operations of the Institute, leads the alignment of resources with the Institute's mission and strategy, oversees the Institute's administrative workload and programmatic activities, staff hiring, as well as their needs, and a plan for staff growth.

The Executive Director reports to the Faculty Director of the Institute, and represents the Institute internally and externally as needed.

The Executive Director will work closely with university administrators, associated faculty, postdoctoral and graduate students to fulfill the mission of the Institute.

Requirements:

Bachelor's Degree
6 years of related experience
Demonstrated experience in most of the following:
Effectiveness in working with faculty at a research-intensive university or similar research environment in industry
Prior work in the areas of AI, Data, and Computing
Ability to attract agency and corporate funding in the areas of AI, Data, and Computing
Effectiveness in collaborations with some of the following organizations: government agencies, NGOs, industry, medical institutions, research foundations, and philanthropic organizations
Ability to translate strategy into actionable plans and oversee execution
An established network of contacts in broad types of corporations and organizations

Skills

Highly motivated and creative
Exemplary communication skills both verbal and written
Ability to work well under pressure and manage several projects simultaneously
Strategic skills to craft and implement fundraising and/or project plans
Ability to raise funding
Advanced problemsolving skills, adept at creating contingency plans
Excellent organizational and time management skills
Attention to detail and flexibility
Ability to work independently and as part of a team to meet expected deadlines and schedules
Ability to be an effective and coherent leader and the capacity to lead highly motivated and autonomous staff in an effective and flexible way
Entrepreneurial mindset, with a track record of innovative thinking, analysis and practical activities
Capacity to think analytically, and to develop new and innovative approaches to external affairs
Ability to build sustainable professional relationships
Entrepreneurial with a track record of innovative thinking, analysis and practical activities
Ability to influence decisionmakers across all types of organizations