Description:

Position Summary

The Senior Director, Government Funding & Partnerships is responsible for building and executing the University City Science Center's federal funding and contract capture strategy. This role owns the end-to-end pipeline for identifying, qualifying, pursuing, and winning federal grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts (prime and subaward) that advance the Science Center's mission and programs across innovation, entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, workforce development, and inclusive economic growth.

The Senior Director serves as the organization's primary driver of federal proposal development and "contract hunting," with particular emphasis on agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), and a strong preference for recent experience pursuing Department of Defense (DoD) and defense innovation opportunities (e.g., BAAs, SBIR/STTR, Other Transaction (OT) pathways, and related innovation programs). They cultivate relationships with program officers, contracting officials, prime contractors, and strategic partners to position the Science Center for awards aligned with current federal priorities.

In addition to managing the Science Center's institutional federal funding pipeline, the Senior Director builds and manages an outward-facing federal funding support function for Science Center portfolio companies and ecosystem participants — helping founders navigate SBIR/STTR, NIH, NSF, DoD, and other federal funding pathways as a core line of business. This function operates in direct coordination with the SVP New Ventures and Innovation and is central to the Science Center's value proposition as a federal funding connector within the regional innovation ecosystem.

In addition to federal funding, the Senior Director supports a diversified funding mix by partnering with Advancement to secure competitive foundation support (national and regional) that complements public funding and accelerates program impact.

Government relations and limited lobbying support are a part of the role, with a focus on directly enabling Science Center funding priorities (e.g., appropriations, agency engagement, and removal of barriers to award execution).

This position reports to the SVP New Ventures and Innovation and manages the Science Center's internal pre-award and post-award functions, including a Pre-Award/Proposal Operations Manager and a Post-Award Grants & Contracts/Compliance Manager. The Senior Director is accountable for creating repeatable processes, driving on-time/high-quality submissions, strengthening post-award compliance and reporting, and improving the Science Center's overall win rate and return on investment for pursuits. They may also manage external consultants (e.g., proposal writers, budget specialists, compliance experts, and lobbying support) as needed.

This position has access to sensitive Science Center employee and financial information and is expected to handle such information with integrity and professionalism. They are expected to represent the Science Center in a professional manner at all times.?

Essential Functions

Federal Funding Strategy and Pipeline Management

· Own the Science Center's federal funding strategy, including annual targets, priority agency portfolios, and pursuit calendar.

· Build and maintain a transparent opportunity pipeline (grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and subawards), including a disciplined go/no-go process and pursuit plans.

· Track opportunity stages, probability, resource needs, and timelines; provide regular pipeline reporting to leadership with clear recommendations on prioritization.

· Develop and maintain relationships with federal program officers, contracting officials, and key intermediaries to surface opportunities early and shape competitive positioning.

· Maintain performance metrics with operational teeth: total pipeline value, number of active pursuits, submission volume, conversion rate, and total awards secured on an annual basis.

Emergent Federal Funding Support for Portfolio Companies

· Build and manage a structured pipeline of federal funding opportunities for Science Center portfolio companies and ecosystem participants, including SBIR/STTR (NSF, NIH, DoD, and other agencies), OTA consortium participation, and relevant innovation funding programs.

· Provide direct navigation support to founders pursuing federal contracts and grants — including opportunity identification, agency positioning, solicitation interpretation, and application strategy — at the appropriate stage of company development.

· Track company-facing engagement activity, application pipeline, award outcomes, and follow-on funding conversion; report pipeline performance to the SVP New Ventures and Innovation on a regular cadence.

· Develop scalable programming, tools, and resources that increase the Science Center's capacity to serve multiple companies simultaneously without proportional headcount growth.

· Position the Science Center as the authoritative federal funding connector within the regional innovation ecosystem; represent this capability in capital readiness programming, investor engagement, and external partner convenings.

· Work in direct coordination with the SVP New Ventures and Innovation to align company-facing federal programming with capital readiness strategies, portfolio priorities, and investor-facing narratives.

Proposal Development and Capture Execution

· Lead end-to-end proposal development for competitive federal solicitations (RFPs, NOFOs, BAAs), including narrative strategy, partner coordination, workplan design, and submission quality control.

· Coordinate cross-functional inputs from program leads, finance, evaluation, and operations to ensure proposals are technically compelling, compliant, and budget-realistic.

· Develop compliant budgets and cost narratives in collaboration with Finance and program leads, ensuring alignment with solicitation requirements and internal cost policies.

· Negotiate and structure partnership roles (prime/sub), MOUs, teaming agreements, and subaward budgets as needed to support submissions.

DoD and Defense Innovation Portfolio

· Develop and execute a focused DoD/defense innovation pursuit strategy, including identification of near-term contract opportunities and longer-cycle programmatic funding.

· Build relationships with defense innovation stakeholders (government, primes, integrators, and labs) to position the Science Center for subcontracting and consortium participation where relevant.

· Guide internal teams on defense-specific compliance considerations (e.g., procurement requirements, security-related constraints where applicable) and ensure appropriate internal review.

Foundation and Blended Funding Development

· Partner with Advancement to identify and pursue foundation opportunities that align with Science Center programs and can be paired with public funding for greater scale.

· Support development of compelling cases for support, concept papers, and full proposals to foundations and other mission-aligned philanthropic funders.

Post-Award Coordination, Compliance, and Performance

· Oversee internal processes that support compliant management of federal awards, including adherence to 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance), award terms, reporting, and audit readiness.

· In partnership with Grants Compliance and Finance, review award documents (contracts, subawards, amendments) and set up internal tracking for deliverables, budgets, and reporting deadlines.

· Promote continuous improvement of proposal and post-award processes through templates, checklists, training, and lessons learned after submissions and awards.

Team Leadership and Operational Management

· Manage and develop the internal pre-award and post-award team (including a Pre-Award/Proposal Operations Manager and a Post-Award Grants & Contracts/Compliance Manager); set clear goals, performance expectations, and professional development plans.

· Establish standard operating procedures for pipeline management, proposal development, internal approvals, and compliance handoffs.

· Effectively manage outside consultants as needed (e.g., proposal writers, budget specialists, compliance experts, and government relations/lobbying support), including scopes, budgets, and performance.

Government Relations and Advocacy

· Develop and maintain relationships with local, state, and federal officials and relevant agencies to support Science Center funding priorities and program outcomes.

· Coordinate with and provide operational oversight of external lobbyists and government relations consultants as appropriate; align strategy, messaging, and budgets with specific funding pursuits.

· Monitor legislative, regulatory, and appropriations developments that impact the Science Center; translate changes into capture opportunities, risks, and recommended actions.

· Represent the Science Center in select coalitions, associations, and convenings when participation directly supports funding and contracting objectives.

General Responsibilities

· Effectively and efficiently manage the cost and performance of outside consultants and internal expenses.

· Monitor and directly promote business growth and development across all Science Center departments, through government relations and grant activity.

· Contribute to internal and external communications, messaging, marketing, and promotion, as appropriate.

· Maintain strict confidentiality and handle sensitive employee, partner, and financial information with integrity and professionalism.

· Represent the Science Center professionally with funders, partners, and external stakeholders.

· Contribute to internal and external communications as appropriate to support positioning for funding opportunities.

Other duties as assigned within the scope of the position, consistent with the organization's mission and priorities.

UCSC Leadership Competencies

Embodies and Models Science Center Values:

Unity:

Promotes one Science Center, united and guided by our mission.

Openness and Curiosity: We make space in our work for people to be seen and heard while expanding our empathy and mutual respect of each other’s boundaries, experiences, and person.

Integrity:

Creates an environment of trust and integrity. Honest and ethical in everything.

Impact: Works to make a meaningful and measurable difference in the lives of others.

Equity & Inclusion:

Fosters an environment that embraces the strength in the diversity of our team and our community.

Innovation in Action: Committed to continuous learning and open to new ideas that drive positive change.

Judgement and Problem Solving:

Makes decisions that are sound, accurate, timely and supported by the reasoning and inclusion of others. Effectively balances individual needs and those of the organization in decision-making. Understands the impact of communication and decisions on the larger system.

Resourcefulness/Initiative:

Identifies opportunities and issues, proactively acts and follows through on work activities to resolve or capitalize on them. Thinks strategically and anticipates needs of the organization. Leads with initiatives and ideas, gathers support from others to meet common goals.

Develops Self and Others:

Fosters a climate for the learning and development of self and others. Is self-aware of strengths and limitations. Seeks support for limitations and leads from areas of strength. Actively plans for the development of others to perform and contribute to the organization by providing opportunities to learn through both formal and informal methods. Develops and manages the departmental function to meaningfully contribute to the organization's overall growth.

Requirements:

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

A. Demonstrated success identifying, pursuing, and winning federal funding (grants, cooperative agreements, and/or contracts), including work with NSF and NIH.

B. Working knowledge of federal proposal development, budgeting, and compliance requirements, including 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance).

C. Ability to navigate federal contracting and acquisition concepts (e.g., RFPs, BAAs, SBIR/STTR, OTAs) and translate them into actionable pursuit plans for both the institution and portfolio companies.

D. Direct experience supporting early-stage companies or startups in navigating SBIR/STTR, federal grant applications, or innovation funding programs strongly preferred.

E. Strong capture and proposal management skills: positioning, partner strategy, storyboarding, schedules, reviews, and submission quality control.

F. Ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally about scientific, technical, and business issues to a wide range of stakeholders; including founders, investors, and federal program officers.

G. Strong organizational skills with attention to detail, comfort managing multiple pursuits with competing deadlines.

H. Ability to lead and develop teams and to work collaboratively across departments in a matrixed environment.

I. Ability to engage government stakeholders and support appropriations/policy strategies, including coordinating external lobbying support when needed, in service of funding objectives

Experience, Education, and Licensure

Minimum Experience: 10+ years of progressive experience in federal funding development, capture/proposal management, and/or grants and contracts in a nonprofit, higher education, research, innovation, or economic development context. Documented track record of securing competitive awards as a lead applicant and/or key partner, with direct experience in NSF and/or NIH portfolios. Experience managing staff and/or leading cross-functional proposal teams.

Preferred Experience: Recent (past 3–5 years) experience pursuing and/or winning DoD and defense innovation opportunities (prime or sub), including experience with BAAs and/or OT pathways. Direct experience supporting startup or portfolio company federal funding pursuits, particularly SBIR/STTR navigation, program officer engagement, or phase progression strategy.

Experience securing grants from private and/or family foundations and coordinating blended public-private funding strategies. Familiarity with FAR/DFARS concepts and federal contract administration best practices. Experience supporting appropriations and government relations strategies (including working with external lobbyists) in service of organizational funding priorities.

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree desired (public policy, business, science/engineering, urban studies, law, or related field)