Associate Vice Provost, Research
About the Role and Institution
Our client is a premier institution of higher education recognized for its commitment to research excellence, innovation, and societal impact. With state-of-the-art facilities and a deeply collaborative academic environment, the university is a leader in driving research that addresses critical global challenges across science, health, technology, and the social sciences.
The Associate Vice Provost, Research will play a pivotal role in advancing the university’s research mission by supporting the strategic growth, administration, and innovation of its research enterprise. Reporting directly to the Vice Provost for Research, this role provides leadership to enhance research funding, foster interdisciplinary collaborations, and ensure compliance with research policies and regulatory standards. The Associate Vice Provost will work closely with faculty, staff, and external partners to expand research capacity, enhance institutional visibility, and support impactful research outcomes at every stage of the research lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Research Leadership
- Assist in developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy for advancing the university’s research agenda, increasing research competitiveness, and growing the institution’s sponsored research portfolio.
- Promote and facilitate interdisciplinary research collaborations across departments, colleges, and external organizations, creating the conditions for scholarship that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries.
- Identify and support opportunities in emerging research areas aligned with institutional priorities, national funding trends, and areas of societal need where the university has competitive advantage.
Research Development and Funding
- Collaborate directly with faculty to identify, develop, and pursue external funding from federal agencies, state programs, and private sources including foundations and industry partners.
- Design and deliver grant writing workshops, proposal development support, and funding acquisition initiatives that meaningfully increase faculty success in securing extramural research awards.
- Partner with research centers, institutes, and cross-institutional collaboratives to foster innovation and identify new funding opportunities that leverage institutional strengths.
Compliance and Research Integrity
- Oversee research compliance programs, ensuring consistent adherence to federal, state, and institutional regulations including IRB, IACUC, export controls, and research safety protocols.
- Promote and model a culture of research integrity, ethical conduct, and responsible scholarship across all disciplines and career stages within the institution.
- Develop, implement, and enforce policies that support transparent, high-quality research practices and protect the institution’s research reputation and compliance standing.
Faculty and Researcher Support
- Provide leadership and mentorship to faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students engaged in research, helping them navigate the research enterprise and develop as independent investigators.
- Lead initiatives to enhance professional development and foster a supportive, inclusive research environment for faculty at all career stages, with particular attention to early-career investigators.
- Collaborate with academic units to support the recruitment and retention of top research talent in alignment with the institution’s strategic research priorities.
Operational Oversight
- Assist in managing research infrastructure, core facilities, and administrative operations to ensure efficiency, sustainability, and alignment with institutional research goals.
- Support the development of technology transfer, commercialization, and intellectual property initiatives that translate university research into societal and economic impact.
- Lead efforts to analyze and report research performance metrics, using data to inform strategic decision-making and communicate research enterprise progress to institutional leadership.
Partnerships and External Engagement
- Build and maintain strong, durable partnerships with industry, government agencies, national laboratories, and academic research collaborators to advance institutional research goals.
- Represent the university’s research enterprise at regional, national, and international forums, conferences, and funding agency meetings.
- Support outreach initiatives that highlight the impact of university research on local and global communities, strengthening the institution’s research reputation and public standing.
Education, Experience, and Skills
Key Leadership Competencies
Translates the institution’s research ambitions into actionable strategies that grow the sponsored research portfolio and build long-term research capacity.
Builds genuine credibility with faculty by providing substantive support — not just administrative oversight — that meaningfully advances their research careers.
Creates a culture where research integrity and regulatory compliance are understood as professional values, not bureaucratic burdens imposed from above.
Understands the federal and private funding landscape well enough to connect faculty research agendas to the right opportunities at the right moment.
Leads effectively across the boundaries of academic departments, administrative units, and external partner organizations to achieve shared research goals.
Uses research performance metrics and institutional data to make and defend strategic recommendations to the Vice Provost and senior leadership.
Why This Role Matters
The Associate Vice Provost for Research sits at the point where faculty ambition meets institutional infrastructure. A faculty member with a strong research idea needs funding expertise, compliance guidance, cross-disciplinary connections, and institutional backing to turn that idea into a funded project. This role provides all of those things — systematically, at scale, across the entire institution.
At a university with serious research ambitions, the AVP for Research is one of the most consequential administrative appointments available. The right person in this role does not just manage processes. They change the culture of how faculty think about the research enterprise and what is possible within it.
The best research administrators do not stand between faculty and their work. They stand behind faculty and make the hardest parts of the work more achievable — from the first grant application to the final compliance report.
What the Institution Offers
Application Process
Candidates are encouraged to submit the following materials. Review of applications begins immediately and continues until the position is filled.
- A detailed curriculum vitae highlighting leadership experience, research accomplishments, and administrative achievements relevant to the research enterprise.
- A cover letter outlining the candidate’s vision for supporting and advancing the university’s research mission, including specific strategies for growing research capacity and funding.
- Contact information for three professional references who can speak to research leadership, administrative effectiveness, and collaborative working style.
Retained Search by Excelon Associates
Excelon Associates is a retained executive search firm headquartered in Asheville, NC, with additional offices in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, FL. Our higher education practice places associate vice provosts, vice presidents for research, research deans, and senior research administration leaders at research-intensive universities across the United States. Since 2007 we have supported institutions in recruiting the administrative leadership that builds and sustains high-performing research enterprises.
For institutions seeking an exceptional Associate Vice Provost for Research, Excelon Associates is a trusted recruitment partner. Reach out to start a confidential conversation, or browse our full sample job descriptions library for related higher education research and academic leadership roles.
Hiring an Associate Vice Provost for Research?
Excelon Associates places senior research administration and academic leadership talent at research-intensive universities across the United States. Headquartered in Asheville, NC. Retained search since 2007.