Job Description

Key duties and responsibilities

• Expert advice on funding opportunities and on production of successful proposals for funding (not only funding competitions) to optimise income and ensure project(s) advancement.
• Coordinate contributions of bid writing teams to prioritise work on proposals that can result in exponential increase of success and income rate.
• Write, edit and prepare exceptional proposals that exceed the requirements set by funding bodies.
• Actively identify and maintain records of funding opportunities in alignment with Heriot-Watt programme(s) of research, referent academic staff and external partners.
• Contribute to the writing of compelling cases for support and business cases as required.
• Ensure correct interpretation and compliance to funding rules, liaising with Funders and other stakeholders as required;
• Ensure efficient (timely and procedurally correct) costing and budgeting, and submission to research funders.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Demonstrable experience and success in income generation through grant funding and collaboration with private and public organisations; Excellent writing skills and bid-writing skills, including business writing and proposal writing; Outstanding ability to work quickly, proactively, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment; Excellent communication skills and an ability to use different media in a flexible way; Demonstrable professional expertise in research funding; Awareness and understanding of the research and innovation landscape and opportunities in the UK and beyond; A collegiate and collaborative approach in group and personal interactions; Experience of working within Higher Education; Demonstrable experience of mustering research funding browsers, portals, systems; Demonstrable experience of using budgeting and award management systems; Educated to first degree level or equivalent or equivalent practical experience in the workplace. Degree or experience in specific industry sector Knowledge of the construction sector and/or of sociotechnical research] Accounting skills; Administrative skills; Relevant industrial experience; A network of existing connections with a variety of Funders.