About the role
Working/Functional Title
Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Position Summary
Michigan State University's Office of Research Innovation (ORI) seeks a founding Director to relaunch and lead the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA). This is a rare opportunity to build the office and foundational team. The Director will establish programming infrastructure, launch a new cohort-based postdoctoral scholars program, and develop a university-wide career and professional development ecosystem for MSU's approximately 550 postdoctoral researchers. The Director reports directly to the Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives within ORI and works in close collaboration with ORI's Research Development professionals, giving this role an explicit connection to MSUs federal funding competitiveness.
This position is critical to ORI's strategy for rapidly growing research discovery and translational outcomes across the university. Postdoctoral researchers serve as a vital bridge between faculty, graduate students, and external partners, contributing across the full research lifecycle from discovery through translation, and the Director will play a central role in cultivating a postdoc community that advances an outcome-driven research culture consistent with MSU's land-grant mission.
OPA's transition into ORI reflects an institutional commitment to treat postdoctoral training not only as a support function but as a strategic research asset. The Director will be expected to build accordingly. MSU aspires to set the national standard for postdoctoral career and professional development, and the Director will be expected to position OPA as a model program recognized among peer institutions and national organizations such as the National Postdoctoral Association.
The primary responsibilities for this role are:
Educational Program Leadership (50%)
Design, deliver, and evaluate a comprehensive career and professional development curriculum for MSU postdoctoral researchers. Programming should address the core competency domains recommended by the National Postdoctoral Association, reflect current federal funding priorities, and be grounded in ongoing needs assessment.
Postdoctoral Scholar Support and Career Development (25%)
Serve as a central resource and advocate for MSU's postdoctoral community. This function will expand to include direct career coaching as office capacity grows, with the goal of building one of the most comprehensive postdoc career development models in the Big Ten.
Mentorship Program Development and Faculty Engagement (25%)
Strengthen the faculty mentorship infrastructure supporting MSU postdoctoral researchers, with particular focus on the MSU Research Foundation Postdoctoral Scholars cohort. Strong mentorship is central to ensuring postdocs can effectively bridge faculty, graduate students, and external partners across the research lifecycle.
As an institution of higher learning, Michigan State University is committed to providing a safe environment for its students, faculty, and staff in support of its educational mission. With this commitment, the University conducts criminal background checks and professional misconduct reviews of all applicants for employment in faculty, academic staff, and executive management searches.
Professional Misconduct Review
A professional misconduct review is a prerequisite for a candidate to be selected for this position. Applicants will be asked to disclose whether they are subject to any pending investigation, findings or sanctions related to professional misconduct. Professional misconduct includes misconduct related to a person’s employment, including, but not limited to, theft, embezzlement, research integrity, discrimination, or harassment under civil rights laws and policies, including protected identity harassment, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct (sexual assault, sexual exploitation, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, etc.), and retaliation. All applicants will be asked to sign an authorization and release, which authorizes the University to contact the candidate’s current and former employers, for a period of 7 years prior to the date of application, related to any pending investigations, findings of responsibility and/or sanctions related to professional misconduct. Nothing will be sent to current or former employers unless the candidate reaches the semi-finalist stage.
The existence of professional misconduct history does not automatically exclude a candidate from employment. The University will assess the history, including any information provided by the candidate, in determining whether it is compatible with the position. The University may decline to hire a candidate based on the professional misconduct review. All records obtained from external employers will be kept in a secure location, separate from personnel files. If an applicant fails to sign the authorization and release, the application will be deemed incomplete and will be withdrawn.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.
Required Degree
Masters
Desired Degree
Doctorate
Minimum Requirements
- Master's degree
- Demonstrated experience designing and delivering programming at institutional or organizational scale
- Experience in an R1 research university or comparable research-intensive institution
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to engage diverse audiences including faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and institutional leadership
Desired Qualifications
- PhD degree strongly preferred; candidates with a PhD and demonstrated experience in postdoctoral or graduate trainee programming are especially encouraged to apply
- Familiarity with NIH funding mechanisms, NRSA guidelines, and federal research training priorities
- Experience with postdoctoral or graduate trainee mentorship program development
- Knowledge of IDP frameworks and national postdoctoral competency standards
- Career coaching or counseling credentials, or demonstrated experience advising PhD-level trainees on academic, industry, and government career pathways
- Experience building employer or industry partnerships, alumni networks, or career outcomes tracking systems for graduate or postdoctoral populations
Required Application Materials
- Resume
- Cover letter showcasing the applicants experience and vision for the OPA, and what the next 1-3 years might look like to achieve that vision
- 3 professional references
Review of Applications Begins On
10/05/2026
Website
research.msu.edu
MSU Statement
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.