Position Title:               Director of Research Innovation and Advancement

Appointment:               Joint Administrative and Faculty Appointment

Institution:                     Duke University, Office of Climate and Sustainability

The Duke Office for Climate and Sustainability (OCS) is accepting nominations and applications from internal candidates for a Director of Research Innovation and Advancement to support climate-related research for growth, innovation, and societal impact. We seek a scholar-administrator who will report to the Vice President and Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability. This role provides strategic leadership for advancing research, partnerships, and innovation under the Duke Climate Commitment (DCC).

The Director will help reposition Duke’s climate and sustainability research enterprise by creating an enabling environment for impact and growth in a rapidly changing funding and partnership landscape. The role focuses on identifying high-potential research opportunities, supporting scalable initiatives, and strengthening external partnerships that translate research excellence into societal benefit. By establishing and stewarding the processes, funding pathways, and partnership infrastructure that move ideas from test bed to external arenas, the Director will enable early-stage discoveries to progress toward scale and support mid-stage initiatives in securing external partnerships—positioning Duke for sustained innovation and impact. The appointment is split 50% in OCS and 50% in an academic unit.

The Director will work closely with Duke’s schools, institutes, and administrative units to advance cross-disciplinary, solutions-oriented climate and sustainability research deployment. This role is intended for Duke tenured faculty (at the associate or full professor level) interested in serving in a pivotal part-time service position for an initial term of three years.

Questions, nominations, and applications should be submitted directly to Toddi Steelman, Ph.D., Vice President and Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability.

Nominations should include a statement (no more than 2 pages) describing the nominee’s qualifications that speak clearly to the key responsibilities, profile, and motivation for taking on the position as well as a curriculum vitae. All nominations and applications will be held in strict confidence. Nominations will be received through February 13, 2026.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Research Leadership and Growth (25%)

  • Serve as a strategic advisor to the Vice President/Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability on research priorities, investment decisions, and institutional transformation aligned with the Duke Climate Commitment.
  • Identify, prioritize, and advance high-impact climate and climate-adjacent research opportunities across Duke, with a focus on growth, translation, and societal impact.
  • Lead the development of diversified and sustainable funding models for climate-related research, including philanthropy, sponsored research, and strategic partnerships.
  • Establish and monitor outcome-oriented metrics to assess research growth, translation, and return on strategic investments.
  • Ensure research strategy and investment decisions reflect Duke’s commitments to inclusive excellence and equitable impact.
  • Chair the Climate Commitment Advisory Council (CCAC) Research Subcommittee and serve on the CCAC External Engagement Subcommittee.

Research Translation and Innovation Ecosystem (25%)

  • Design, lead, and steward a university-wide lab-to-market ecosystem that enables climate-related research to progress from discovery to application, partnership, and scale.
  • Activate research, technologies, and ideas across schools and units by helping faculty identify viable pathways to impact, partnership, or further development.
  • Develop and manage a coordinated external partnership pipeline spanning philanthropy, industry, government, investors, and community partners.
  • Strengthen Duke’s institutional capacity for research translation in close collaboration with the Office of Translation and Commercialization, Office of External Partnerships, Duke Community Affairs, and Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
  • Establish clear, repeatable pathways for advancing early- and mid-stage initiatives, including defined decision points, handoffs, and criteria for scaling.
  • Create feedback loops between external partners, societal needs, and Duke research and education to inform future priorities and program design.

Internal Leadership and Capacity Building (Embedded Across the Role)

  • Foster a collaborative culture that encourages faculty, staff, and trainees to engage in applied, impact-oriented research while maintaining academic excellence.
  • Mentor and support diverse faculty and staff in adapting to new models of collaboration, innovation, and research translation.

Ideal Candidate Profile

To fulfill these responsibilities, the ideal candidate will be:

  • A well-respected scholar and researcher.
  • A systems thinker who demonstrates strategic judgment and the ability to set priorities and make disciplined choices in a complex, resource-constrained environment.
  • Interested in, or experienced with, moving research from discovery to real-world application without undermining academic integrity.
  • A collaborative leader who can mobilize action across decentralized units without direct authority.
  • Able to demonstrate operational discipline and execution capability, including translating strategy into repeatable, reliable pathways and outcomes.
  • A strong advocate for Duke University’s values and public mission, as well as for the priorities of the institution, OCS, and the Duke Climate Commitment.