The Division of Biological Infrastructure empowers biological discovery by investing in the development and enhancement of biological research resources, human capital, and biology centers and other mid-to-large scale infrastructure. These investments support advances in all areas of biological research.

Responsibilities of this Program Director include working across Research Resource Programs in the Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO). This will include, for example, long-range planning and budget development for the areas of science represented by the programs, the administration of the merit review process and proposal recommendations, the preparation of press releases, feature articles and material describing advances in research and broader impacts supported, as well as coordination and liaison with other NSF programs, Federal agencies and organizations.

A qualified Program Director would have significant research and education expertise in bioinformatics and cyberinfrastructure. Research experience is sought in such areas as: algorithm or software development aimed at integration, analysis and interpretation of heterogenous, complex metabolomic, transcriptomic or proteomic datasets; scientific workflows; databases and data standards. Experience is especially sought in related topics such as functional genomics and systems biology across scales.

Preference will be given to applicants familiar with advanced computational approaches in data processing, management and analysis, including applications of data mining, machine learning, algorithm development, and statistics to large biological data sets.

Additional duties and responsibilities include:

Program Planning and Management

• Maintain a healthy balance of support for the needs of the research and education enterprises across the programs within the Division as well as through activities across the Directorate, Foundation or with other agencies.
• Manage program resources so as to provide optimal and appropriate judgement to insure integrity and consistency in the award/declination process without conflicts of interests, and with a balance among appropriate sub-fields and institutions associated with the biological sciences, and participation of all qualified scientists.
• Manage an effective, timely merit review process, with attention to increasing the size and quality of the reviewer pools and insuring participation by women, minorities and disabled scientists.
• Advise and assist in the development of short- and long-range plans, establishing goals and objectives for research and training programs across the Division as work flows require. Plan budgets for the programs considering past, present and future years, allocate resources within programs, and manage post award evaluation.

Representation, Communication and Leadership

• Represent the Programs, Division and Foundation within the scientific and education/training communities, with other NSF Divisions, with other appropriate agencies and organization, and with the public, accurately reflecting NSF policies and positions.
• Create and maintain linkages to other NSF units and other Federal agencies in pursuit of the overall NSF mission.
• Participate in staff, panel, committee and other meetings, providing input relevant to Program areas and/or Division priorities.
• Pursue affirmative action and Equal Employment Opportunity goals.
• Pursue and/or be responsive to assignment on special projects and temporary functional teams from across the Foundation to solve problems, improve staff communication, and effect coordination for special programs.
• Contribute ideas and effort to improving the quality of policies and NSF's performance of the overall mission. Develop policies and plans for strengthening research and education programs across the Division.