The Unit Director, CDS has primary responsibilities for developing, implementing, and managing the units portfolio of projects; facilitating the support of the unit through grants and contracts; cultivating relationships with University, federal, State, and community partners; conducting research and model demonstration projects; providing the translational pivot between research and application; and influencing policy and practice to enhance the positive impact on individuals with disabilities and their families.

Under the limited direction of the Director of the Center for Disabilities Studies, (CDS) the Director of the Transition, Education and Employment Model (TEEM) Unit develops, implements, and oversees research, evaluation, training, and service projects focusing on transition and postsecondary services for youth and adults with disabilities in line with the missions of the College of Education & Human Development and University Centers on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.

The Unit Director also directs the Career & Life Studies Certificate Program (CLSC), a model comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) project, and Spectrum Scholars, a college-to-career support program for undergraduate students on the autism spectrum funded by JPMorganChase.

• Formulates unit policies, develops long-term objectives for the unit, and makes operating decisions that affect the unit.
• Develops and secures competitive federal and State grant proposals; manages and evaluates grants and contracts.
• Develops and maintains effective working relationships and collaborations with federal and State agencies and national and community organizations to expand, influence, and promote high quality, innovative practices and scholarship on transition and postsecondary services and supports for youth and adults with disabilities.
• Assists internal and external stakeholders in the application of knowledge to practice and the translation of practical challenges into questions for empirical investigation.
• Fosters research and programmatic collaboration among units at the University of Delaware to promote high quality, innovative practices and scholarship on transition and postsecondary services for youth and adults with disabilities.
• Manages and has fiscal responsibility for a sizable and complex unit budget.
• Performs complex analyses of data involving numerous variables, synthesizes and interprets information for a variety of constituencies, and makes recommendations based on analyses.
• Oversees the day-to-day operations of the TEEM Unit to assure that project objectives are met including research and evaluation.
• Plans, organizes, directs, coordinates, and controls projects and serves as a lead researcher/of the TEEM Unit and its portfolio of projects.
• Establishes research methodology, protocols, and procedures.
• Exercises a high degree of creativity, foresight, and judgment in planning, organizing, and guiding activities of importance.
• Hires, trains, supervises, and evaluates unit staff including professional staff, graduate assistants, and undergraduate students.
• Reviews reports and maintains records as necessary to meet all requirements of funding sources.
• Provides consultation and technical assistance to federal, State, and community agencies.
• Authors/co-authors international, national, and State conference presentations and assures the dissemination of project information at national and international conferences.
• Authors/co-authors scholarly articles, reports, and other professional publications.
• Serves as a member of the CDS Management Team and contributes to strategic planning for the Center.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

https://careers.udel.edu/cw/en-us/job/499053/unit-director-center-for-disabilities-studies