Become a Program Officer Your Own Way

Several common traits go in to making a good program officer. Thorough training in a scientific discipline, an interest in the big picture, and a willingness to nurture others are all essential for those who would do the job well. But roles vary widely from one organization to another, and there is no one-size-fits-all job description, nor is there a typical route into the job. That can make the route harder to navigate, but, for scientists interested in this career path, it's also an opportunity to do it their own way. Here are the stories of three scientists and how they came to be program officers.

Finding a Nontraditional Academic Niche

Carl Rhodes was on his way to scientific success. After getting his Ph.D. in 1971, he did a postdoc in the laboratory of Paul Berg, a co-recipient of the 1980 Nobel Prize in chemistry, at Stanford University School of Medicine's Biochemistry Department. While there, Rhodes published several articles, including one he co-authored on a molecular biology technique that's now widely used, the so-called Nick translation.

But if Rhodes was good at doing research, he was also good at managing it. During his postdoc, Rhodes took charge of collaborations and arranged schedules for using the lab's equipment. Berg, who at that time was also chair of the biochemistry department, "thought maybe I had some potential to be helpful in a department in a way other than being a PI," Rhodes recalls. "They offered me a chance to become a faculty member, but my primary responsibility, rather than being in a lab, was to carry out a number of administrative duties in the department."

For Rhodes, the choice was risky. It wasn't a typical faculty position, nor was it tenure-track. But within 6 months of taking the job, he says he realized that "this was something I really wanted to do." For the next 5 years, he dealt with budget issues, ran biochemistry and human biology courses, and managed staff recruitment and student admissions for Stanford's Medical Scientist Training Program. Rhodes left Stanford in 1980 for the first of a string of graduate program administrator positions in private and public universities. He took his current job, as a scientific officer for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), in 2000.

At HHMI, Rhodes oversees the peer evaluation U.S.-based HHMI investigators undergo every 5 years. The work involves assembling reviewer panels, setting up interviews, managing the flow of reviews, and writing review summaries for the investigators.

Rhodes also visits the researchers' labs and checks in on their research. The research areas HHMI funds are so broad, Rhodes says, that "I am not in a position to give specific advice on scientific issues." Instead, he discusses upcoming reviews and offers researchers advice on how to develop their expertise or seek additional funding from other sources. Rhodes also acts as a mediator between the investigators and HHMI when they want extra funding to buy a new piece of equipment or some professional advice on administrative issues and information on HHMI policies regarding activities such as consulting and industry collaborations. The rest of his time goes to managing competitions for new HHMI investigators in the United States, which happens once every 2 or 3 years.

The job has many rewards. It's great "hearing [researchers] speak, knowing about the quality of the science that we are supporting, and knowing that we have something to do in a small way in enabling them to do their work," he says. One of the job's greatest challenges is that you have to handle several duties and reach several goals simultaneously, Rhodes says, all while responding to investigators' queries within a matter of hours. Outside of excellent organization and communication skills, "one of the important skills is to learn when you can take action on any issue and when you need to ask others," Rhodes observes. 

How do you prepare for such a job? "I don't think there are any courses that you can take," Rhodes says. "Experience is really the key. Try a lot of different things in administration, learning what you like." Rhodes suggests taking advantage of all opportunities to broaden your scientific experience: supervising an undergraduate in a research lab, teaching a course, coordinating activities within your department, setting up new collaborations, or managing a student organization.

Looking for a Multicultural Space in Which to Grow

Portuguese biochemist David Pina decided he wanted to become a scientific program officer after hearing a talk about the Marie Curie Actions, which are European fellowships that promote the mobility of young researchers. Although he was interested in the fellowships themselves--he was later awarded one to do a postdoc in Cambridge--Pina was also intrigued by the job of the person giving the presentation. The European Commission (EC) program officer "presented himself as a former researcher. ... I found it quite interesting being on that side" of the research endeavor, Pina says. "I've always wanted to work in a multicultural environment and get closer to the implementation of European policy." Pina approached the presenter and asked how to apply for jobs like his. Two years later, Pina stepped into his shoes.

Pina, 31, obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 2004 from the University of Salamanca in Spain. He was finishing a 1-year postdoc at the Curie Institute in Paris when he applied for a natural science adviser position through the European Personnel Selection Office. In the year that followed, Pina took several written exams that measured his knowledge of biology, European institutions, and foreign languages. He prepared for the exams partly by reading about European programs and policies on the EC Web site. "You have to learn by yourself and enjoy doing it," Pina says.

His thorough preparation earned him a place on the reserve list from which interview candidates are drawn as new positions become available. A position opened up in one of the Marie Curie units a couple of months later. He accepted the job offer last year.

Being a scientific program officer is never routine, Pina says. Whenever there is a call for funding, he helps coordinate proposal evaluation and offers guidance to the peer reviewers. He negotiates the deliverables and budget of the winning projects and prepares grant agreements with host institutions. The rest of the time he's busy making sure that funded projects are on track and that contractual obligations are respected so that he is free to approve the following year's funding. The work involves visiting labs, assessing reports, and helping researchers by providing solutions to budget or recruitment problems.

To do this kind of job, scientific expertise in a particular field is helpful but not as critical as you might think, Pina says, because most of the projects you work with are not precisely in your field. More important are a broad scientific knowledge, open-mindedness, and the ability to communicate with an audience of researchers, lawyers, and financial officers, he adds.

"Despite not being active in research anymore, I have a lot of contact with the research community," Pina says. That contact allows him to keep abreast of the state of the art in a variety of fields, something he enjoys. And although EC program officers work within established procedures and grant agreements, the day-to-day job includes a lot of flexibility, he adds.

Young scientists interested in becoming program officers, Pina says, should be aware that leaving academia is often a one-way ticket. But the job has many pluses, such as a structured career path and many opportunities for professional advancement. "Here in the European Commission, as long as you are motivated ... and you do well your job and you take responsibilities, ... there is enough space to go ahead and have a successful career."  

Seeing Both Sides of a Fellowship

German molecular biologist Jan Taplick wasn't looking for a career change when he came across an ad for a fellowship program manager position at the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in Heidelberg. He had finished his Ph.D. at the Vienna Biocenter in Austria and was wrapping up a 2-year postdoc at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, supported by an EMBO fellowship.

Still, he says, "I was always interested in the broader aspects of science," so he applied for and took the job in March 2002. Today, his main task is to coordinate the selection of new applicants for EMBO short-term and long-term fellowships. Twice a year, Taplick must review about 600 curricula vitae and research proposals for long-term fellowships. He starts by weeding out all the ineligible applications then looks for suitable reviewers and gathers their comments. The EMBO Fellowship Committee then uses this information to award the long-term fellowships. Taplick uses the same procedure for the short-term fellowships, but he chooses the winners of those awards himself.

Another part of Taplick's job is maintaining the network of past and current EMBO fellows, which to date includes about 3500 scientists. He organizes meetings at which fellows present their research and courses on issues such as managing a lab and interacting with the media.

Taplick's responsibilities also extend to evaluating the program itself. Since 2002, the number of applications for EMBO fellowships has doubled to 1300 a year. "With the [EMBO Fellowship] committee, I work out how we can improve the review process," he says. He also looks into improving grant agreements by extending maternity-leave provisions, for example, or launching new courses for the fellows. 

His job requires "a broad interest in science," Taplick says, as well as excellent time- and budget-management skills. For example, short-term fellowships are awarded throughout the year, so "you have to make sure that in November we still have some budget" to cover the rest of the year, he says.

Taplick recommends that scientists interested in working as program officers seek internships, which he says are "a good way to find out if the job suits your interests." For Taplick, the most exciting part of the job is reading the research proposals, because it's "a highly competitive program. Most of the applications are of a very ... good quality," he says. "Also very rewarding is to know these fellows and how [much] they appreciate the program."

Elisabeth Pain is contributing editor for South and West Europe.

10.1126/science.caredit.a0800139