Manager - Office of Research and Graduate Studies

Manager, Office of Research and Graduate Studies

Department Research & Graduate Studies

Entity Aga Khan University

Location Karachi, Pakistan

Introduction

The Office of Research and Graduate Studies (ORGS) is the central coordination entity which supports the overall vision of the University to conduct research that contributes to the global body of knowledge and advances public policy in response to the real needs of communities and people in the developing world.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Associate Vice Provost, you will be a key member of office of the Research team and would ensure the regulatory compliance of the University, government and sponsor requirements. You will provide the required guidance, facilitation and help to the researchers to ensure compliance. You will play a proactive role in the development, motivation and training of a team responsible for these activities. You will review and process research agreements, material (and data) transfer agreements, non-disclosure agreements and other relevant documents.

Specific responsibilities include:

• conducting a comprehensive review of pre-award grant checklist in coordination with other reviewing departments to identify compliance requirements to be managed if the grant is received
• coordinating with departments and obtaining undertakings from applicants for conditional approvals to facilitate projects with short deadline as per pre-award policy
• assisting and advising applicants and their administrators in completion of documentation required for a successful submission of grant applications, such as letter of support, sub-contractor's registration, LOIs, COI declaration, and related undertakings
• working with faculty members and/or administrators in compiling submission packages for online/central submission to national and international sponsors
• leading OSR's review process for new grant agreements and giving recommendations to senior management for the University's sign-offs after approval is received from Legal, Finance, and other departments if required
• processing other documents like grant extensions, MTA/DTA and non-disclosure agreements, as and when required
• coordinating activities related to strategic research priority setting across all campuses and preparing reports for onward submission to the Board
• overseeing the operations of PeopleSoft Grants management system and the Excel Database records in Pakistan and in East Africa (as required)
• reviewing the system and working with IT to improve the system and making it more efficient, effective and easier to use.

Requirements

You should have:

• a masters degree in health management or business administration
• at least 5-10 years of relevant experience in a related field
• a background in the management of grant/contracts and some experience of how clinical trials are handled would be an added quality
• experience of responding to queries from researchers and negotiating with sponsors on their terms and conditions and institutional policies
• understanding internal research funding processes and required approvals
• ability to manage and coordinate multiple projects and to meet critical deadlines
• strong financial, audit skills and computer understanding
• an in-depth knowledge of the compliance requirements of major funders
• excellent verbal and written communication skills
• adept interpersonal skills
• the ability to handle challenging situations are highly valued including assisting in research priority setting and submitting reports to the Board of Trustees.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Applications should be submitted latest by April 28, 2019