Strategic Research Initiatives Officer

Job Purpose 

The Strategic Research Initiatives Officer will provide professional and organisational support for the coordination and delivery of  activities managed by the Strategic Research Initiatives team in the Research Services Directorate. This will include providing comprehensive financial and administrative support for the distribution of internal funding designed to catalyse cross-disciplinary collaboration, coordinating demand managed funding opportunities at an institutional level, and administering the University’s prestigious Lord Kelvin / Adam Smith (LKAS) academic recruitment schemes.

The Strategic Research Initiatives team works in partnership with the University's four Colleges to create an integrated research support ecosystem that aims to enhance the collaborative research environment, ambition and culture across the University.

Main Duties and Responsibilities 

1. Responsible for the day-to-day administration of the University’s Lord Kelvin / Adam Smith (LKAS) academic recruitment schemes and their c. £30M budget. Respond to pre-and post-award queries from researchers and College research offices, process LKAS applications and communicate outcomes.

2. Responsible for the day-to-day coordination of the University’s response to demand-managed funding schemes requiring a University-level selection process c. 20-30 funding calls per year, working in collaboration with College Research Offices.

3. Responsible for the day-to-day administration of all internal funding schemes managed by SRI, including provision of data and reports, post-award coordination of budget reprofiling requests and ensuring that internal funding schemes effectively contribute to the realisation of the University’s Research Strategy.

4. Responsible for coordinating the application process for new University designated Research Centres ensuring all relevant materials are made available to the Research Policy & Strategy Committee to aid their evaluation and decision-making. Coordinate the annual reporting and review process for existing University designated Research Centres.

5. Responsible for clerking internal panels convened to assess demand managed opportunities and internal funding schemes. Support includes: selecting dates and organising meetings; preparing and collating papers; taking accurate minutes and compiling action/decision logs; ensuring actions are completed and decisions communicated; and updating and managing tracking spreadsheets.

6. Provide data management support to the Strategic Research Initiatives portfolio and projects, including: maintaining relevant data in University systems; ensuring data quality and accuracy; and, using skills in data analysis and visualisation, extracting, analysing and interpreting data from internal and external systems to support decision making.

7. Provide project management and administrative support as required to projects managed by the Strategic Research Initiatives portfolio, including supporting new activities to deliver on the research strategy.

8. Provide comprehensive event organisation and management support for activities to be delivered by the Strategic Research Initiatives portfolio, including identifying dates and booking venues, organising suppliers where required (e.g. catering etc), setting-up and being responsible for registration, handling queries from participants, and dealing with any problems in a professional manner.

9. Maintain the Strategic Research Initiatives portfolio Teams sites, SharePoint and affiliated webpages. This includes creating content for sites and webpages, as well as liaising with relevant colleagues to collate content.

10. Perform other duties as requested, consistent with the grade level of the position and agreeing appropriate prioritisation of work with line management or other relevant stakeholders as needed.

11. Engage in reasonable professional development activities as appropriate.

12. Contribute to the enhancement of the University’s international profile in line with the University’s strategic plan

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience 

Knowledge/Qualifications 

Essential: 

A1 Ability to demonstrate the competencies required to undertake the duties associated with this level of post having acquired the necessary knowledge and skills through personal development and progression in a similar related role(s). Or, educated to at least Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 8 (Scottish Vocational Qualification level 4, Higher National Diploma) or equivalent, and experience of personal development in a similar role.

A2 Knowledge of project management methodologies, data management processes, records management, GDPR and data protection in a public sector environment.

A3 Detailed knowledge and experience of the Higher Education research environment, the research endeavour and University systems.

Skills 

Essential: 

C1 Demonstratable interpersonal skills with the ability to interact with a wide range of stakeholders, work collaboratively across organisational boundaries and behave in a professional manner using tact, discretion and diplomacy.

C2 Ability to use initiative, work independently and proactively to progress projects and, with line management support, to successfully challenge existing practice to bring about change and service improvement as required.

C3 Effective written and oral communication skills, including presentation skills and the ability to communicate confidently and clearly.

C4 Excellent organisational and project management skills, including the demonstrated ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously and meet internal and external timescales.

C5 Ability to manage budgets and navigate financial management systems.

C6 Strong analytical abilities to logically assess data and prepare reports/briefings incorporating data analysis, problem-solving skills that can be applied to varied and complex tasks with high attention to detail.

Experience 

Essential: 

E1 Experience of working across a large organisation, interacting with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders, from different backgrounds and at varying levels of seniority.

E2 Experience of project management and planning, organising, and setting priorities over short-, medium- and long-term periods.

E3 Experience of using initiative to solve problems or deal with unexpected changes in workload to maintain a focus on service delivery.

E4 Experience of event organisation, delivering inclusive events that vary in scale and target audiences.

E5 Experience of budget management.

E6 Experience of analysing/evaluating/interpreting data to inform decision-making and service improvements.

E7 Experience of using current versions of administrative software packages and Microsoft Office software to create, maintain and interrogate databases and spreadsheets, drafting papers and reports for various audiences.

Desirable: 

F1 Experience of clerking meetings.

F2 Experience using University systems such as HRCore, Qlik Sense and Enlighten, or similar corporate database systems.

F3 Experience of developing web content using T4 or similar web content management tool.

Terms and Conditions 

Salary will be Grade 6, £32,332 - £36,024 per annum.

This post is full time (35 hours p/w) and open ended.

Relocation assistance will be provided where appropriate.

As part of Team UofG you will be a member of a world changing, inclusive community, which values ambition, excellence, integrity and curiosity.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.

3 A flexible approach to working.

4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University  https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.