Senior Project Officer

South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Limited; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Limited (SAHMRI) is seeking an experienced professional for a 12‑month operational administration role managing the transition of the National Indigenous Kidney Transplantation Taskforce (NIKTT). You will coordinate host transitions, engage with community and clinical stakeholders, and oversee data dashboard publication.

The role requires strong project management, stakeholder engagement, and report writing skills, with a focus on

Qualifications

• Commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health access and reconciliation.
• Experience with chronic health conditions in Indigenous health.
• Strong project management across multiple deliverables and stakeholders.
• Experience with stakeholder consultation across community, clinical, and government.
• Experience with data visualization and dashboards.
• Strong report writing and synthesis of evidence.
• Ability to work independently and exercise professional judgement.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the transition of NIKTT’s work, identifying long‑term hosts and decommissioning non continuing work. Communicate with stakeholders throughout the transition.
• Complete community consultations for the data dashboard and finalise broader dissemination.
• Prepare performance reports and assess progress against recommendations.
• Administer the NIKTT funding contract, track milestones, and maintain accurate records.
• Participate in special projects to improve processes, tools, and systems.
• Take reasonable care for health, safety and welfare at work and follow WHS guidelines.
• Support SAHMRI’s Work, Health and Safety Management System and related policies.
• Align duties with SAHMRI’s Vision, Mission and Codes of Conduct.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Data visualization

Report writing

Written communication

Job description

• Employment type: FTC - Full-time Contract
• Location: SAHMRI North Terrace
• Applications close: Wednesday, 11 Nov 2026

At the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), we are committed to achieving innovative, ground-breaking health and medical research that fundamentally improves the quality of life for all people.

The National Indigenous Kidney Transplantation Taskforce (NIKTT) was established in 2019 to investigate and pilot measures to improve access to, and outcomes from, kidney transplantation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Entering its next phase, the NIKTT is transitioning its program of work to organisations best placed to carry activities forward for the long term within the organ donation and transplantation sector.

This position is responsible for operational administration of the NIKTT’s work program through this transition and is offered for 12 months in the first instance. At its core, the role is about negotiating and coordinating a smooth handover, identifying and securing the right long-term hosts for NIKTT’s ongoing work, and managing the practical and relational work of transition alongside them. The incumbent will deliver NIKTT’s remaining priorities, including completing community consultation and publication of a data dashboard, and finalising a review of kidney transplantation actions and activities relating to First Nations people. Throughout, the incumbent will work closely with the ANZORRG team, NIKTT’s Chairs, and a broad range of community, clinical, and government stakeholders, to ensure NIKTT’s work is transitioned well, and its outcomes are documented and disseminated.

This is a role for an all-rounder. Skills required include project management, an understanding of the community environment, and the ability to formulate strategy based on evidence. The successful candidate will be comfortable with written communication and report writing, data interpretation and visualisation, and stakeholder engagement. Strong written and verbal communication skills are essential, as is the ability to work and drive project outputs and milestones to completion independently.

About the role

Key responsibilities include:

• Coordinate the transition of NIKTT’s work, including identifying and engaging appropriate long-term hosts for ongoing initiatives, managing the decommissioning of work that will not continue, and communicating with community and clinical stakeholders throughout the transition.


• Complete community consultations for the NIKTT data dashboard, incorporate feedback from the Technical Advisory Group, and finalise the dashboard for broad publication and dissemination to stakeholders.


• Finalise performance reports, including an assessment of progress against the original 35 TSANZ recommendations based on a review of the literature and current initiatives underway across Australia.


• Manage the day-to-day administration of the NIKTT funding contract, including tracking milestones and deliverables, preparing and submitting reports to funders, and maintaining accurate records of contractual obligations through to the completion of the grant.


• Participate in special projects to continuously improve processes, tools, systems, and organisation.


• Take reasonable care to protect own health, safety and welfare at work and avoid affecting the health and safety of any other person at work.


• Participate in the implementation of the Institute’s Work, Health and Safety Management System and related laws, regulations and guidelines.


• Ensure that duties are performed in keeping with the principles outlined in SAHMRI’s Vision, Mission and Values and the Code of Conduct Policy.

About You

The successful candidate will possess the following key attributes:

• Demonstrated commitment to, and understanding of, issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ access to health care.


• Knowledge, experience, or engagement with programs around chronic health conditions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.


• Well-developed project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple deliverables and stakeholders. Of benefit would be experience seeing through a project transition or wind-down.


• Experience in stakeholder consultation and relationship management, including with community, clinical, and government stakeholders.


• Experience with data visualisation, dashboard development, or presenting complex health data to varied audiences.


• Demonstrated experience in report and proposal writing, including synthesising literature and evidence into clear, actionable recommendations.


• Strong decision-making skills, with the ability to work independently and exercise professional judgement.


• Support SAHMRI’s commitment to reconciliation and acknowledge the importance of working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

Special Requirements

• Some out of hours work may be required to address urgent issues.


• Some intrastate or interstate may be required.


• Working With Children Check (WWCC) is required.

Everything we do is underpinned by our core values and our institute is dedicated to grow a culture that pursues, enables and demands research excellence. We are proud of the work we do and work hard as a team to make a positive difference to the community. Our values of excellence, innovation, courage, integrity and teamwork are what help us achieve our goals. If these are also your values and goals,

As a not-for-profit organisation, SAHMRI employees can access salary packaging options up to $15,900. Salary packaging lets you pay for things like the everyday costs of living with money from your salary before tax. This reduces your taxable income, meaning you could pay less tax and take home more of what you earn. For more information on salary packaging please see the Maxxia website .

To be considered for this position, applicants must hold relevant working rights within Australia at the time of application.

Applications may close earlier than advertised if a suitable candidate is found prior to the close date.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are strongly encouraged to apply

Applications close Wednesday, 11 Nov 2026

At SAHMRI, we live our commitment to equity and diversity every day: respecting people as individuals and valuing differences to create a working environment that is fair and flexible, promotes personal and professional growth and benefits from the capabilities of a diverse workforce.

SAHMRI is located on Kaurna Country. We pay respects to the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We are committed to embracing knowledge and culture as we continue our working journey to incorporate Aboriginal health research across all of our themes and further reconciliation.

(Learning and knowledge are the pathway to alter the mind)