Research Coordinator

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI); Dublin; On-site; EUR 30,000 - 42,000; Part time

Job summary

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in Dublin is seeking a Research Coordinator to provide proactive support to senior researchers within the Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine department. The role focuses on administrative, financial, and operational management of research projects in a dynamic lab setting.

You will liaise with Finance, Research Office, and external funders, coordinating grant administration, budgets, and reporting while supporting grant applications and dissemination of

Qualifications

• Self-starter who can work effectively in a team.
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and manage priorities.
• Excellent communication and report-writing skills.
• Proactive, with strong IT skills and problem-solving ability.
• Attention to detail and high level of accuracy.
• Flexible in a busy research environment; able to adapt as needed.
• Knowledge of national/international research funding landscape desirable.
• Experience in research management within Higher Education is desirable.
• Familiarity with RI SESAME and research grant processes is desirable.
• Experience with research project budgeting and financial management is desirable.
• Familiarity with a laboratory environment is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Oversee administrative functions related to project grants and staff recruitment.
• Monitor day-to-day research budgets and prepare technical/financial reports.
• Organise and coordinate research meetings, conferences, and journal clubs.
• Maintain outreach records and coordinate with Communications and media.
• Collaborate with Finance to process transactions via Agresso and invoicing.
• Provide timely financial reports and cost tracking for portfolios.
• Assist in writing and submission of grant applications.
• Assist in preparing press releases and disseminating research highlights.
• Support program and project planning, milestones, and deliverables.
• Produce high-quality documents, reports, and presentations.
• Build relationships with stakeholders and industry partners for collaborations.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

MS Office suite

Pro-active approach

Attention to detail

Team player

Deadline driven

Data analysis

Tools

RIMS system

Agresso

RI SESAME

Job description

Department: Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine

Reporting to: Professor Garry Duffy

Location: RCSI, 123 St. Stephen’ Green

Contract/Duration: 0.6 FTE, 1 year contract

Remuneration: IUA Research Assistant scale (Pt 1 to 5) – depending on experience

Closing Date: 20th November 2026, 5:00 pm

RCSI is a community of academic, research, clinical and professional staff working collaboratively to lead the world to better health. Here, you will thrive in an innovative and inclusive atmosphere and your personal development and wellbeing will be supported. We invite you to join us to help deliver on our exciting mission “To educate, nurture and discover for the benefit of human health”. We seek candidates whose experience to date has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to the “Race Equality Action Plan 2025-2029” at RCSI. Our students come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds. This makes our university stronger and ensures we hire the best talent.

Innovating for a Healthier Future 2023-2027 is RCSI’s new five-year strategic plan. Through it, RCSI will enhance human health by meeting the health workforce needs of society, creating the insights and inventions that drive health improvements, and working in partnership with patients and the public in support of better health and well-being for all. The strategy unites the RCSI community in supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals – with a particular focus on Goal 3, which targets good health and well-being.

For each of the last six years, RCSI has been positioned in the Top 300 of universities worldwide in the Times Higher World University Rankings. We are proud that RCSI ranks fifth in the world for “Good Health and Well-being” in the Times Higher Education #SDG #SDG Impact Rankings 2024. This reflects our commitment to supporting people of all ages to live healthy lives and our work to promote the concepts of well-being and positive health. In 2024, RCSI was delighted to be named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work in Ireland.

At RCSI, our core values of Respect, Collaboration, Scholarship, and Innovation are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment where every colleague is valued and empowered to thrive. Our dedication to these values ensures that we foster a culture of mutual respect, open collaboration, continuous learning, and innovative thinking. Join us at RCSI, where your contributions will be recognised, and you will be part of a dynamic team making a real impact on global health.

About Our Research

RCSI recognises that excellence in research is critical to the quality of its educational activities, its credibility, and, overall, to its mission to enhance human health. RCSI’s research strategy aims to build upon its strength in translational biomedical and clinical research to deliver transformational, high impact changes in health care. Targeting both Irish national and EU funding, along with increased collaboration with industry, is a major part of the RCSI research strategy. Forging increased collaboration between RCSI PIs and industry is of critical importance to achieving success in this area. RCSI is also committed to provide its researchers with the supports and developmental opportunities to enable them to continuously grow and support their overall career development.

Summary of Post

This is a broad and dynamic role that provides high-level, proactive support to senior, highly experienced researchers who are also prominent academics holding key leadership positions within the university, namely the Head of the department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine. A new soft robotics and MedTech research group is being established and this role will directly support academic staff involved in research of this type. These individuals lead complex, high-impact research programmes alongside teaching and wider university responsibilities, making this role critical to enabling their success. The Research Coordinator will act as a trusted partner, ensuring that administrative, financial, and operational aspects of research projects run smoothly. This is a unique opportunity to gain insights into the management of world class lab-based scientific research.

Working in conjunction with both research and professional colleagues the post holder will ensure the smooth operation of award registrations and act as a key liaison with other units in the University, e.g., Finance, and the Office of Research and Innovation. They will undertake planning and administrative work as required to progress these activities. The role will also involve collaborating with the wider research teams to support grant applications, publication submissions, and other activities essential to the success of a high performing research environment.

This requires exceptional organisational skills, discretion, and the ability to anticipate needs, manage competing priorities, and deliver under pressure in a fast-paced environment. The role also involves liaising with internal and external stakeholders, coordinating with funding bodies, and supporting collaborations with industry, all while maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and responsiveness.

Specifically, the duties of the post are:

• Overseeing administrative functions related to project grants using the RCSI RIMS system, including but not limited to raising purchase orders for study materials and completing recruitment forms for research staff and postgraduate students in support of the active research programmes of the soft robotics & Medtech hub.
• Monitoring day-to-day research budgets and assisting in preparing/submitting technical and financial reports to various funding agencies including but not limited to Research Ireland and Enterprise Ireland
• Organising and co-ordinating research meetings, conferences, and journal clubs
• Organising, and maintaining records of outreach and public engagement activities (including engagement with Communications Department and media as required)
• Working closely with the finance team, manage the budget for the research portfolios and be a key contact for the processing of finance transactions through Agresso and ad hoc invoicing.
• Provide regular and timely financial reports and tracking of costs.
• Assisting in the writing and submission of grant applications.
• Assisting in the preparation of press releases and disseminating research highlights and other relevant news (e.g. project publications) on various social media platforms.
• Support the management and reporting on programme and project plans and deliverable relating to the operation and research activities, including tracking and reporting of programme deliverables and milestones.
• Produce high-quality documents, reports presentations, and publications, including providing inputs into preparation of papers, reports and presentations, proofing or redrafting as required.
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders and relevant industry partners for collaborations

Qualifications – (Essential):

Knowledge & Experience – (Essential):

• Self-starter with the ability to work and operate effectively as part of a team
• Strong evidence of ability to meet deadlines
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written)
• Excellent IT (Knowledge of MS Office suite) and report-writing skills
• Pro-active approach to work, with the ability to anticipate and resolve potential problems in advance
• Keen attention to detail
• Flexibility i.e., ability to work flexibly within a busy environment, shifting focus when required
• Knowledge of the national/international research funding landscape and experience working with grants and research funders is desirable
• Knowledge of relevant academic structures and the Higher Education sector.
• Data analysis expertise would be desirable
• Experience working in a research management role (or similar) in a Higher Education environment.
• Familiarity with funding agency platforms e.g. RI SESAME
• Experience of research project budgetary and financial management
• Familiarity with a research laboratory environment

We are all too aware that imposter syndrome and the confidence gap can sometimes stop fantastic candidates putting themselves forward, so please do submit an application — we’d love to hear from you.