Research Post-Award Advisor

Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa; Palmerston North; On-site; NZD 71,000 - 101,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

UniSaver Superannuation

University holidays

Healthcare plan

Job summary

Massey University is seeking a Post-Award Advisor to join our Research Operations team, based at the Manawatu Campus in Palmerston North. This full-time, 37.5-hour-a-week role provides practical guidance to researchers on post-award management, funding compliance and project close-out.

You will collaborate with Finance, Schools and Colleges, and other stakeholders to ensure contractual obligations are met and reports are delivered accurately and on time across externally funded projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree essential with extensive research administration experience or equivalent.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are required.
• Ability to work collaboratively across multiple specialist areas and meet tight deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Build trusted relationships and facilitate effective communication across Research Operations, Finance, researchers, Schools, Colleges and other stakeholders.
• Act as a key point of contact for researchers, providing professional and responsive advice and support.
• Translate funder requirements, contractual obligations and University policies into practical guidance for researchers.
• Monitor project obligations, milestones, timelines, finances and reporting requirements, including accurate administration, reconciliation and close-out.
• Identify, monitor and report project risks and issues.
• Maintain accurate project records and support compliance, audit and accreditation activities.
• Identify and implement improvements to systems, processes and best-practice approaches, including developing training resources and user guidance.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Written communication

Organisational skills

Project administration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Office software

Email

Project management software

Job description

Help Massey researchers deliver successful externally funded research.

Massey University is seeking a Post-Award Advisor to join our Research Operations team. In this role you will provide practical, high-quality advice and coordination that helps researchers and the University meet externally funded research commitments. This is an ongoing, full-time position of 37.5 hours per week. The preferred location is our Manawatu Campus in Palmerston North. Auckland or Wellington campus arrangements may be negotiated for the right candidate.

Mo tenei turanga mahi | About the role

In this highly collaborative role, you will support the successful delivery of externally funded research projects across the University, acting as a trusted advisor and key point of contact for researchers and stakeholders. Working across Research Operations, Finance, Schools and Colleges, you will provide expert guidance, foster strong relationships, and help ensure research projects are managed effectively, comply with contractual and funding requirements, and achieve successful outcomes from post-award through to project close-out.

Key responsibilities include:

• Building trusted relationships and facilitating effective communication across Research Operations, Finance, researchers, Schools, Colleges and other stakeholders.
• Acting as a key point of contact for researchers, providing professional and responsive advice and support.
• Translating funder requirements, contractual obligations and University policies and processes into practical guidance for researchers.
• Monitoring project obligations, milestones, timelines, finances and reporting requirements, including supporting accurate administration, reconciliation and project close-out.
• Identifying, monitoring, mitigating and reporting project risks and issues.
• Maintaining accurate project records and supporting compliance, audit and accreditation activities.
• Identifying and implementing improvements to systems, processes and best-practice approaches, including developing training resources and user guidance.

Mou | About you

You will be a proactive, organised and service-focused professional who enjoys working collaboratively across a wide range of specialist areas.

You will bring:

• excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build constructive working relationships
• well-developed written and oral communication skills
• strong organisational and time-management skills, with accuracy under tight deadlines
• sound experience with office practices, standard software, email and project administration
• the ability to anticipate requirements, monitor progress and contribute to process improvement
• a relevant bachelor's degree is essential along with demonstrated extensive research administration experience, or equivalent.

Ko nga hua o te turanga? | What's in it for you?

You will join a collaborative Research Operations team whose expertise spans project management, legal, financial and funder requirements. The role offers varied work, strong connections across the University and the opportunity to make a practical contribution to research success.

Massey University supports flexible working and a healthy work-life balance, with access to campus facilities and staff benefits.

• up to 6.75% employer contribution to the UniSaver Superannuation Scheme
• five university holidays each year
• subsidised Southern Cross Healthcare plan for you and your whanau

The salary for this position will depend on skills and experience but will be in the range of Grade 6 ($71,274 - $101,329).

Further enquiries should be directed to Marise Murrie, Manager Research Innovation and Impact at [e-mail].