Centre Manager - Research (3-year contract)

AMP Singapore; Singapore; On-site; SGD 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent community organization in Singapore is seeking a Centre Manager to lead the strategic, research, and operational functions of RIMA. The ideal candidate should possess a recognized university degree, have at least 6 years of research experience, and strong management skills. This role involves overseeing research projects, stakeholder engagements, and team leadership while ensuring compliance and effective financial management. The successful applicant will contribute significantly to the Malay/Muslim community through targeted initiatives.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in executing or managing social science research activities.
• Minimum 6 years research experience.
• Minimum 3 years management/project lead experience.
• Experience in editorial work and managing publications.
• Strong understanding of the Malay/Muslim community is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall strategic leadership for RIMA.
• Oversee design, implementation, and dissemination of research projects.
• Manage administrative, research, and operational functions of the Centre.
• Lead public engagements such as conferences and workshops.
• Maintain relationships with stakeholders, including government and community organizations.
• Supervise and mentor the research and administrative team.
• Prepare reports for RIMA’s Board and compliance with governance requirements.

Skills

Social science research management

Financial management

Strong writing and communication skills

Networking capabilities

Education

Recognised university degree

Job description

The Centre Manager provides overall strategic, research and operational leadership for RIMA. This is the head‑of‑centre role with overall accountability for RIMA’s strategy, delivery and performance.

The candidate would be responsible for the following duties:

1. Strategic Leadership & Direction

• Set the strategic direction of RIMA’s research, publications and engagement work, ensuring alignment with RIMA’s mission and AMP Singapore’s organisational priorities.

• Lead efforts to monitor social, economic and policy trends affecting the Malay/Muslim community, including commissioning and/or conducting periodic environmental scans.

• Translate strategic priorities into multi‑year and annual workplans, KPIs and measurable outcomes for the Centre.

2. Research Leadership & Project Governance

• Provide overall oversight for the design, implementation and dissemination of RIMA’s research projects and studies.

• Serve as Project Lead/Principal Investigator for selected flagship and externally commissioned projects, including stakeholder engagement, research design, data collection, analysis and reporting.

• Ensure that research processes adhere to ethical standards, data protection requirements and good research governance, including secure safekeeping of all research data.

• Oversee the quality assurance of research outputs (reports, briefs, commentaries, books, podcasts and other publications).

3. Organisational, Financial & Operational Management

• Oversee and manage the administrative, research and operational functions of the Centre, including human resource planning, workload allocation and performance management.

• Develop, manage and monitor RIMA’s overall budget, including project budgets, grant administration and financial stewardship.

• Put in place systems, SOPs and policies to support effective operations, risk management and compliance with AMP Singapore’s governance requirements.

4. Programmes, Events, Publications & Thought Leadership

• Lead the conceptualisation, planning and execution of RIMA’s conferences, workshops, seminars, webinars, training programmes and other public engagement activities.

• Drive RIMA’s publishing and thought leadership work (e.g. commentaries, opinion pieces, Karyawan, briefs, reports, podcasts and other platforms) on key issues affecting the Malay/Muslim community.

• Lead and oversee RIMA’s book and major publication projects, including concept development, commissioning of contributors, editorial review and coordination with designers/publishers.

• Represent RIMA at dialogues, forums, media engagements and other platforms as required, strengthening RIMA’s profile as a trusted research and thought leadership centre.

5. Stakeholder Engagement & Partnerships

• Maintain and grow strong relationships with key stakeholders – including government agencies, community organisations, funders, academic partners and international collaborators.

• Lead efforts to expand RIMA’s research networks, partnerships and collaborative platforms.

• Work closely with AMP Singapore to support its thought leadership initiatives, including follow‑up to AMP Conventions and strategic projects.

• Provide, delegate and coordinate analytical and research support for AMP’s various departments and projects.

6. Team Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead, supervise and mentor the research and administrative team to ensure high‑quality work, timely delivery and professional growth.

• Build the team’s capabilities in research methods, data analysis, writing, project management and stakeholder engagement through coaching and development opportunities.

• Foster a collaborative, values‑driven culture within RIMA, aligned with AMP Singapore’s mission and values.

7. Governance, Reporting & Accountability

• Prepare and present regular reports, analysis and updates to RIMA’s Board and Executive Committee on strategy, research findings, finances, risks and operations.

• Report to AMP Singapore’s Board/senior management on matters related to AMP–RIMA joint projects, commissioned studies and major collaborations.

• Ensure compliance with governance requirements, including timely submissions of reports, audits, grant deliverables and contractual obligations.

Job Requirements

• Recognised university degree in any discipline.

• Proven experience in executing or managing social science research activities.

• Minimum 6 years research experience.

• Minimum 3 years management / project lead experience.

• Strong financial management skills, coupled with excellent organisational and interpersonal abilities.

• Good writing and communication skills, with a strong command of English.

• Experience in editorial work and managing publications.

• Strong networking capabilities and an understanding of the Malay/Muslim community will be considered an added advantage.