Research Assistant (Project Management) - NUS Cities

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE; Singapore; On-site; SGD 72,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The National University of Singapore is seeking a highly motivated Project Manager to contribute to the CA-ACM research project within the CFL. You will oversee timelines, budgets, and deliverables while serving as a key liaison between researchers and external stakeholders.

Role requires experience in project management, strong communication skills, and the ability to navigate a dynamic, interdisciplinary environment involving urban planning, policy, and data analysis.

Qualifications

• Master's or Bachelor's degree in urban planning, public policy, engineering, or a related field.
• Demonstrated project management experience, including planning, risk management, milestone tracking, budget oversight, and stakeholder coordination.
• Familiarity with Singapore's public sector and research funding landscape.
• Sufficient technical literacy to engage with quantitative components.
• Experience working in/interdisciplinary research teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication for academic and policy audiences.
• Proactive, organized, and adaptable to shifting research directions.

Responsibilities

• Manage project timelines, milestones, deliverables, and budgets with grantor reporting in mind.
• Liaise between research teams and external stakeholders, translating research outputs for policy use.
• Support planning, prioritization of workstreams, and risk flagging as research evolves.
• Coordinate across researchers to minimise bottlenecks and dependencies.
• Prepare project status reports, meeting docs, and stakeholder summaries.
• Organise workshops, presentations, and engagement sessions with public sector audiences.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder coordination

Written & verbal communication

Risk management

Education

Master's or Bachelor's in urban planning/public policy/engineering

Job description

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Job Description

NUS Cities is a university-wide, interdisciplinary entity hosted within the College of Design and Engineering, serving as an open and inclusive collaborative platform spanning Education, Research, and Advisory Services. The Cities Foresight Lab (CFL) is a growing multi-disciplinary research group at NUS Cities, operating at the intersection of urban planning, governance, and strategic insight.

The Community Assets and Activity Chain Modelling (CA-ACM) project is a research study commissioned by the Health Promotion Board to investigate how Singapore’s built environment shapes residents’ daily activities and lifestyle patterns. The project aims to identify features of the built environment that make active living intuitive and natural; develop composite indicators to measure and rank the attractiveness of different urban settings for various population groups; and uncover how these environmental features influence the type of physical activities people choose to engage in. The project brings together experts in urban studies, data science, public health, and social science research to surface evidence-based insights and design strategies that promote more active living.

We are seeking a highly motivated Project Manager to contribute to the project management and coordination components of the CA-ACM project.

Responsibilities

You will work across all levels of the research team to keep the project on track. Key areas of work include:

• Manage project timelines, milestones, deliverables, and budgets, ensuring alignment with grantor reporting requirements and expectations.
• Act as the primary liaison between the research team and external stakeholders, translating between technical research outputs and policy-facing communication.
• Support the PI and project lead in planning and prioritising workstreams, flagging risks early, and adapting plans as the research evolves.
• Facilitate team workflows and communication, coordinate across researchers working on various work packages to minimise bottlenecks and dependencies.
• Prepare project status reports, meeting documentation, and stakeholder-ready summaries of progress and findings.
• Assist in organising workshops, presentations, and engagement sessions with public sector audiences.

Qualifications

• Master's or Bachelor's degree in urban planning, public policy, engineering, or a related field.
• Demonstrated project management experience, including planning, risk management, milestone tracking, budget oversight, and stakeholder coordination.
• Familiarity with Singapore's public sector and research funding landscape.
• Sufficient technical literacy to engage meaningfully with the project's quantitative components.
• Experience working in or with interdisciplinary research teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging for both academic and policy audiences.
• Proactive, organised, and comfortable operating in a dynamic environment where research directions may shift.

We will begin evaluating candidates immediately, but the position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.

Further enquiries can be sent to [e-mail] (please indicate "Research Assistant (Project Management) Application for CA-ACM").