Research Programme Coordinator

Watershed Consulting; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 450,000 - 650,000; Part time

Job summary

Watershed Consulting in Cape Town, South Africa, seeks a part-time Research Programme Coordinator for a 6-month fixed-term contract (potentially renewable). Hybrid work arrangement with 15 hours per week across two days.

The role serves as the operational backbone of the Research function, overseeing project schedules, governance, data reporting, procurement, and communications across staff, committees, and external partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification preferred; experiential pathways may be considered.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in project coordination, programme administration or operational support.
• High proficiency in Microsoft 365 and digital collaboration tools.

Responsibilities

• Manage research project schedules, track milestones and deliverables.
• Provide governance and secretariat support to committees.
• Prepare reports, dashboards and executive summaries for leadership and partners.
• Coordinate procurement, vendor contracts and invoice processing.
• Coordinate communications, stakeholder meetings and event logistics.
• Support research topic development and monitoring & evaluation processes.

Skills

Project management

Governance

Stakeholder liaison

Communication

Initiative

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft 365

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Outlook

Teams

SharePoint

Job description

RESEARCH PROGRAMME COORDINATOR

Location: Cape Town, South Africa (Hybrid)

Position Type: 6-Month Fixed-Term Contract (Potentially Renewable)

Work Schedule: Part-time (15 hours per week / 2 days per week)

Purpose of the Role

The Research Programme Coordinator serves as the central operational backbone of the Research function, providing comprehensive project management, governance, administrative, and coordination support.

This role ensures research programmes run smoothly, milestone deadlines are met, governance structures are rigorously supported, and internal operational workflows operate seamlessly across staff, voluntary committees, and external institutional partners.

Key Responsibilities and Outcomes

1. Research Project & Schedule Management

• Maintain and track the overall research project schedule, monitoring milestones, deliverables, and progress.
• Liaise with researchers, independent contractors, and external partners to ensure timely fulfilment of project obligations.
• Prepare project monitoring reports, executive dashboards, and milestone summaries for management and governance bodies.

2. Governance & Secretariat Support

• Deliver comprehensive secretariat support to the Research Committee and associated working groups.
• Manage meeting agendas, compile and distribute comprehensive meeting packs, draft accurate minutes, and track post-meeting action items to completion.
• Maintain meticulous governance records and ensure compliance with statutory and institutional governance guidelines.

3. Information Management & Reporting

• Support monitoring and evaluation (M&E) processes for research activities and published outputs.
• Collate data and compile structured reports, dashboards, and executive summaries for both internal leadership and external stakeholders.
• Maintain accurate, centralized archives of all ongoing and concluded research activities.

4. Operational Administration & Procurement

• Coordinate central operational administration, including prize adjudications, service contracts, vendor procurement, and invoice processing.
• Standardise and maintain central document repositories, templates, and administrative records.
• Liaise cross-functionally with finance, legal, and operational units to resolve administrative bottlenecks.

5. Communications & Stakeholder Coordination

• Collaborate with the Marketing and Communications team to draft and publish non-technical project updates, research summaries, and calls for expressions of interest.
• Coordinate website content updates to ensure research pages reflect current projects and outputs.
• Coordinate logistical arrangements for stakeholder meetings, workshops, and research forums.

6. Research Radar & Topic Development

• Support the maintenance and ongoing updates of the organisation’s Research Radar by capturing emerging industry topics and stakeholder submissions.
• Conduct basic desk research and literature reviews to support new topic development.
• Coordinate annual and ongoing calls for research proposals and industry submissions.

7. Continuous Process Improvement

• Review existing administrative templates, operating workflows, and operational procedures to identify bottlenecks.
• Proactively propose and implement structured, quality-driven enhancements to streamline project delivery across the unit.

Requirements and Qualifications

• Education: A recognised Bachelor’s degree or equivalent tertiary qualification is preferred. Formal recognition of prior learning via experiential pathways will be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Experience: A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in project coordination, programme administration, or operational support within a professional service, academic, non-profit, or corporate environment.
• Technical Literacy: High proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint) and confidence navigating digital collaboration tools and platforms.
• Project Delivery: Demonstrated exposure to project management principles and milestone tracking across multiple simultaneous deliverables.

Core Competencies

• Structure & Organisation: Exceptional organizational discipline with the ability to maintain structured working methods in an autonomous environment.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Polished written and verbal communication skills, capable of liaising effectively with executives, academic contributors, and volunteer committee members.
• Initiative & Proactivity: A self-starter mindset with strong problem-solving capabilities and a track record of process optimization.
• Attention to Detail: High-quality orientation and precision in administrative outputs, minute-taking, and documentation.
• Financial & Process Acumen: Basic understanding of procurement routines, contract workflows, and invoice processing.

Skillset Required

• Project management
• Governance
• Administrative support
• Coordination support
• Research project schedule management
• Milestone tracking
• Deliverables tracking
• Stakeholder liaison
• Report preparation
• Executive dashboards
• Secretariat support
• Meeting agenda management
• Minute-taking
• Action item tracking
• Governance record maintenance
• Compliance monitoring
• Monitoring and evaluation processes
• Data collation
• Report compilation
• Information management
• Document management
• Operational administration
• Procurement
• Prize adjudication coordination
• Service contracts management
• Vendor procurement
• Invoice processing
• Document repository standardization
• Cross-functional liaison
• Communications coordination
• Marketing collaboration
• Website content updates
• Logistical coordination
• Desk research
• Literature review
• Process improvement
• Microsoft 365
• Word
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• Outlook
• Teams
• SharePoint
• Digital collaboration tools
• Project delivery principles
• Organizational discipline
• Stakeholder engagement
• Written communication
• Verbal communication
• Initiative
• Proactivity
• Problem-solving
• Process optimization
• Attention to detail
• Financial acumen
• Procurement routines
• Contract workflows