Research Programme Lead & Governance Specialist

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

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.