Senior Grants Officer (Pre-Award)

• Research Office
• This is a full-time continuing position with salary in the range $104,616 - $113,920 (HEW 7), plus a generous super allowance of up to 17%.
• Champion research excellence across diverse disciplines by leading high-stakes grant rounds within a collaborative and supportive team environment.
• Thrive in a fast-paced, high-impact role where your strategic advice and meticulous project management directly empower UQ's global research community.
• Based at our conveniently located Toowong office.

About This Opportunity

The Senior Grants Officer (Pre-Award) is a high-impact position designed to maximise the quality and competitiveness of UQ’s research funding bids. In this role, you will serve as a strategic partner to researchers and faculties, combining expert policy advice with meticulous project management to lead end-to-end grant rounds. Beyond operational delivery, you will act as a senior mentor and capability-builder, driving the continuous improvement of pre-award systems to ensure UQ remains a global leader in research excellence.

Key responsibilities will include:

Strategic Outreach and Engagement

• Act as a trusted advisor, co-designing best-practice resources and delivering high-impact workshops and presentations to enhance grant readiness across the University.

Grant Round Leadership

• Lead the end-to-end planning and coordination of complex national and international funding rounds, ensuring seamless collaboration between faculties and central portfolios to meet strict deadlines.

Expert Advisory and Quality Assurance

• Provide authoritative, tailored advice on sensitive or non-standard pre-award issues, conducting meticulous quality reviews to ensure every application is competitive and compliant.

Capability Growth and Process Innovation

• Drive continuous improvement by mentoring less experienced staff and identifying opportunities to optimise pre-award systems, workflows, and service delivery standards.

Additional requirements

• Occasional travel to other UQ campuses.
• Additional working hours during peak periods.
• Leave restrictions during peak periods.

About You

• Relevant tertiary qualifications and/or significant experience in interpreting complex funding rules, with a proven ability to deliver high-quality feedback in a high-pressure environment.
• Exceptional written and verbal skills, with a track record of building strong working relationships and delivering tailored outreach in a large, complex organisation.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously on complex matters, exercising sound judgement within risk frameworks while actively coaching others to build team capability.
• Methodical approach to managing multi-stakeholder activities and shifting deadlines, with the analytical skill to use data and systems to drive operational excellence.

You must maintain unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment, and may be required to complete background checks including, criminal history and education checks. Employer sponsored work rights are not available for this appointment.

About UQ

As part of the UQ community, you will have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world.

Everyone here has a role to play. As a member of our professional staff cohort, you will be actively involved in working towards our vision of a better world. By supporting the academic endeavour across teaching, research, and the student life, you will have the opportunity to contribute to activities that have a lasting impact on our community.

Join a community where excellence is at the core of our culture, contributions are valued and a range of benefits and rewards are available, such as:

• 26 weeks paid parental leave or 14 weeks paid primary caregiver leave, 17% superannuation contributions, 17.5% annual leave loading.
• Access to flexible working arrangements including hybrid working options, flexible start/finish times, purchased leave, and a condensed fortnight.
• Health and wellness discounts – fitness passport access, free yearly flu vaccinations, discounted health insurance, and access to our Employee Assistance Program for staff and their immediate family.
• Salary packaging options.

Want to Apply?

All applicants must upload the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Cover letter addressing the ‘About You’ section
• Resume

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Emma at e.gunders@uq.edu.au. For application queries, please contact talent@uq.edu.au stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line.

Applications close 5 March 2026 at 11.00pm AEST (Job Reference Number - R-60981). Please note interviews have been tentatively scheduled for week beginning 16 March 2026.

UQ is committed to a fair, equitable and inclusive selection process, which recognises that some applicants may face additional barriers and challenges which have impacted and/or continue to impact their career trajectory. Candidates who don’t meet all criteria are encouraged to apply and demonstrate their potential. The selection panel considers both potential and performance relative to opportunities when assessing suitability for the role.

Our strength as an institution lies in our diverse colleagues. We're dedicated to equity, diversity, and inclusion, fostering an environment that mirrors our wider community. We're committed to attracting, retaining, and promoting diverse talent, particularly from Australia’s First Nations Peoples. If you require an alternative method to submit your application due to accessibility needs or personal circumstances, please contact talent@uq.edu.au.

If you are a current employee (including casual staff and HDR scholars) or hold an unpaid/affiliate appointment, please login to your staff Workday account and visit the internal careers board to apply for this opportunity. Please do NOT apply via the external job board.