Senior Manager (Awards)

About This Opportunity

The Senior Manager (Awards) provides leadership to multiple teams, ensuring the delivery of high quality post-award research management services to the UQ research community. This role oversees all aspects of the post-award lifecycle of research projects, including the preparation, review, and execution of grant agreements, ensuring compliance with institutional and funding provider policies.

Reporting to the Associate Director (Awards), you will promote a culture of continuous improvement, develop robust stakeholder networks, and collaborate across the R&I portfolio to ensure the delivery of timely, customer-focused services.

Key responsibilities will include:

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and coach skilled teams of Awards staff, setting direction and ensuring appropriate professional development opportunities.

Complex Case & Contract Management

• Manage complex, large scale post-award matters and provide authoritative advice on intricate research grant contractual arrangements.

Continuous Operational Improvement

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement by regularly reviewing business practices and processes to enhance service delivery and resource allocation.

Strategic Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and sustain collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders, providing high level strategic advice to senior executives.

About You

You possess the unique ability to differentiate between day to day management and the open minded, strategic leadership necessary to empower a high performing team within an intense, world class institution.

• Postgraduate qualifications, or equivalent extensive experience, in research administration, preferably within a large and complex higher education setting.
• Senior level expertise in post-award research grant management, contract execution, and compliance frameworks, with a proven track record managing major health and medical funding streams (e.g., NHMRC, MRFF, and clinical trials).
• Experience in the health, medical, or clinical research sector, with an understanding of the regulatory and compliance environment in which health and medical research operates.
• Proven ability as a strategic thinker with the capacity to quickly analyse complex concepts, exercise sound judgment, and deliver practical solutions under pressure with concurrent deadlines.
• Demonstrated experience managing and developing teams within a customer focused service delivery environment, with a track record of driving continuous improvement.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with the evidenced ability to formulate policy, deliver strategic advice to senior executives, and maintain effective relationships across diverse functional areas.