Reporting to the Director of the Applied Research Office (ARO), the Senior Manager / Assistant Director leads grants management and SIT's applied research initiatives through sound governance, data-informed decisions and continuous process improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end grants lifecycle from pre-award to post-award, including grant calls, proposal checks, grantor engagement, faculty support in project execution, performance monitoring, and claims and audit readiness.
• Provide leadership to the Grants Administration team, including priority setting and guidance on grant lifecycle processes.
• Lead enhancement of the grants management framework and governance and communicate changes and risks clearly to key stakeholders and senior management.
• Plan and lead the adoption of IT applications and AI-enabled tools to support SIT's applied research efforts and grant management.
• Partner with key stakeholders (i.e., HR, CIT, FIN and Academic staff) to streamline processes and remove barriers to applied research.
• Manage key grant portfolio operations, initiate and implement process enhancements.
• Compile, analyse and present grants data for reporting to stakeholders, using AI tools (where appropriate) to generate statistics, insights and summaries for key meetings.
• Oversee ARO KPI monitoring, and prepare KPI dashboards and statistical summaries, using AI tools (where appropriate), to support key meetings and platforms.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Director, in support of ARO's strategic priorities.

Job Requirements

• A degree in Engineering, Science, Business, or an equivalent field, along with a minimum of 10 years of work experience, including at least 5 years in management and leadership roles.
• Demonstrated leadership skills with a proven track record in project management, change management, and stakeholder engagement.
• Substantial experience in grant management, spanning both organisational and national levels.
• Proficiency in IT frameworks for grant submission, management, and reporting, with the ability to evaluate and adopt new digital and AI tools to improve grant administration processes.
• Working proficiency in AI-enabled productivity and analytics tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, Excel and Power BI) to analyse grants data, generate statistical reports and prepare clear, decision-ready summaries for key meetings, with sound judgement in validating AI-generated outputs.
• Resourceful and self-directed, able to work independently, exercise sound judgement on complex grants matters, and escalate risks to the Director in a timely manner.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) and ability to collaborate effectively with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple competing deadlines and deliver accurate outputs under tight grant call and reporting timelines.