Manager, Research Grant Management Operations

We are building AI-enabled operating systems to support research translation, venture building, grant administration and commercialisation workflows.

We work across university teams, researchers, startups, corporate partners and public funding agencies to turn complex manual processes into structured, auditable and scalable workflows.

As Manager, Research Grant Management Operations, you are responsible for the operational integrity of three funding streams: MOE De-GAP, Central GAP and Technology Development Agreement (TDA) funding.

You ensure that grant finances, claims, procurement, project progress and grantor reporting are tracked accurately, followed through consistently, and supported by reliable data.

This is a hands-on ownership role. You will lead weekly operating cadence, keep dashboards accurate, drive stakeholder follow-up, and help move grant administration away from manual work into an integrated AI-driven grant management solution.

Separately, you will support new programme reviews from an operational, overseas compliance and financial sustainability perspective, ensuring programmes are administratively workable and at minimum financially neutral unless otherwise approved.

• Monitor grant budgets, commitments, utilisation and remaining balances across De-GAP, Central GAP and TDA.
• Coordinate claims submission, supporting documents, WBS tracking and claims-related queries.
• Reconcile approved budgets, actual spend and remaining balances, and flag under-utilisation, overspend or budget risk early.
• Maintain clear, reliable financial views to support management decisions and grantor reporting.
• Manage grant audits.

• Lead the procurement follow-through for grant-funded activities, from request initiation to PO, vendor follow-up and closure.
• Coordinate with project teams, procurement, finance and vendors to resolve delays or documentation issues.
• Ensure procurement is aligned with approved budgets, grant requirements and internal policies.
• Maintain procurement status as part of the overall project dashboard.

• Maintain updated project milestones, deliverables, timelines and reporting commitments.
• Lead the weekly cadence to ensure project updates are current, complete and accurate.
• Prepare progress updates, management reports and grantor reports with supporting documentation.
• Flag delays, risks, changes in scope or reporting gaps early for management attention.

• Maintain a single source of truth for project status, budget utilisation, procurement progress, claims and reporting.
• Ensure dashboards are updated before management reviews and reflect actual project status, not outdated inputs.
• Follow up on open actions, overdue items and missing updates across stakeholders.
• Escalate issues that require decisions, approvals or intervention.

• Map current manual workflows across De-GAP, Central GAP and TDA and identify bottlenecks, duplication and control gaps.
• Translate operational requirements into system requirements for an in-house AI-driven grant management solution.
• Support integration across Monday.com, Jedox, Slack, iRIMS and other relevant systems.
• Design and test workflow logic for reminders, approvals, claims tracking, reporting and dashboard updates.
• Contribute as a process owner and product user, ensuring the solution is practical, auditable and scalable.

• Bring De-GAP, Central GAP and TDA into one coherent grant management framework.
• Standardise tracking, reporting, claims and dashboard logic where possible.
• Document the differences in funding mechanics, approval routes, milestone tracking and reporting obligations.
• Avoid separate manual workflows by building a common operating model that can support different grant types.

• Support new programme review as a separate scope from grant administration.
• Assess whether new programmes are administratively workable and financially neutral at minimum, unless otherwise approved.
• Check overseas compliance considerations, funding source, cost recovery, claims process and reporting obligations.
• Flag unfunded, non-compliant or operationally unsustainable commitments before programme launch.

• Work closely with Principal Investigators, project leads, grantors, finance, procurement, vendors, automation teams and internal management.
• Translate operational issues into clear actions, owners and timelines.
• Follow up firmly and professionally to keep work moving.
• Keep management informed of risks, delays and decisions required.

Please be informed that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

• 5+ years of strong project, programme or grant administration experience.
• Experience managing budgets, claims submission, procurement tracking and reporting.
• Good financial literacy and comfort with WBS structures, budget monitoring and claims documentation.
• Strong follow-through and ability to lead weekly operating cadence.
• Ability to maintain accurate dashboards, trackers and reporting views.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across finance, procurement, project teams and management.
• Attention to governance, compliance, audit trail and reporting discipline.
• Comfort operating in an environment where processes are still being built.

• Experience working with AI tools to improve process efficiency.
• Experience supporting automation, workflow redesign or systems implementation.
• Experience integrating multiple workflows into one operating model.
• Experience with grant administration, research funding, public funding or commercialisation funding.
• Experience with systems such as Monday.com, Jedox, Slack, iRIMS, SAP, BMC Helix, Submittable or Xero.
• Exposure to overseas programme administration, compliance checks or cost recovery models.

This is a chance to help build the operating backbone for research translation and venture creation. You will sit close to the work, the data and the decisions — supporting grants today while helping build the AI-enabled system that makes the function more scalable tomorrow.