Research Support Administrator

Job Purpose To provide comprehensive research management support, administration and process advice and guidance to Project Co-ordinators and Principal Investigators across the college, fostering a strong customer service culture. To be the main point of contact between College staff and University Services Research Support Office staff to clarify, and implement administrative requirements and resolve issues in order to provide effective research management support to Principal Investigators. To provide administration support to the College Research Office. Main Duties and Responsibilities 1. Provide an effective and efficient research management support administrative service, exercising initiative and judgement to prioritise, plan, and monitor administration activity and to ensure a proactive response to fluctuations in service demands. 2. Support Project Coordinators and Principal Investigators in pre and post award activities. This is likely to include, but not limited to;

• Assisting in the preparation of funding applications by preparing accurate costings, collating and uploading required information and documents

• Monitoring post award expenditure against budget and providing advice on the resolutions of project and financial queries, highlighting potential issues to the Principal Investigators and Project Coordinators, and liaising with the University Services Research Support Office to ensure maximum funds are claimed from funders

• Implementing project changes e.g. requesting staff changes, requesting / processing budget virements, etc., ensuring that changes are within budget and allowable by funders, and updating University systems, as required

• Running exception reports from the research system to identify and resolve issues, escalating more complex problems to the Project Coordinator for review

• Supporting Project Coordinators and Principal Investigators, as necessary, with recruitment activity in line with college/school/research institute procedures and project change processes and control

• Progressing application outcomes and reconciling and process awards from funders, updating the system accordingly

3. Assist with the provision and analysis of data for the College Research Support Office, Principal Investigators and Budget Holders. 4. Assist with the development, testing and implementation of systems and procedures to ensure continuous improvement in the performance of the College Research Support Office service. 5. Maintain and ensure integrity of relevant project data on University systems. 6. Assist with ad hoc projects and other relevant duties as required within the Research Support Service. 7. Undertake and participate in continued professional development activities. Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience Knowledge/Qualifications Essential: A1 Ability to demonstrate the competencies required to undertake the duties associated with this post having acquired the necessary knowledge and skills in a similar role. Or: Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 7 (Advanced Higher / Scottish Vocational Qualification level 3, Higher National Certificate) or equivalent
A2 Detailed knowledge and understanding of managing and manipulating data in spreadsheets. A3 Knowledge of financial processes and systems.
A4 Knowledge and understanding of administration and support services Desirable: B1 Knowledge of Higher Education research administration. B2 Knowledge of funding application processes and funder guidelines. Skills Essential: C1 Proven interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.
C2 Effective planning, organising and prioritising skills with ability to adapt effectively to changing priorities or requirements. C3 Good analytical and problem solving skills.
C4 Excellent attention to detail and ability to work with high degree of numerical and data accuracy. C5 Strong IT skills, including Excel, Word and networked systems.
C6 Strong customer service skills. C7 Proven ability to work independently and as part of a team.
C8 Initiative and judgement to resolve problems independently. Experience Essential: E1 Experience of relevant research administration or experience in a similar or related role. E2 Experience of processing, manipulating and analysing data. E3 Experience of using financial and/or costing systems or experience in a similar or related role. E4 Experience in delivering a customer focused service. E5 Experience of creating and maintaining working relationships across and beyond an organisation. Desirable: F1 Experience of Higher Education environment.
F2 Experience of research administration processes and funders. F3 Experience of monitoring and interpreting budgets, with support from specialist staff. F4 Understanding of Full Economic costing. F5 Experience of working with Agresso or a similar financial system. Terms and Conditions Salary will be Grade 5, £24,715 - £28,929 per annum. This post is full time (35 hours per week) and open ended. As part of Team UofG you will be a member of a world changing, inclusive community, which values ambition, excellence, integrity and curiosity. As a valued member of our team, you can expect: 1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared. 2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages. 3 A flexible approach to working. 4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/. We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/. We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University. We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.