POSITION DESCRIPTION

POSITION TITLE:  Senior Research Administrator

SALARY: Competitive salary commensurate with experience
Superannuation and leave entitlements as mandated
1.0 FTE

TERM/DURATION: June 2023, 2 years renewing
3 months’ probation, eligible for re-appointment

LOCATION: “Work from Home” arrangement with required weekly online team meetings;
1x/month required on-site work at 28 Derby Rd, Caulfield East VIC (CRC HQ) and other required events

___________________________________________________________________

Building 4.0 CRC

The building industry is central to the Australian economy, contributing 13% of GDP and employing over 1.4 million people. Unlike other sectors, it has failed to modernise and faces several challenges, including rising costs, a quality and defects crisis and stagnating productivity. Through deep collaboration and new technologies of the fourth industrial age, Building 4.0 CRC aims to catapult the industry into an efficient, connected and customer-centric future. This transformation will deliver better buildings at lower cost and the human capacity to lead this future industry.

The Australian Government’s Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) program has been operating since 1991 and supports industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and the community. The CRC is established as an independent entity, operating as a not-for-profit under Australian tax law, with an independent board and core executive team to manage the operations and stakeholders of the CRC. Building 4.0 CRC aims to advance collaborative R&D in the building industry directed towards producing and commercialising new materials, methods, products or devices, technologies, systems and services (or substantially improving those already in existence), for the benefit of Australia. The CRC’s outputs will be generated with the aim of positioning Australia as a leader in the advanced manufacture of buildings.

The CRC will undertake activities aimed at:

  • establishing a world-class innovation ecosystem that nurtures a holistic approach to research, development and commercialisation of new products, services and processes in the building industry;
  • developing new industry-wide culture, practices and standard protocols, including skills and training development, policy and regulations improvement, supply and value chain connection and consumer and market engagement;
  • leveraging the latest technologies, data science and artificial intelligence in the development of new construction systems and building process, designs and techniques; and
  • delivering digital, building and sectoral technological solutions with the aim to unlock productivity, growth and increase community and customer value.

Position Summary

The highest goal of Building 4.0 CRC is to achieve meaningful innovation and collaboration with our consortium partners, and thereby national and international excellence in the development and transformation of the building industry. The role of the Senior Research Administrator is critical to achieving these goals.

The Senior Research Administrator is to effectively administer all aspects of project development, approval and operation. Significant in carrying out these roles is the communication and correspondence with various stakeholders (researchers, industry partners and CRC executive) and administering the detailed process required for both project approval and project reporting.

Reporting directly to the Research Director, the incumbent will play a key role in the day-to-day operation of the CRC Projects Group which includes 3x university Program Leaders, the Project Milestone Manager, Lighthouse Projects Manager, the Skills & Training Leader and the CRC Partnerships Director. The group meets weekly to facilitate execution of the core business of the CRC.

The Senior Research Administrator also acts as the secretariat for the Projects Advisory Committee, an external elected body which plays a governance role in approving all contracted research projects. The PAC meets quarterly.

Fundamental to the Senior Research Administrator role is the support of and close collaboration with the Research Director to coordinate project concept initiation, development and execution. Coordination and updating of all research project and industry partner data for reporting and strategy is required.

The incumbent is responsible for data entry into the Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM platforms, where all project information is held. This includes tracking of stakeholders, participants, budgets, timelines, and reporting information.

Organisational Context

The Senior Research Administrator is a member of the Research Portfolio as illustrated below.

Key Responsibilities

  • Building 4.0 CRC is structured around projects that are staffed by the CRC academic and industry participants. The Senior Research Administrator will need to ensure that the administrative workflow of briefs and agreements is accurate and up-to-date through hands-on management and, if required, liaison with the CRC’s legal counsel.
  • Prepare and execute contracts for projects (new and existing) including providing guidance on budget, scope, and deliverables – working closely and in collaboration with the Executive and relevant parties including industry partners, participants, stakeholders, and other research parties. This includes taking appropriate steps when a variation to contract/agreement is required and to manage negotiations with project parties toward successful resolution.
  • Monitoring of projects through the course of their project lifecycle to determine that they are meeting contractual and Commonwealth obligations. Assist the Company Secretary in the maintenance of the Commonwealth Milestone tracker.
  • Maintain relevant spreadsheets and databases used to internally track portfolio budgets, project development pipeline, and overall strategy/position of the portfolio. Assist Research Director in generating reports and graphs for the Executive and the CRC Board.
  • Sustain an in-depth understanding of business needs to deliver effective, consistent services, including acting as a first point of contact for the Research Director for external enquiries
  • Maintain the customer relationship management (CRM) database, and as needed, provide training for new users.
  • Manage minutes and actions for regular Projects Advisory Committee (PAC) meetings.
  • Support the Research Director in managing regular meetings and agendas for the Projects Group (weekly) and Projects High Level (monthly).
  • Support the Research Director in managing regular meetings and agendas with University Partners (“Research Organisations”) and academic project leaders.
  • Liaise where appropriate with University research offices to provide updates, communication, and to facilitate project approvals.
  • Liaise with Industry Partners to provide requested information and to assist in project formation and/or tracking.
  • Undertake other duties as requested by the Research Director.

Skills, Knowledge, and Essential Characteristics

  • Excellent skills and proficiency with MS Office including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Sharepoint
  • Excellent skills and proficiency with Zoom and MS Teams
  • Demonstrated experience with Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM or similar systems
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills (written and verbal)
  • Team-oriented and excellent collaborator
  • Self-directed and highly motivated personality
  • Ability to proactively organise tasks and duties needed to fulfill the role
  • Excellent time management and ability to deliver on deadlines
  • Project monitoring and reporting; report writing
  • Maintaining customer relationship management databases
  • Problem-solving capacity and mindset to creatively work through challenges

Level of Supervision

The incumbent will function independently under broad direction from the Research Director.

Judgement and Professionalism

The incumbent is required to exercise sound judgement in areas of his/her expertise, in particular in the relationships with external parties and confidentiality.

Personal Attributes

  • Ability to work as part of a cross-functional team
  • Excellent communication (written and oral) and interpersonal skills
  • Good analytic skills, and strong attention to detail
  • Enthusiasm, passion and drive to attain personal and organisational success
  • Honest, reliable and ethical in all dealings

Qualifications and Experience

Required

  • Masters Degree in a field relevant to the position responsibilities and/or an equivalent level of knowledge gained through any other combination of education, training and/or experience
  • Experience in administrative and/or project management working in a research environment
  • Expertise in the relevant software applications and systems as described above (MS Office and Zoho)

 Desirable

  • Knowledge of construction and/or manufacturing, particularly related to emerging technology
  • Prior experience working in the tertiary education sector
  • An understanding of operational processes in both research organisations and private industry

Occupational Health & Safety

It is each staff member’s responsibility to adhere to Occupational Health & Safety and Environmental regulations/legislation as follows:

  • All staff members are to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Guidelines and to adopt work practices that support OH&S programs.
  • Take reasonable care for the safety of his/her own health and safety and that of other people who may be affected by their conduct in the workplace.
  • Seek guidance for all new or modified work procedures to ensure that any hazardous conditions, near misses and injures are reported immediately to supervisor.
  • Must not wilfully place at risk the health or safety of any person in the workplace.
  • Participate in meetings, training and other environment, health and safety activities.
  • Must not wilfully or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interest of environment, health and safety or welfare.
  • Wear personal protective equipment as provided, and use equipment in compliance with relevant guidelines, without wilful interference or misuse.
  • Must cooperate with the CRC in relation to actions taken by the CRC to comply with Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental legislation.
  • All staff members are to comply with COVID safe mandates and guidelines.

To Apply

Please provide a current CV and a brief letter introducing yourself, suited skills and experience and importantly why this role has caught your interest. 

Don’t delay to apply as applications will be reviewed as they are submitted and a suited candidate appointed.

Forward you application or any queries to kate.pendergast@liquidhr.com.au 

Search Building 4.0 CRC