PROGRAMME MANAGER
(SFI/IUA COLLABORATIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAMME)
Role Specification:
The SFI Research Centres programme has a strong management and oversight component. To assist with
that role the SFI and IUA are collaborating on a placement programme which will see 5 Programme Manager
posts appointed to work with SFI on the Research Centres. Those appointed to the posts will be employed
by one of the host universities and will be placed within SFI (Dublin) on a specific purpose contract for a
period of 5 years.
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is the national foundation for investment in scientific and engineering
research. SFI invests in academic researchers and research teams who are most likely to generate new
knowledge, leading edge technologies and competitive enterprises in the fields of science, technology,
engineering and maths (STEM). SFI’s investments in major research projects are focused on the areas of
strategic national importance as outlined in the Report of the National Research Prioritisation (NRP) Exercise.
SFI also advances co-operative efforts and partnerships amongst industry, education, government and
charities that support its fields of research and promote Ireland as a country of research excellence with
impact.
The object of this placement scheme shall be to place selected university staff within SFI to support the
effective management of the SFI Research Centres programme and oversight of the existing SFI Research
Centre awards and to strengthen collaboration between SFI and the universities and Irish Universities
Association (IUA) generally:
The initial participants in the placement scheme shall be SFI, the Irish Universities Association, Trinity College
Dublin, NUI Galway, University of Limerick and University College Dublin.
Duties/ Responsibilities:
The duties and responsibilities of the staff so recruited and seconded shall include the following as
appropriate.
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Oversight and monitoring of Research Centre progress with regard to targets set against key
performance indicators; review of annual reporting and biannual governance reports and associated
metrics; organisation and running of site reviews and the preparation of associated reports;
Technical consultancy with Research Centres on various operational aspects, including metrics,
industry contracts, IP etc.;
Day-to-day engagement with the Centre Director, Centre Manager and Centre management /
administration team and other stakeholders on ongoing initiatives, including H2020 engagement,
Centre-to-Centre activity, budgetary reallocations and change of personnel;
Engagement with enterprise agencies, EI and IDA, on potential industry collaborative and other
commercial opportunities existing within the Research Centres; liaising between prospective new
industry partners and the Research Centres;
Supporting the Research Centres in strategic international engagement activities;
Annual report evaluation, impact analysis and award categorisation;
Preparation of progress reports and ad hoc PR on Research Centres;
Working with the SFI Communications team on various Research Centre activities including Press
announcements, releases, web updates, etc.;
Such other duties relevant to the programme as may be assigned within the Post-Award, Education
and Public Engagement (EPE) or Corporate Communications team from time to time.
SFI / Universities general collaboration:
The appointed candidates shall also support ongoing collaboration between SFI, the Universities and the IUA
in the following fields:
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Fostering of better two-way communication with the universities, with the aim of improving mutual
understanding of:
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Ongoing developments at SFI and within DJEI and sister agencies (IDA & EI)
The development of Science / Research policy at national and institutional level;
Performance of Irish research versus the international benchmarks in terms of grant
attainment and research outputs - across SFI and other funding programmes, with a view
ultimately to delivering improvements in grant call success rates and raising overall research
quality.
Facilitation of best practice sharing across universities on the running of the Research Centres, with
specific focus on improvements around communications and education & public engagement activity.
Identifying potential process and systems improvements so that SFI - Universities / Centres
interactions can be streamlined to reduce administrative burdens.
Oversight of infrastructure across Centres/Universities and support for the continued development of
access charge plans.
Person Specification:
Candidates should be Phd educated or equivalent with a minimum of 3 years post Phd experience in industry
or academia. Applicants with a background in the areas of Telecommunications, Software, Digital content,
Medical Devices and Lifesciences (those relevant to the Research Centres) are particularly welcome although
applications from other fields will also be considered. Key knowledge and skills should include:
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Scientific knowledge and skillset acknowledged by the academic community
Ability to serve effectively as a member of the Research Centres Team.
Excellent communication, writing and interpersonal skills
Willingness to travel in order to deliver effectively on your role
Strong leadership and project management skills.
Salary Scale
This position will be a five year specific purpose contract. The salary scale will be €65,000€75,170. Successful candidates will be appointed at the minimum of the scale. Posts will be
based in SFI’s offices in Dublin 2.