Job Description

Post:Chief Operating Officer

Report toTM

Responsible for:Day to day staff management duties

Salary:£40,000 - £55,000 per annum (Salary will be negotiated with the successful candidate and will be dependent on depth, breadth and relevance of experience)

Location:Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

AA Reference:324

Human resources for health research programme consortium, International Health Group (IHG)

Background Information

IHG leads a cutting edge portfolio of research in human resource development in middle and low income countries. This is funded through the DFID-funded partnership (ReBUILD - £6 million for 6 years) for health systems research in post-conflict countries focusing on human resources and health financing; and a second grant from the EC-funded programme of research on improving workforce productivity (PERFORM – EUR3 million for 4 years). The programmes comprise a total of 10 research partners in Africa and Asia; ReBUILD also has an expanding group of affiliates, selected for potential collaboration with programme. Each partnership has a Management Committee made of the Principal Investigators of each Partner, and independent Technical Advisory Groups. The team will be seeking new funding opportunities to expand the activities and IHG to develop new research programmes.

The COO is a new post to manage these two research programmes and their partnerships, with vision, strategic direction, and technical oversight of quality provided by the Research Directors;and to support the further development of the IHG’s research in human resources for health.

Roles and Responsibilities

To develop and manage the programmesto ensure theobjectives are achieved(s) and to ensure the effective operations of the research partnerships.

1.Strategic development

1.1.To assist with the enhancement of strategic planning to enable management of research programmes, in partnership with Directors,to establish and update strategic plans to manage the research programmes, in conjunction with the research Directors in Liverpool, Edinburgh and the partner teams

1.2.To work with DFID bilateral programmes and other sources in adding to the existing funding base of the Partnerships, especially for ReBUILD.

2.Research Partnermanagement and monitoring

2.1.To liaise with Research Partner Principal Investigators (PIs), directly and through the Management Committees, and the Research Directorsto ensure coherent work plans and budgets, and appropriate monitoring and evaluation frameworks

2.2.To assure quality and reality of partner work plans, consistency against the research programme outputs, and negotiate appropriate, deliverable measurable milestones.

2.3.To assure adequate governance and information systems for subcontracting of partners.

2.4.To ensure work plans are delivered on time and within resources.

2.5.To take remedial action, in consultation with the Management Committees, where serious underperformance is being detected within the context of the contract, with the sanction of ultimately withholding funding.

3.Programme management

3.1.To work with the Executive Management Committee in ensuring probity of the Partnerships.

3.2.To maintain oversight of expenditure across the Partnerships.

3.3.To co-ordinate and contribute to report writing for funding agencies.

3.4.To provide oversight of research uptake activities within the Partnerships.

3.5.To provide oversight of capacity building within the Partnerships

3.6.To provide oversight of the management of ReBUILD’s responsive fund for research

3.7.To manage the development and implementation of the monitoring and evaluation strategy.

3.8.To be responsible for the organization of and participating in administrative, strategic and scientific Partnership meetings.

3.9.To support the LSTM team in the recruitment of Liverpool-based technical and support staff for the research programmes, and the recruitment and management of external consultants, as needed.

4.Governance and accountability

4.1.To set up systems to ensure probity across the Partnerships.

4.2.To manage the risk strategy across the programmes.

4.3.To ensure there are performance management systems within the partnerships, including cost control, quality, and delivery of the work plan.

4.4.Ensuring clarity about their responsibility about their responsibility and their levels of authority.

4.5.Co-ordinate the interface with DFID, the EC and other funders.

5.External relations

5.1.To present the work and outputs of the research programmes to the funding agencies (DFID and the EC) and other relevant stakeholders in international workshops and meetings.

5.2.To co-ordinate activities of the research programmes with other research and development programmes funded by DFID and the EC.

6.Other: Represent LSTM as required as member of the ReBUILD Technical Advisory Groups & Full member of PartnershipManagement Committees

Line management

The COO is accountable to the Research Directors and thus to the relevant ManagementCommittees of the partnerships.

The COO line manages the LSTM-based Research Uptake Manager and an administrator for each programme.

Location

This is on-site post.

Days

Monday – Friday, 9am -5pm.

Contract length

This is initially a three year contract with formal review at six months.

Person Specification: Chief Operating Officer

Criteria / Competencies / Essential
Desirable / Assessment
Qualifications /
  • Professional qualification to reflect the role (e.g. managerial qualification at Masters level or equivalent)
  • Evidence of professional CPD
/ E
D / Application Form/ CV
Experience /
  • Proven experience in managing complex international projects, or a major health or development orientated organisation.
  • Proven record of leadership and management of strategic functions in research, health or related area of development.
  • Demonstrable experience in delivering organisational performance against key indicators
  • Senior level experience of managing substantial budgets and grant proposal development
/ E
E
E
E / Application Form/ CV
Assessment &
Interview
Knowledge /
  • Understanding of health research principles and terminology
  • Understanding of global health development and aid architecture
  • Understanding of the challenges of managing research programmes in mid and low income countries
/ E
D
D / Application Form/ CV
Assessment &
Interview
Skills /
  • Ability to negotiate with confidence, tact and diplomacy across a diverse range of partners, organisations and cultures
  • Ability to develop and maintain partnerships working both internally and externally to LSTM
  • Excellent communication, team working, relationship and organisational skills
  • Ability to write technical reports for a variety of audiences
  • Excellent presentation skills to present to senior academics and policy makers
  • Office computing skills (including spreadsheets)
/ E
E
E
E
E
E / Application Form/ CV
Assessment &
Interview
Attributes /
  • Ability to work collaboratively to achieve results
  • Supporting and striving for academic excellence
  • Self directing and able to use own initiative to make decisions and identify solutions to problems not previously experienced.
/ E
E
E / Application Form/ CV
Assessment &
Interview
Other circumstances /
  • Travel to partner leads for short periods as required and to research meetings
  • Prepared to work flexibly dependent on the post, taking into account occasional travel
  • Part time (80%)