Assistant Manager ( Grant Administration), Paediatrics %26 Child Health -MC at Aga Khan University Hospital

Introduction

The Outreach and Research Programme of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health has ten community-based field sites across Pakistan including four in Karachi and focuses on research for betterment of women and child health. The Department has a Nutritional Research Laboratory as well as an Infectious Disease Research Laboratory that cater to the needs of its research projects. It has well-acclaimed work to its credit both at the national and international level.

As an equal opportunity employer, AKU believes in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and is committed to adopt appropriate standards for safeguarding and promoting a respectful relationship with and between diverse workforce of its faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees or trainees and partners to share this commitment.

Responsibilities

You will be expected to provide overall administrative support in the department activities. Specific responsibilities include to:

• supporting investigators by providing grants and research administration expertise in compliance with university policies, granting agency requirements, and international best practices

• acting as liaison between principal investigators, research teams, and internal university offices to meet submission and compliance timelines

• negotiating with relevant university departments to ensure timely completion of the due diligence and grant checklist processes

• providing guidance and advisory support to principal investigators on sponsored research administration

• conducting regular capacity‑building sessions for investigators and senior research staff on due diligence and compliance requirements

• performing technical, management, and financial review of research proposals during the pre‑award phase

• reviewing proposals for institutional and donor compliance and completeness

• using advanced grants and contracts concepts to manage a high volume of proposals and sub‑awards, including coordination with legal teams

• staying updated on national and international research administration regulations

• ensuring post‑award compliance with contract terms, financial allowability, reporting requirements, and invoicing processes

• supporting modifications, audits, sub‑contract reviews, and grant close‑out processes

• ensuring timely completion of close‑out activities including final reports and financial reconciliation

• monitoring regulatory compliance and ensuring valid ethics approvals for all active projects

• guiding faculty on ethics submissions, amendments, renewals, and reporting obligations

• coordinating across departments to ensure research activities meet institutional and donor regulatory requirements

• mentoring and supporting research administration staff

• travelling to field sites as required to support research administration activities.

Requirements

You should have:

• Master’s degree in a relevant field from an HEC‑recognized university

• minimum five years of relevant experience in research and grants administration or a comparable role

• strong knowledge of advanced grants and contracts management concepts

• demonstrated research background with strong analytical skills, preferably using mixed‑methods approaches

• excellent organisational, project management, planning, and problem‑solving skills

• excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Urdu

• strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain productive stakeholder relationships

• sound judgment in handling sensitive and complex research administration issues

• experience working with grants, contracts, sub‑contracts, cooperative agreements, sub‑awards, and purchase orders

• strong compliance orientation with up‑to‑date knowledge of research regulations

• strong customer‑service focus with ability to work independently

• experience completing institutional due diligence processes in a timely manner.

This is a close-ended position.

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted.