Manager, Applied Research Compliance Higher Colleges of Technology

Position Summary
The Manager, Applied Research Compliance is responsible for ensuring the integrity, accountability, and transparency of HCT's applied research activities in line with institutional, national, and sponsor regulations. Reporting to the Senior Manager, Applied Research, this role oversees compliance across the research lifecycle, with a focus on documentation quality, risk controls, policy adherence, and process transparency.
The Manager works closely with Principal Investigators (PIs), faculty, and administrative staff across all campuses to monitor project and grant activity, ensure proper documentation and audit readiness, and proactively address non -compliance risks. A critical element of this role is proficiency in and ownership of HCT's Research Management System (RMS), ensuring compliance workflows and review protocols are embedded and operationalized within the system.
This position is essential to maintaining HCT's eligibility and reputation with funding bodies and accreditation entities and to building a sustainable, responsible research culture across the institution. To this end, he works with Principal Investigators (PIs), research staff, procurement, the commercialization team, the PMO and external stakeholders by:
Managing Research Compliance across the Lifecycle, e.g.
Reviewing research proposals, budgets, and agreements for
Monitoring project milestones, reporting obligations, and financial compliance du ring project execution.
Supporting close-out processes to ensure deliverables, documentation, and financial reporting are fully reconciled.
Ensuring Policy Alignment and Operational Controls, e.g.
Translating internal policies and external funder requirements into operational checklists and tools.
Designing and deploying internal compliance review mechanisms and alerts for key risk areas.
Liaising with finance, legal, procurement, and internal audit to ensure consistency in interpretation of terms and procedures. Maintaining Compliance Infrastructure in the RMS, e.g.
Acting as compliance lead for the Research Management System (RMS), including workflow validation and Level 2 user support.
Monitoring data integrity in grant, milestone, and reporting fields; ensuring audit trails and attachments are in place.
Advising RMS system owners and administrators on necessary updates to support evolving compliance requirements.
Monitoring & Reporting of Research Compliance KPIs, e.g.
Tracking compliance-related KPls such as submission delays, policy deviations, and audit non -conformities.
Maintaining dashboards and reports to identify recurring issues and su pport decision -making.
Contributing compliance-related data and narrative for institutional reports and accreditations.
Supporting Training and Awareness, e.g.
Supporting the development and delivery of research compliance training for faculty and research staff.
Maintaining awareness resources and FAQs within the RMS or intranet.
Contributing to knowledge-sharing activities and continuous improvement in itiatives.