Fellowship Manager

Description:

Neuroadapt is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND Action for Postdoctoral Fellowships led by FutureNeuro, the Research Ireland Centre for Translational Brain Science. This world-leading multi-disciplinary centre, which is interlinked with the national neurological clinical network, uniquely focuses on making discoveries and developing technologies that can solve the urgent, unmet needs of people living with neurological, psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. The overall objective of Neuroadapt is to equip the next generation of researcher leaders with the skills (scientific & transferrable) necessary to 1) catalyse their careers, both in academia and beyond, and 2) develop much needed innovative, safer, and more effective diagnostic, therapeutic and health-care approaches to brain diseases tailored specifically towards individual patient needs. The Neuroadapt Action began in September 2024 and has just completed its first call for applicants with interviews scheduled for July 2025. The next steps for Neuroadapt include the onboarding of up to 6 Fellows from the current Call and the planning and execution of a second Call in Q4 of 2025. Ongoing management of this programme also includes the planning and delivery of the Training and Development plan, monitoring and support for all Fellows in post, oversight of remaining budget and reporting of deliverables to the EU.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Governance and Management of 

COFUNDs Support the Programme Director in the and running of governance and management activities
Maintain appropriate and effective communication, meeting and reporting relationships with all members of the consortium.

Manage International Fellowship calls

Prepare COFUND call documentation in line with best international practice and core principles of equality, diversity and inclusion
Liaise with local (e.g. IUA) and international groups (e.g. EURAXESS) to promote fellowship calls
Help to identify and invite suitable national and international researchers to establish a balanced review panel.
Coordinate and manage the application, screening, evaluation and offer process to meet programme milestones.

Support COFUND application process

Gather and make available information and FAQs for potential applicants
Act as a point of contact to liaise potential applicants with suitable PIs
Act as a point of contact for all fellowship queries (e.g. visa requirements)
Work with Host universities Research offices to ensure smooth onboarding of Fellows

Communication and Promotion

Coordinate the management of the NeuroInsight and Neuroadapt websites
Identify and manage international communications campaigns to promote the Fellowships and publicise outputs
Establish and maintain social media activities
Coordinate key gatherings (e.g. Summer schools, annual researcher meetings)

Budget management

In collaboration with finance offices in host institutions, ensure budget and expenditure targets are on track
Oversee total budget expenditure; capture and address budget deviations

Oversee implementation of COFUND

Monitor the implementation of the programmes and, with input from the steering committees, ensure that the milestones and timelines are met
Liaise with host organisations to establish and coordinate a calendar of core training activities across academic institutes 
Coordinate clinical and industry secondments in collaboration with host Business Development Managers
Support ongoing 360-degree evaluation of the programme
Identify, assess, report and promptly address programme risks
Address all practical issues in the running of the Programme

Reporting to MSSA EU Sponsor

Develop a close working relationship with EU Programme coordinators
Prepare and upload reports in EU tracking system as per grant agreement
Liaise with local academic hosts and fellows to establish processes to capture inputs to reports

Mandatory Experience

Undergraduate degree coupled with a minimum of 5 years working experience in a relevant area, with associated financial, staff and project management
Proven leadership skills in managing support for large multidisciplinary research programmes involving large groups of investigators, preferably within an academic setting.
Experience in preparing and managing budgets and financial controls preferably in a research intensive environment
Demonstrated project management, organisation and working to deadline skills with the ability to plan and progress work activities

Desirable Experience 

It would be advantageous to have experience in the development and/or coordination of training programmes.
Significant experience in a research support role and/or higher education environment
Experience in dealing with major funding agencies, or equivalent customer organisations, both national and International.

Key Competencies 
An ability to work effectively with staff and management across all levels both internally and externally
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to build consensus and constructively influence situations and partners
Experience of stakeholder engagement and an ability to develop and maintain a network of contacts
Demonstrated experience in event organisation
Numeracy, accuracy and attention to detail
Proven ability to prepare high quality reports, presentations and other documentation
Flexible, cooperative and a proactive approach to achieving work goals
Proven IT skills
Ability to self-drive and work independently