Rail: Research Grants & Patnerships Coordinator: London

Research Grant & Partnership Coordinator required in London working with an organisation that helps to deliver a better & safer Railway. In this role you'll be part of the Research and Development Partnerships team which is responsible for monitoring co-funded research projects from when grant proposals are received and selected to when all deliverables are completed, and the findings disseminated. Playing a key role in feasibility studies that could address key industry challenges, you'll call upon your strong Stakeholder engagement skills to get buy-in and commitment from industry players and funding bodies to take some of these concepts to the next stage of development

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor a number of co-funded projects from when grants are awarded to when all deliverables are completed, and the findings disseminated. This is to ensure that progress is made in line with the agreed proposal and findings are disseminated to industry in an engaging way.
• Regularly monitor progress of each project, identify the need for any remedial action(s) and ensure that the lead organisation undertake them.
• Ensure that technical input and review from rail specialists and stakeholders is integrated into all phases of the project delivery. This will generally be achieved with the support of a steering group that this role facilitates. The Research Grant and Partnership Manager will be expected to manage project kick off, project review meetings and projects close out meetings.
• Support to project teams in getting relevant industry contacts and railway knowledge and data to inform sound progress and delivery of the projects.
• Provide support to and challenge project teams in planning next steps of the implementation journey post proof of concept.
• In conjunction with internal stakeholders, plan and deliver the most appropriate communication activities required to make industry aware of the progress and findings of the projects. In particular, ensure that communication initiatives target the decision makers that are key to the implementation / next steps post feasibility.
• At the end of the project, with involvement from internal stakeholders, review the expected benefits of the outputs / findings in support of dissemination and implementation facilitation.
• Maintain information for each project in relevant company systems and provide timely reports on the progress of each research project to cross-industry groups and to senior management. Provide content into reports to DfT as appropriate.
• Develop and maintain relationships with stakeholders at different levels; facilitation of meetings and workshops to determine stakeholders' needs and issues.
• Develop appropriate collateral and publicity material which describe the problem that triggered the research and the solution(s) developed in a concise and layman style.
• Support the development of partnerships with national and international research bodies.

Requirements

• Educated to a degree level or equivalent experience
• Effective influencing and negotiation skills
• Relationship building skills to develop and maintain relationships with stakeholders at different levels
• Effective communication and writing skills including report review, proof-reading, and production of engaging dissemination material
• Ability to understand new concepts, including those that may be of a technical or engineering nature
• Effective organisational skills
• Proficient in using MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• A commitment to RSSB's values and customer service