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Deputy Director of the Research Councils UK (RCUK) Office in China

£35,282 - £43,182 pa inclusive plus overseas allowances

Full-time - Fixed-term - period negotiable Location: Beijing

The UK Research Councils launched their Office in Beijing in October 2007. The role of the Office is to enable the UK Research Councils to engage effectively with the increasingly competitive research community in China.

The Deputy Director is a highly significant and visible management, representative and deputising role. The role is integral to ensuring that the UK research community benefits from the activities of the newly established RCUK Office in China. The post-holder will play a full part in developing the Office strategy and programme, with particular responsibility for developing and sustaining productive relations with Chinese agencies and key figures. The post-holder will provide high-level support to the Director and will maintain efficient business processes in line with the policies and objectives of the Office.

You will need to be of graduate calibre or equivalent with excellent all round education. You will need to communicate effectively in a senior management and scientific environment and have knowledge of the Research Councils’ operating environment. You should demonstrate project and programme management skills and experience in people management; organisation and leadership skills will be essential. It is highly desirable that the candidate has the ability to speak Mandarin and read Chinese.

For informal queries in the UK please contact Jill Jones on 0207 670 5247 or email:

jill.jones@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk, in China contact Carol Rennie (current post-holder) on +86 10 82151930 ext 801 carol.rennie@rcuk.cn

In return we can offer you opportunities for development and training and a benefits package that includes (and sometimes requires) flexible working, with 30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays.

The successful candidate will be employed by the Medical Research Council, who manages the RCUK Office in China on behalf of all of the UK Research Councils. Therefore, applications for this role should be made online at http://jobs.mrc.ac.uk quoting the reference HO08/184. If you do not have internet access or experience technical difficulties please call 01793 301154.

Closing date: 30 April 2008.

Final appointment will be subject to pre-employment screening.

For further information about the RCUK Office in China visit www.rcuk.cn

The MRC is an Equal Opportunities Employer

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Deputy Director of the Research Councils UK Office in China
Unit Name: RCUK Office in China.
Location: Tsinghua Science Park, Beijing
Band: Medical Research Council Band 3 level (MRC is the managing administrator of the RCUK Office in China)
Reports to: Director of the RCUK Office in China
Duration: Position due to commence on 1 July 2008 (negotiable). Fixed-term - period negotiable

Positioning Statement

The UK Research Councils launched their Office in Beijing in October 2007 (www.rcuk.cn). The role of the Office is to enable the UK Research Councils to engage effectively with the increasingly competitive Chinese research community.

The Deputy Director is a highly significant and visible management, representative and deputising role. The role is integral to ensuring that the UK research community benefits from the activities of the newly established RCUK Office in China. The post-holder will play a full part in developing the Office strategy and programme, with particular responsibility for developing and sustaining productive relations with Chinese agencies and key figures.

Overall Purpose :
To provide high-level support to the Director in managing the Office:

• developing and managing positive relations with a wide range of Chinese contacts;
• contributing pro-actively to strategy development;
• office management activities;
• developing the Office information provision resources;
• managing competitions and collaborative activities.

The post-holder will act as Head of Office when the Director is absent.

Key Stakeholders:

• UK Research Councils (RCUK)
• UK and Chinese research community
• UK Government Departments
• Other UK organisations with activities in China, eg FCO-SIN, British Council, Royal Society
• Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China

Job Responsibilities:

1. To develop and maintain productive high-level contacts and working relationships with Chinese research support agencies.
2. To support the Director in maintaining productive relations with China-based UK and international organisations, ensuring that the activities of the Office complement the activities of those organisations.
3. To play a full part in developing Office strategies for promoting greater UK-China research collaboration, in the light of knowledge and analysis of Chinese and UK policies, processes and priorities.
4. To contribute to Office reports and strategy and planning documents.
5. To maintain and develop efficient business processes in line with the policies and objectives of the Office, including budget management tools and procedures.
6. To take responsibility for day to day management of the Office, including line management of three staff.
7. To manage contractual relationships with suppliers, including the Office landlord, IT contractor and HR contractor.
8. To oversee the development of the bilingual Office web-site and web-based information service.
9. To take responsibility for the effective design and implementation of the Office activity programme, including workshops and exchange programmes for researchers and research support agency officers, to be implemented in consultation with the UK Research Councils.
10. To oversee the effective management of calls for proposals, including application, assessment, decision, monitoring and evaluation processes.
11. To act as Head of Office whenever the Director is away.

Corporate/Local responsibilities & requirements:

1. Duties must be carried out with due regard to terms and conditions of the RCUK China Office.
2. Duties must be carried out with due regard to Chinese law, local rules and regulations.
3. Where questions arise about code of conduct, equal opportunities, Health & Safety, Information Systems/Technology policy and the Data Protection Act, the Medical Research Council’s (MRC) guidelines will be used as a baseline and reference point.
4. Job descriptions will be reviewed at least once a year at the annual appraisal. Any changes will be made and agreed between post holder and line manager.
5. The above lists are not exhaustive and the job holder is required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be requested within the scope of the post.
6. All staff are required to act in a professional, co-operative and flexible manner in line with the requirements of the post and the RCUK Office in China.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

RCUK CHINA OFFICE – DEPUTY DIRECTOR - THE CANDIDATE
EDUCATION: Excellent all round education, graduate calibre
EXPERIENCE: At least 3 years relevant experience
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:
Essential

• Ability to communicate effectively in a senior management and scientific environment
• People management experience with demonstrable and visible organisational and leadership skills
• Successful project and programme management skills
• Demonstrated ability to take on significant new challenges successfully
• Good negotiation and diplomacy skills
• Knowledge of the Research Councils’ operating environment
• A broad awareness of UK policies on research and research governance
• Experience of working with organisations based overseas
• Proven budget management experience
• Ability to prepare analytical, statistical and written reports
• Ability to pay close attention to the detail of operational processes and to providing accurate information, while also understanding the wider context
• A flexible approach to work
• Good working knowledge of IT packages e.g. Word & Excel
• Excellent written and spoken communication in English

Highly desirable

• Fluency in spoken Mandarin. A candidate without such skill will need to be truly exceptional in other respects to be considered for this post.

Desirable

• Ability to read and write Chinese
• Experience of running funding schemes and managing peer review process
• Experience of corporate communications and public relations activities
• Experience of managing and writing web-content