Human Research Governance Manager

About the role

The Human Research Governance Manager leads the human research governance team within the Research Office, to support researchers to conduct high-quality, ethical, and compliant human research. By providing leadership, expert advice, training, oversight, stakeholder engagement, and quality improvement, the role helps ensure research participants are protected while enabling the successful delivery of innovative clinical and health research.

This is an opportunity to lead and shape the human research governance function at the Baker Institute. You will play a key role in enabling innovative human research by helping researchers navigate ethical and regulatory requirements, strengthening quality systems, and ensuring regulatory compliance and participant safety. The role offers the chance to influence organisational policy, drive continuous improvement, and work closely with researchers, clinicians, professional services and Institute leadership.

You will lead a small, highly collaborative Human Research Governance team comprising one Human Research Governance Officer within the broader Research Office. While the team itself is compact, the role has a wide reach across the Institute, requiring close partnerships with research staff, OHS, IT legal and contracts. The environment is relationship-driven and consultative, with everyone working towards a shared goal of enabling high-quality, ethical, and compliant research.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the Human Research Governance team, including supervision of the Human Research Governance Officer
• Oversee governance review and provide approval for new human research projects
• Implement and maintain risk-based monitoring programs
• Manage complaints, non-compliance and safety reporting and audit findings
• Maintain and strengthen the Institute's human research quality framework and governance processes
• Deliver governance reporting and agreed KPIs
• Act as custodian for human research governance information repositories
• Ensure the effective implementation and maintenance of the Human Research area on the intranet
• Ensure effective development and implementation of human research training programs
• Provide timely, expert advice to researchers on study specific issues to ensure prompt remedial action and to minimise delays

About you

• Postgraduate qualification or graduate with extensive relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and/or education/training
• Demonstrated experience with leading human ethics and/or governance teams
• Demonstrated experience in the effective management of staff, budgets and resources
• Experience with monitoring/auditing human research
• Demonstrated high-level interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders across all organisational levels
• Thorough understanding of National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, Privacy Legislation, TGA access to unapproved goods
• Thorough understanding of Institutional, government and ethics committee environments and human research ethics and governance processes
• Highly developed written, verbal and presentation skills; ability to prepare comprehensive reports
• High level project management and stakeholder engagement skills
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, including the ability to manage a range of tasks with conflicting priorities

About us

Since 1926, the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute has been at the centre of some of the world's most significant breakthroughs in heart and diabetes research. As Australia's only independent medical research institute dedicated solely to these conditions, we've spent nearly a century turning discovery science into real-world change. Our scientists, clinicians, public health experts, diabetes educators, and dietitians work together every day with one shared purpose: to help people live healthier for longer.

Benefits

We offer a range of benefits designed to help our people feel valued, stay well and do your best work. Read more on our website: baker.edu.au/career/staff-benefits.