Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s leading university. We employ more than 5400 academic and professional staff to support over 41,000 students, making us one of NZ’s largest employers.
Te Whiwhinga mahi | The opportunity
An opportunity has arisen at the University of Auckland for a Senior Ethics Advisor in the Ethics and Integrity Team. This role will focus on the management and effective operational leadership of the University’s regulatory approval team, as well as supporting the various regulatory approval committees (including human participant ethics, animal ethics and biological safety committees).
This position is based at the University’s City Campus. In this role you will be responsible for building strong work relationships with faculty, the Committee Chairs and Committee members, and with external agencies (such as Health and Disability Ethics Committees (HDECs) and the Health Research Council Ethics Committee (HRC EC) to ensure there is a high level of support and advice from the Ethics team.
Your core responsibilities will focus on:
- Supporting the Ethics and Integrity Manager in the development of the team’s annual work programme.
- Responsible for maintaining the support function of the University’s regulatory committees and coordinating the University’s ethics and regulatory approvals process.
- Provide advice and guidance to academic staff, postgraduate students and their supervisors as well as to Research Support staff about ethical issues related to research involving human participants.
- Coaching and leading a high performing team to deliver a seamless ethics approval experience.
- Contributing to the development and maintenance of the Ethics and Integrity team’s training, development and capability framework
- Oversee a programme of training for applicants and ethics advisors in Faculties and LSRIs and induction for new committee members.
- Supports the University’s commitment to Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
This is a full-time, 37.5 hours per week, permanent role. The salary range for this role is $92,100 - $113,800 per annum depending on experience and qualifications.
For more detailed information, please refer to the Position Description.
Mō tō mātou rōpū | About the team
The Ethics and Integrity team administers applications to two human participant ethics committees, the Animal Ethics Committee and the Biological Safety Committee at the University. Our team consists of three Ethics Advisors and two Regulatory Approvals Administrators. Our main goal is to enable researchers to obtain the regulatory and ethics approvals required to start their research projects.
He kōrero mōu | About you
We are seeking a people leader who has experience in managing ethics processes, or has a genuine interest in ethics and is willing to learn, knowing what you do is essential for enabling research at the University. You will need to be able to manage our ongoing regulatory commitments and day to day processes, whilst leading an operationally-focused team responsible for assisting researchers obtain ethics and regulatory approvals.
You will need to prioritise annual deadlines, complex issues and requests and communicate regularly with senior stakeholders internally and externally. Once you have established yourself in the role, you will need to be comfortable with implementing change and new processes to ensure continuous improvement.
If you are a confident, results-focused, decision making, team player you will thrive in this role.
Nga Pūkenga Motuhake | Important Skills
To be effective in the role it is essential that you have at least 4-5 years’ experience in a regulatory role, coupled with experience leading a team and supporting others in their development.
You will have strong interpersonal skills with a talent for relationship building and management as You will need to develop and maintain strong peer-to-peer business relationships with key funders and counterparts at other key New Zealand universities.
You will possess excellent written and verbal communication skills; you will have a tolerance for ambiguity, and the ability to multitask in a high volume, deadline driven environment.
Experience of leading a high performance team in an early-to-mid-career position in a large, complex organisation in the public or higher education sectors would be preferable and it would be an advantage to have a scientific background and tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline.
Ngā āhuatanga kei a mātou | What we offer
The University of Auckland is New Zealand's leading University and maintains significant computational, laboratory, and analytic facilities. Auckland is frequently rated as one of the world's most liveable cities.
The University is committed to providing an excellent working environment through the following:
- Flexible employment practices (including working from home and flexible hours)
- Up to 6.75% company superannuation scheme
- A competitive salary with five weeks' annual leave
In addition, we also offer career development programs, discounted car parking, a generous parental leave allowance, childcare, and other discounts on internal and external services.
For more information, please visit Staff Benefits.
Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to apply
Applications must be submitted online by the closing date of 1/06/2023 to be considered. Please include your cover letter and CV highlighting how you can meet the abovementioned skills and experiences.
Please note that we may close the advert earlier if we find a suitable candidate.
Please reach out to Elizabeth Visser via e.visser@auckland.ac.nz for a confidential conversation. Please note we are happy to answer your questions, but we do not accept applications by email.
Equity
The University is committed to meeting its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and achieving equity outcomes for staff and students in a safe, inclusive and equitable environment. For further information on services for Māori, Pacific, women, LGBTQITakatāpui+, people with disabilities, parenting support, flexible work and other equity issues go to www.equity.auckland.ac.nz
