Research Development Officer

Success for Heriot-Watt rests in the ability of academic colleagues to respond to and take advantage of opportunities to carry out world-class research and knowledge transfer supported by RED and by others. The Research Development Team provides an essential, high-quality, pre-award service for academic colleagues across all five Schools at Heriot-Watt University who are applying for externally funded research including, but not limited to: identifying funding sources, preparing proposals, costing, pricing and submitting funding proposals, dealing with project finance, reporting to funders, advising on research impact, knowledge exchange, technology transfer, research strategy and policy, ethics and governance, information systems and audit. 

• →Provide support to Principal Investigators for research grant proposals, to include checking research proposals and costing for accuracy and compliance with university and funder regulations; tracking the process through to outcome and award setup; providing training to staff on research proposal costing, completion of on-line grant submission systems. 
• →Provide data reports and statistical analysis, on request, to staff, such as members of the School Management Groups, Directors of Research and other Research Engagement teams. 
• →Provide support to the School’s Research Institutes, to include maintaining research data and identifying and disseminating relevant funding news and opportunities to staff. 
• →Provide support for inductions and Worktribe training. 
• →Provide support for the operation of Research Policies (such as Peer Review, Ethics and Data Management) 
• →Responsibility for maintenance and data integrity of university research management systems 
• →Liaise with external partners, such as research funders and other universities. 
• →Liaise with the Research Grants Office and School Finance teams to ensure that pre-award finance information and/or data provided to staff is accurate. 
• →Liaise with the other University departments such as Research Engagement, Finance, HR, etc. to ensure the smooth running of proposals submission and project set-up. 
• →Contribute to the development and implementation of improvements to the working practices, services provided, and the administrative systems of the Research Development Team 
• →To undertake other activities as agreed with the Research Development Manager 

These are the criteria on which the short-listing and recruitment selection will be made.

Essential

1. Educated to honours degree level or equivalent. 
2. Excellent written and oral communication skills, and the ability to produce high quality written work independently. 
3. Experience of working on their own initiative, and proactively in their approach to managing day-to-day affairs in the office. 
4. A flexible and adaptable approach, coupled with the ability to prioritise workload to meet deadlines. 
5. Good all round organisational and forward planning abilities. The post-holder will be expected to work under pressure and handle changing priorities effectively and, at any one time, balance a varied group of concurrent projects and activities. 
6. A strong customer focus and experience of developing a service to meet customers’ needs. 
7. A high degree of attention to detail and accuracy of working in all areas relating to the post. 
8. Experience of team working and effectiveness as a good team player. 
9. Able to apply a working knowledge of theory and practice, sharing this knowledge with others as appropriate
10. Experience of working within a regulatory environment and ability to provide advice and guidance on regulations, policies and procedures (including for budgets and costings) to different audiences to inform decision making. 
11. Experience of using large database systems (e.g. research costing tools, research output repositories, finance systems etc.)
12. Possess a positive and professional attitude to providing support to others and find creative solutions to problems.
13. Highly competent in Microsoft Office, in particular: Outlook, Word, Excel. 
14. Experience of keeping abreast of developments in the higher education sector.

Desirable

1. Knowledge of full economic costing and the ability to explain it clearly and concisely to academic staff.
2. Experience of supporting research proposal submissions.
3. Comprehensive knowledge of research funding council regulations and experience of applying these to research grant proposals.
4. Experience of using Worktribe or similar research management system.
5. Experience of funding body submissions systems.
6. Experience of preparing budgets and costings for research or knowledge exchange projects.

Please submit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system (1) Cover letter describing your interest and suitability for the post; (2) Full CV

Applications can be submitted until 23:55 on Thursday 21^st May 2026.

At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.

Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities.  Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ .

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.