Senior Assistant Manager/Manager (Finance, Grants and Centre Management)

The Senior Assistant Manager/Manager (Finance, Grants and Centre Management) will manage the full range of finance, research, grant, procurement and asset management functions, as well as oversee the functions of corporate support, human resources, and events, to ensure the smooth operations of the Corporate Lab, so as to enable the Corporate Lab and research projects to accomplish and achieve their objectives, milestones and KPIs.

Key responsibilities include:

Financial Management

• Develop budget forecasts and projections, year-on-year cash flow, for proposal/ grant application submissions before project award.

• Develop internal process and templates for pre-award budget planning and consolidation.

• Work with different project PIs, industry partners and relevant NTU departments e.g. President's office, OFIN, Space committee, on all costings and budget matters.

• Support Director in seeking budget approvals, in line with NTU's DOA.

Industry/ Stakeholders Engagement (Financial and Budgeting)

• Work closely with external industry partners, schools and as well as Project Investigators on yearly budget forecast and planning, including work to align/re-align and re-allocate funds across projects, in line with industry's directions and justifiable demands. As HMGICS-NTU-A.STAR Corporate Lab is a tripartite lab, the industry partners are HMGICS and A.STAR.

• Drives effective financial and budget planning, develop and analyse monthly reports to assess whether the budget utilization rate is optimal and aligns with the set budget targets.

• Analyse cash flow projections, manpower budgeting and forecasts, and budget utilisation to facilitate decision making.

• Conduct data analysis, develop planning and forecasting models, and utilize data visualization techniques for financial budgeting. This supports management by providing timely and accurate insights, such as cash flow and manpower projections.

• Monitor industry contributions (in-kind and cash), utilization rate and ratios, as required by external grantors.

Research and Grant Management

• Oversee preparation, documentation, and management of LOAs/LOUs and project agreements, including variations, in coordination with NTU Legal and according to DOA.

• Manage grant administration, including project variations/virements, system updates (RISE, iGrants), and collaboration with PIs, funding agencies, and auditors.

• Liaise with stakeholders to handle variation requests, seek approvals from governing bodies and grantors, and address related queries.

• Ensure timely project setup and closure by working with NTU Finance and Research Offices, monitoring deficits, and supporting reporting and reviews.

Procurement, Claims, Business Travel

• Procurement: Manage and verify purchases and claims based on approved and available budget and ensure that purchases are in compliance with the grant funding and NTU guidelines, perform goods receipt, follow-up on any invoicing matters.

• Provide guidance and advice to PIs and researchers on procurement matters and ensure strict adherence to prudent spending of funds.

• Manage and review all balance sheet items outstanding items and open POs to ensure no long outstanding POs.

• Claims: Manage and process claims and expenditures for research purchases.

• Business Travel: Manage and process business travel requests and travel claims.

Corporate support, human resources, and events

• Oversee the functions (supervising one junior staff) of Corporate Planning, Meetings and Reporting, Events, Workshops and Visitors, Human Resource Operations, General operations and office administration.

Key requirements:

• Degree in Finance or Accountancy with 8 years of relevant experience, including 2 years in a supervisory role.

• Strong expertise in budgeting, financial management, research grants, audit, compliance, and procurement processes.

• Proficient in MS Office (especially Excel) familiarity with Ariba and SAP Hana is a plus.

• Experienced in project/ event management, outreach, or marketing.

• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills able to manage sensitive matters with discretion.

• Self-motivated, adaptable, and capable of multitasking in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.