Research Scientist

**Job Advert Summary**:
To provide scientific leadership, mentorship and support to multi-disciplinary teams in the laboratory environment at the Platform.

Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) is a talent driven, customer
- centric and impact focused organisation. In our endeavour to support technology innovation with socio-economic outcomes; we seek to infuse the organisation with team players that find resonance as value creators, agile thinkers, progressive attitudes, customer-centricity, dynamic work ethic and an optimistic disposition. We aim to harness these attributes in a manner that they culminate into a culture of teamwork, impact and accountability.

The agency reserve thed right not to fill this position.

**Minimum Requirements**:
**Qualifications**
- MSc Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Biochemistry or Microbiology
- Preferred: PhD degree

**Work Exprerience**
- 4 years’ experience in the relevant scientific field.
- Be registered with the relevant professional legislated regulatory body. i.e. HPCSA, SACNASP

**Duties and Responsibilities**:
**Finance**
- Give input to the formulation of the operational budget and monitor and track applicable spending.
- Provide leadership with expenditure undertaken by the diagnostic section
- Manage and monitor financial obligations that projects have to TIA (e.g. service fees, generation of service quotes, invoices etc)
- Solicit additional funding through submission funding proposals

**Stakeholder Relations Plans**
- Assume custodianship for linking the Platform and diagnostic section with relevant accreditation authority.
- Manage effective internal and/or external Stakeholder relationships:

- Deliver required service to the stakeholder on brief, time and with quality
- Respond timeous to queries of the stakeholder
- Maintain professional engagements and continuously exceed expectations

**Internal Processes**
- Lead a multidisciplinary team in diagnostic section, to deliver on approved assignment and assays.
- Provide project management and leadership on assigned projects including project costing
- Provide critical input into the operational plan of the Platform with regards to the area of expertise, i.e. diagnostic sections.
- Lead process of certifying the Diagnostic section in according to the relevant requirement i.e. SANAS. DoH etc
- Develop research protocols and SOP for the laboratory with assistance from other Platform scientists
- Ensure timeous and accurate reporting as per requirements to clients, funders, and other stakeholders. Prepare technical reports, summaries and protocols of the reports
- Compile internal and external proposals with input from the Platform technical team & complete external project review forms
- Ensure adherence to all legal compliance and business processes
- Conduct a technical feasibility study and project definition meeting
- Define a consolidated project plan with deliverables as identified in the project definition meeting
- Source approved equipment and consumables and manage stock levels
- Manage the lab equipment and oversee the general housekeeping of the laboratory.
- Manage SLA's and service received from providers.
- Develop new products and processes at the Platform: Design experiments, analyses results and compile SOP's and test methods in line with client needs and statutory requirements.
- Trouble shoot experimental problems and find solutions
- Draft and publish scientific and technical papers

**Governance and Compliance**
- Ensure compliance with Legislation, e.g. PFMA and National Treasury Guidelines;
- Ensure compliance to all relevant accounting Standards, Policies and Frameworks; and
- Ensure Compliance with TIA Standard Operating Procedures
- Be registered with the relevant professional legislated regulatory body. i.e. HPCSA, SACNASP