Executive: Research

The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE) is a registered private higher education provider and a wholly owned subsidiary of ADvTECH Ltd, listed on the JSE.

The IIE's Central Academic Team (CAT) is the custodian of academic quality, educational technology, and governance across the institution. It leads academic strategy, compliance, and operational integrity through robust governance structures.

The current CAT is in the process of being repositioned as a Centre of Excellence, a hub for academic innovation, staff capacity building, quality assurance, and governance across both the schools and tertiary divisions.

As we reposition CAT, we are excited to invite applications for the role of Executive: Research. Based at The IIE's head office in Sandton, this role will support the Research department.

The purpose of the job:

The Executive: Research is responsible for institutional research, the management of ethical clearance across all institutions, and the establishment of research support services that enable high-quality, sustainable research activity. The role will drive capacity and capability development in research, postgraduate supervision, and academic writing for publication, working in collaboration with academics across institutions to strengthen scholarly output. A core function of this role is to elevate the academic standing of the tertiary division through the strategic management of accredited academic journals and international research conferences. The incumbent will also lead institutional research initiatives, drawing on strong analytical capabilities to generate insights from data that inform strategic direction and identify areas for improvement. While institutions will lead their research strategies and collaborations, this role will provide the systems, services, and expert guidance needed to support those efforts and optimise the overarching research agenda.
Reporting to: The successful candidate will report to the Director - The IIE. 
  Main Outputs and Responsibilities for this Position:

Institutional Research and Strategic Analytics Leadership

• Design and review research policy frameworks, ensuring compliance with ethical standards.
• Provide guidance on best practices in research governance and institutional planning.
• Analyse and interpret institutional data to produce insights that inform strategic direction, academic quality enhancement, and operational improvement.
• Develop and present strategic insights to institutional leaders to inform planning and quality enhancement.
• Monitor sector trends and benchmark institutional performance.
• Produce reports, dashboards, and briefing papers to support executive and academic decision-making.
• Communicate research findings in accessible, impactful formats for executive, academic, and regulatory use.
• Ensure data integrity and alignment across reporting systems.

Research Capacity and Capability Development and Support Services

• Lead capability development programmes for academic and support staff in research methodologies, academic writing, writing for publication, and postgraduate supervision through Sirius.
• Collaborate with institutions to identify capacity development needs and align interventions accordingly
• Build strategic partnerships to enable staff research development.
• Design and coordinate responsive support structures, services, such as statistical data analysis, editing, etc., and tools to enhance research effectiveness.
• Ensure equitable access to research resources and mentorship.
• Facilitate mentorship and peer support initiatives for emerging researchers.

Scholarly Platforms & Academic Reputation

• Manage and enhance the quality of institutionally accredited journals.
• Establish review protocols to ensure academic rigour and integrity.
• Build international networks to elevate institutional research visibility.
• Promote open access and responsible research dissemination practices.
• Curate, plan, and execute annual or biennial international conferences, including programme design, keynote curation, sponsorship, and post-conference proceedings.
• Provide strategic oversight of the institutional accredited journals, ensuring compliance with editorial and indexing standards.
• Support editorial boards and streamline journal operations, submission, and review processes.
• Plan and coordinate international research conferences, including programme design and speaker engagement.
• Drive initiatives to increase visibility, impact, and scholarly engagement through publications and conference platforms.
• Develop partnerships with academic networks to expand the reach and influence of research outputs.

Research Ethics and Governance

• Manage the ethical clearance process across all internal research activities.
• Chair the institutional ethics review committee.
• Ensure alignment with national and international research ethics protocols.
• Provide capability development in research integrity and responsible conduct.
• Investigate and respond to ethical breaches in research practices.
• Maintain ethics-related documentation and ensure adherence to relevant legislation and policy frameworks.

Qualification

• Minimum of a Doctoral Degree
  

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years in a Senior Research or Academic Leadership Role
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in Managing Institutional Research

Competencies:

• Strategic Planning & Research Design
• Policy & Ethics Framework Development
• Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement
• Data Analysis & Research Interpretation
• Journal and Conference Management
• Research Support System Design
• Integrity & Ethical Awareness
• Innovation & Vision
• Collaboration & Influence
• Accountability
• Communication clarity
• Results focus

Other Special Requirements:

• Occasional travel between campuses or the central office may be required. 

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