Purpose of Role:
The Head of Programmes provides high-quality programmatic leadership across the LSTM Kenya research portfolio, ensuring efficient and effective delivery of programmes alongside LSTM’s strategic partners, while supporting the Chief Operating Officer in strengthening governance, risk management, and operational systems, in delivering an annual research portfolio of over £9m. The post leads programme management, administrative, logistics and operational teams; enables Principal Investigators to deliver high-quality research; oversees donor compliance and reporting; and acts as the senior operational representative at LSTM Kenya.
Key Accountabilities:
Strategic Leadership
- Represent LSTM to government agencies, funders, research partners, and regional/international stakeholders.
- Act as senior operational liaison with internal partners.
- Develop programme KPIs and performance metrics for LSTM Kenya.
- Advise senior leaders on organisational structures, workforce planning, and skills.
- Promote a cohesive organisational culture across LSTM Kenya and alignment with LSTM Liverpool.
- Support senior leaders in shaping organisational governance and operational frameworks ensuring transparency and accountability that strengthens delivery capability, supports staff career progression, defines competencies across roles and proactively addresses capacity and capability gaps.
- Work with colleagues to ensure the effective administrative management of clinical trials and research programmes.
- Implement a programme management structure aligned to LSTM principles that strengthens delivery capability, supports staff career progression, defines competencies across roles and proactively addresses capacity and capability gaps.
Programme and Operational Management
- Establish and embed consistent programme management standards, tools, and processes across LSTM Kenya.
- Build and lead a collaborative cohort of programme management and support staff that promotes shared capacity, resources and knowledge exchange while strengthening integration and collaboration with programme management networks at other LSTM sites.
- Oversee workplans ensuring delivery on time, quality, and budget.
- Oversee regulatory and ethics processes including submissions, amendments, renewals, and reporting.
- Ensure strong operational coordination across all operational and administrative functions.
- Chair project meetings and contribute to steering committees.
- Serve as operational liaison for donor engagement and ensure timely reporting.
- Oversee data protection and data governance systems as Information Asset Owner.
- Chair project meetings and contribute to steering committees.
Financial Management and Stewardship
- Provide financial oversight of research grants, ensuring compliance and value for money.
- Guide budget development, expenditure monitoring, and reconciliation of partner financial reports.
- Oversee the establishment of reporting protocols that meet both external mandatory requirements and internal quality reviews.
- Oversee financial forecasts and staff FTE planning.
- Support audit readiness and ensure evidence-based financial practices.
Partner and Stakeholder Engagement
- Collaborate with key partners, government agencies, academic partners, and funders.
- Work closely with Professional Services colleagues to complete MoUs, sub-contracts, cost-sharing and partnership agreements.
- Ensure appropriate due diligence, robust risk registers, and mitigation plans are in place and escalate as needed to the Chief Operating Officer.
- Ensure effective use of shared infrastructure.
- Provide capacity-building support to partners on delivery and compliance.
Business Development
- Strengthen relationship with funders, partners and stakeholders.
- Support preparation of grant proposals including workplans, budgets and donor alignment.
- Oversee research databases and repositories.
- Lead responses to funder questions and contract negotiations.
People and Culture Management
- Line-manage programme and operational staff; provide coaching, mentorship, and performance development.
- Foster collaboration between academic and operational teams.
- Support recruitment processes, onboarding, and retention.
- Build a culture of high performance, accountability, well-being, and inclusive leadership
General Responsibilities.
- Any other duties commensurate with the grade and nature of the role.
- Act in a manner that safeguards children and at-risk adults, including LSTM staff and students, in accordance with safeguarding policies. Assess and mitigate safeguarding risks and report/refer safeguarding concerns in relation to research participants, community members, beneficiaries, staff and students.
Ideally you will demonstrate:
- Educated to master’s degree level or extensive equivalent sector experience.
- Professional training in programme/project management.
- Significant experience managing large, multi-partner, or multi-country research programmes within health research.
- Experience in the administrative management of clinical trials and research programmes.
- Experience in quality assurance across a portfolio of projects.
- Experience working in Kenya or similar health research contexts.
- Demonstrated success managing research grants in academic, clinical, or NGO settings.
- Strong leadership and team management experience.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Strong financial, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to manage competing priorities and work flexibly.
- Willingness to travel nationally and internationally.
Inclusion is central to our values at LSTM
We seek to attract and recruit people who reflect the diversity across our communities, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, nationality, faith or belief, social background, age and disability. LSTM selects candidates based on skills, qualifications, and experience.
We welcome conversations about flexible working; and applications from those returning to employment after a break from their careers.
LSTM is committed to upholding freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law for all its members. Candidates will not be disadvantaged or adversely impacted for exercising their free speech within the law during our recruitment processes. For more information, see our Freedom of Speech Code of practice:
https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/policies-and-procedures/freedom-of-speech-code-of-practice
About LSTM
Founded in 1898 and the oldest of its kind in the world, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) is an internationally recognised centre of excellence for teaching and research in tropical diseases. Through the creation of effective links with governments, NGOs, private organisations and global institutions and by responding to the health needs of communities, LSTM aims to promote improved health, particularly for people of the less developed/resource poorest countries in the tropics and sub-tropics.
Look at some of the great work we have achieved over the past year by viewing our annual report:
https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/about/annual-reports-and-financial-statements
LSTM actively promotes Equal Opportunities and Safeguarding Policies
How to apply
Due to the nature of this role, it is an occupational requirement for the successful candidate to be based in Kenya. This is essential to meet the needs of regional expertise. Candidates must have the right to work in Kenya to be considered for this position to comply with local legislation
To apply for the position please follow the apply link and upload your CV and covering letter. https://app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Careers/CareersPage.aspx?e=LMo8nnTwYNZL3waSX9KzYY3CTvy2vw-Kfg4bikagPwdo2ALLdM8lX24CtAPc2joc6ENMMg-Sefk&iframe=True&iframe=false
Due to the volume of applications, we receive, we may close our vacancies early. It is therefore advisable to apply as early as possible if you would like to be considered for a role.
If you have any questions about the role please contact Helen Wong: Helen.Wong@lstmed.ac.uk