Senior Human Health Research Coordinator

Job Description:

Te Whiwhinga mahi | The opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to play a leading role in the coordination and delivery of several multi-centre clinical trials at the Liggins Institute, with a focus on maternal and neonatal health research.

As a Senior Human Health Research Coordinator, you will provide operational leadership across a portfolio of complex clinical trials conducted in collaboration with hospitals and research teams throughout Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. You will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day coordination and management of studies from start-up through to close-out, ensuring studies are delivered to a high standard and within agreed timelines, budgets, and regulatory requirements.

Key responsibilities will include preparing and coordinating ethics and locality submissions, managing study documentation and trial master files, overseeing recruitment and site engagement activities, monitoring study progress and data quality, and ensuring compliance with Good Clinical Practice (GCP), ethical standards, and study protocols. You will work closely with Principal Investigators, clinicians, research staff, Te Whatu Ora, external collaborators, and participants to support effective trial delivery across multiple sites.

The role will also involve developing and maintaining strong working relationships with site teams, facilitating communication across stakeholders, supporting participant recruitment strategies, preparing reports for ethics committees, funders, and governance groups, and contributing to problem-solving and operational planning for complex studies.

As a senior member of the team, you will provide mentorship and guidance to other research coordinators and support a collaborative and high-performing research environment. You may also contribute to grant applications, protocol development, staff training, and continuous improvement initiatives within the research platform.

This position requires excellent organisational and communication skills, the ability to manage multiple competing priorities, and confidence working independently within a clinical research environment. Experience in clinical trial coordination in Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly within maternal, neonatal, or hospital-based research, would be highly advantageous.  The post holder will contribute to a number of research trials and studies including the C*STEROID Trial, the PRECeDe Trial, the PROMOAT Trial and other ongoing and upcoming research in maternal, perinatal and neonatal health.

This is a part-time (30h per week), fixed term (2 years) position.

The salary range for this role is $78,601–$90,700 (prorated) depending on skills and experience.

For more detailed information, please refer to the Position Description.

Mō tō mātou rōpū | About the team

You will be part of a dedicated team of Human Health Research Coordinators within the Human Health Research Services Platform. The team supports a range of research groups across the Institute, providing coordination and operational expertise to ensure the delivery of high-quality human health research outcomes.

He kōrero mōu | About you

You will be someone who thrives in a leadership role within a collaborative research environment. You will bring a proactive, detail-oriented approach to research coordination and have a strong foundation in managing clinical trials. You will be confident mentoring others and navigating regulatory frameworks with professionalism and integrity.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

Essential

• A relevant tertiary qualification (e.g. science, nursing, public health, allied health, health/medical sciences)
• At least 4–6 years of experience in human health research, including managing multiple studies, preferably clinical trials
• Strong understanding of Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and research ethics
• Knowledge of Aotearoa New Zealand regulatory requirements
• Experience managing research data and a good understanding of data management practices
• Familiarity with REDCap or similar electronic data capture systems
• Strong experience in clinical research documentation and study management
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams

Preferred:

• Project management or human health-related research certification
• Experience working in multi-centre clinical trials
• Leadership experience in a multidisciplinary team
• Experience managing investigational or research-use-only products

Ngā āhuatanga kei a mātou | What we offer

The University of Auckland is Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading university and maintains significant computational, laboratory and analytic facilities. Auckland itself is frequently rated as one of the world’s most liveable cities. The University is committed to providing an excellent working environment through:

• Flexible employment practices (including working from home, flexible hours)
• Up to 6.75% company superannuation scheme
• A competitive salary with five weeks’ annual leave

In addition, we also offer career development programmes, discounted car parking, a generous parental leave allowance, childcare and a number of other discounts on internal and external services. 

For more information, please visit Staff Benefits.

Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to apply

Applications must be submitted online, by the closing date of 19 June 2026 to be considered. Please include your cover letter and your CV highlighting how you can meet the skills and experiences detailed above.

We reserve the right to close applications early if a suitable candidate is found.

Please reach out to Sarah Benge via [email protected] for a confidential conversation. Please note we are happy to answer your questions, but we do not accept applications by email.