National Centre Administrative Officer

National Centre Administrative Officer

Professional 5

Research Ireland National Research Centre

Dublin City University

3 Year Fixed Term Contract

Dublin City University

Dublin City University is a leading innovative European University with a mission to ‘transform lives and societies’. DCU ranks as one of the world’s Top 350 Universities, Times Higher Education, and is proud to be Ireland’s No. 1 Young University. The University is known for the ‘transformative student experience’ it offers, and is also recognised for its impact in addressing global challenges in collaboration with national and international stakeholders. 

Overview of the Centre

DCU is a co-lead partner in a soon-to-be-announced multi-institutional National Research Centre in data science and AI funded by Research Ireland. The Centre represents a transformative scale of investment, uniting all 13 of Ireland’s universities and two additional research institutes to harness the collective expertise of both internationally recognised leaders and rising stars in the Irish research ecosystem. The Centre has the critical mass necessary to position the nation as a global leader in data science and AI. By bridging foundational science with applied solutions, the Centre will create a virtuous cycle of research that addresses urgent global issues, from democratic governance to personalised healthcare. Its significance lies in its "human-centered" mission: it moves beyond technical innovation to establish an ethical, transdisciplinary framework that ensures technology enhances human dignity, privacy, and democratic engagement. The Centre will drive innovation both nationally and internationally by working in partnership with both MNCs and SMES, and by developing a vibrant PhD and postdoctoral talent pipeline, whilst stimulating the creation of a new generation of deep tech start-ups. 

Role Profile

We are seeking a National Centre Administrative Officer, who will be part of the operations team for the National Research Centre. The successful candidate will focus on providing comprehensive support and coordination efforts for the national roles associated with the Centre, which are distributed across 5 co-lead universities nationally. This role’s key areas of responsibility cover administration & reporting, financials, communication/events and coordination of strategic initiatives, at a national level. This role reports to the National Centre Director and National Centre Associate Director.

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the position include, but are not restricted to, the following: 

Administration/Reporting

• Management of complex diary coordination for National Centre Director and National Centre Associate Director, managing competing priorities and optimising time management.
• Responsible for scheduling and overseeing the logistics for all cross-institutional leadership and governance meetings, including the Governance Committee, the Industry Advisory Committee, the Scientific Advisory Committee and other meetings required by the National Centre Director or National Centre Associate Director.
• Lead the regular review of the national administrative operations of the Centre, including the review of National Centre systems and processes to identify and implement efficiencies. 
• Provide administrative support to Senior Management and senior external stakeholders (e.g. Chairs and members of the Centre’s various governance structure) through proactive calendar management, meeting preparation (agendas, presentations, actions), coordination of end-to-end travel logistics and acting as a bridge for senior stakeholders to ensure follow up on critical key decisions. 
• Oversee the effective operation of the National Operations General Office, including the management of multi-channel communications (phone, email accounts etc), end-to-end coordination of office space and hospitality for meetings and events (including visitor meet and greet) and supporting staff and student queries.
• Acting as the lead coordinator in ensuring the accurate and timely preparation of governance/annual/quarterly and monthly metrics reports for various projects and programmes and reporting to the funder, as requested - engaging with multi-site Operations teams to ensure deadlines are met. 
• Proactively liaise with the National Centre Associate Director regarding any issues, which may affect the operational efficiency of the National Centre.
• Troubleshooting issues as they arise within the national operations of the Centre, including with other Operations team members distributed across multiple universities nationally, as appropriate.
• Undertake any other duties that may be assigned by the National Centre Associate Director, National Centre Director or their nominee.

 Financials

• Manage the National Centre Purchasing System on behalf of the national operations team, including accounts payable (invoicing, supplier queries), liaising with various institutional Finance Depts when appropriate to ensure efficient processing times.
• Administer suppliers for the national operations team on the system, proactively assess and resolve vendor payment/invoicing issues, and oversee bank transfers for payments, as required - ensuring accurate record keeping.
• Manage expenses and credit cards for the National Centre Director and National Centre Associate Director, as required.

 Communication/Events

• Support local operations teams at universities, by playing a lead role in the coordination and execution demonstrations of collaborative research outcomes at public and industry events - building opportunities to streamline planning and communication with each event. 
• Assist in developing and producing national promotional materials for the Centre across multiple formats (e.g brochures, podcasts etc.), ensuring the format is relevant and impactful to industry and external stakeholder audiences.
• Lead the end-to-end execution of site visits for key stakeholders, including research bodies, industry collaborators and funding agencies, while ensuring all supporting documentation meets institutional standards. 
• Lead the national coordination of the Centre’s high profile national conferences, workshops/seminars, funder reviews, training events, by coordinating workflows with the local operations teams across partner hosting such events.

 Coordination of Strategic Initiatives

• Support the National Centre Director and National Centre Associate Director in the organisation of strategic national and international networking activities.
• End-to-end management of the coordination of activities such as logistics for stakeholders, event management of research workshops etc.
• Managing and reporting on budgets related to these initiatives.
•  

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Primary Degree or equivalent (NFQ Level 7) plus at least 3 years’ relevant experience in the administration or project management of complex high-volume, multi-dimensional processes or projects.
• Previous experience working in Higher Education in a research context, with experience working with systems and processes in a third-level institution.
• Proven experience acting as the primary liaison for key external and high-profile stakeholders, balancing competing priorities while maintaining long-term institutional trust.
• Demonstrable experience of working with multiple and diverse stakeholders in a large complex distributed organisation. 
• A positive work ethic and outlook, and a demonstrable commitment to high quality work.
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team, coordinating and progressing tasks effectively across multiple universities, while contributing to the development and enhancement of admin processes. 
• Proven experience working in a research environment.
• Strong proactive problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong quantitative reasoning skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and organisational skills with the ability to make informed decisions.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills to include the ability to build and maintain positive working relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.

Please note that internal service criteria will apply to internal applicants and staff must have successfully completed their probationary period.

Essential Training 

The postholder will be required to undertake the following essential compliance training: 

• Orientation
• Health & Safety
• Data Protection (GDPR)
• Cyber Security Awareness 
• AI Literacy 

Other training may need to be undertaken when required.

Salary Scale:

Professional 5- €58,651 - €70,663 (refer to DCU Payscales for the applicable payscale for the role.)

Appointment will be commensurate with qualifications and experience and in line with current Government pay policy.

Closing date: Wednesday, 20th May 2026

Additional Information

Please note this role does not meet criteria for a Critical Skills permit as stipulated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment.

Remote Working Policy

DCU operates a Remote Working Policy. Employees may be approved for up to 2 days of remote working per week (or an appropriate pro-rata amount for those part time). Any remote working arrangement will be reflective of the predominant on-campus working environment and the core University value of 'Student Focused'.

Employees will be based on campus for the majority of their working week to ensure a sustained on campus engagement and experience. The terms of the remote working policy will apply.

For more information on DCU and benefits, please visit Why work at DCU? 

Informal Enquiries in relation to this role should be directed to:

Professor Noel O’Connor, Full Professor, School of Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Computing, Dublin City University. 

Email: noel.oconnor@dcu.ie

Please do not send applications to this email address, instead apply as described below.