Principal Advisor

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• Full time, 38 hours per week
• Fixed term, 24 months
• Heidelberg location, with multiple public transport options

Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in the north-east of Melbourne and statewide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives. 

About the Department

The Discovery and Innovation Unit (DIU) at Austin Health is the central hub for research governance, ethics, and innovation. DIU supports researchers across the precinct by providing expert guidance, systems, and oversight to ensure compliance with national standards and ethical frameworks. It fosters a culture of translational research, enabling collaboration with university and industry partners to deliver impactful health outcomes.

About the role 

As a Principal Advisor - Research Contracts & Partnerships you will enable Austin Health to deliver high-stakes research contracts and meet sponsor obligations in ways that are robust, innovative, and practical.

This role requires deep expertise in research contracting and governance, the judgment to operate in grey areas, and the emotional intelligence to work with clinician scientists, MRIs, universities, and industry partners.

The Principal Advisor safeguards institutional integrity, reduces risk, and designs solutions that get research moving — leveraging Austin Health's Research Architect platform to embed sponsor responsibilities and provide transparency across the contract lifecycle.

A regular day will see you:

• Ensuring sponsor compliance: overseeing governance, streamlining workflows in Research Architect, and supporting accreditation standards.
• Managing contracts end-to-end: triaging new agreements, leading negotiations with sponsors and collaborators, and resolving disputes.
• Engaging with stakeholders: building trust with clinicians and executives, responding promptly to escalations, and mentoring or training colleagues.
• Driving innovation and improvement: identifying efficiencies, reviewing policies, and implementing changes that reduce risk and increase transparency.
• Monitoring performance and representing Austin Health: accurate reporting, addressing bottlenecks, participating in external forums, and contributing to strategic projects.

About you 

You're a strategic thinker with deep expertise in research contracting, able to navigate complex governance and stakeholder environments with diplomacy and clarity. You bring innovation, sound judgment, and strong communication skills to drive solutions that reduce risk and get research moving.

To be successful in this role, you'll bring with you:

• Postgraduate qualifications in research management, law, public administration, or extensive relevant experience.
• 6+ years in clinical research contracting and negotiation.
• Evidence of innovation — developed or redesigned systems, tools, or processes with measurable impact.
• Ability to handle high-pressure stakeholders (clinician scientists, executives, sponsors) with resilience and diplomacy.
• Knowledge of national and international research governance frameworks and sponsor responsibilities.
• Experience working with contract or governance systems (e.g., Salesforce, Research Architect, or equivalent).

Legal or business qualifications in contract management and/or experience working across hospital, MRI, and university environments is advantageous.

Our benefits 

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including: 

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging, for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation. 
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted fitness memberships and special offers on health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program. 
• Onsite childcare at Austin Hospital, easy access via public transport and car parking options. 
• Mentoring and career development opportunities. 

Work with us 

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures. 

If you feel this role is right for you, we encourage your early application. Even if you don't meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. What matters most is your passion, your drive and your willingness to learn and contribute. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place prior to the closing date. This means we reserve the right to close a job ad prior to the advertised closing date. 

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working with Children Check. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Kate Khamly, Deputy Director Research Governance & Integrity at

Interested in finding out more about this opportunity? Read the position description for further details. 

Application closing date: Sunday 21 September 2025