The Head of Research Strategy and Performance is responsible for translating the research ambitions of Taylor's University Strategy 2025–2035 into a disciplined programme of implementation. The role connects institutional strategy, research intelligence, priority setting, research support, investment decisions and performance monitoring so that agreed research goals are converted into owned workstreams, measurable outcomes and visible progress.

The Head provides the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Enterprise and University leaders with evidence-based advice on research strengths, funding, talent, partnerships, doctoral growth, research centres, rankings and reputation. The role has direct line oversight of CRM and is accountable for its strategy, service model, capability, resources and performance. The Director, CRM retains responsibility for day-to-day grants administration and research-support operations.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES 

Research strategy implementation

• Translate the research priorities in University Strategy 2025–2035 into a focused portfolio of implementation workstreams with clear owners, milestones, dependencies, measures and decision points.
• Establish a consistent monthly delivery rhythm and provide concise quarterly reports to the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Enterprise and relevant University committees.
• Maintain a single institutional view of priorities, progress, risks and resource implications, escalating issues requiring executive decision.
• Protect strategic focus by testing proposed initiatives against evidence, institutional capability, distinctiveness and deliverability.

Leadership and performance of CRM

• Set and periodically reset CRM's strategy, annual operating plan, priorities and resource allocation in alignment with University Strategy 2025–2035.
• Line-manage the Director, CRM and establish clear accountabilities, decision rights, objectives, service standards and performance review arrangements for the Centre.
• Assess and strengthen CRM's structure, team capability, workload, culture and performance; address identified gaps and recommend changes to roles, recruitment or organisation where required.
• Ensure an effective end-to-end research support model, including funding intelligence, proposal development, pre-award and post-award coordination, researcher development and responsive faculty-facing services.

Research intelligence and institutional analytics

• Lead the University's research intelligence function, integrating bibliometric, grants, workforce, doctoral, partnership, commercialisation and reputation data.
• Identify the researchers, publications, fields, partners and collaboration patterns that drive research quality, impact and visibility.
• Develop clear institutional, faculty, centre and thematic dashboards with agreed definitions, baselines, targets and data ownership.
• Use benchmarking and scenario analysis to inform investment, recruitment, grants, doctoral growth, partnerships and the development of research focus areas.
• Work with the University's rankings and reputation teams to improve the quality, completeness and strategic use of research evidence for QS, MyRA and other relevant exercises.

Research focus areas, centres and platforms

• Develop evidence-based cases for a limited number of research areas in which Taylor's can build distinctive national and ASEAN leadership.
• Coordinate the assessment, establishment and review of research centres, flagship clusters and cross-faculty platforms against clear academic, financial and impact criteria.
• Introduce proportionate performance compacts covering scholarly quality, external funding, doctoral activity, partnerships, visibility and impact.

Funding, talent and capability pipelines

• Lead CRM and work with faculties to convert institutional strengths into targeted competitive funding pipelines, major proposals and strategic external collaborations.
• Use research intelligence to identify recruitment priorities, high-value teams, potential academic leaders and succession risks.
• Coordinate the strategic case for academic recruitment, postdoctoral investment and researcher development, including ECR and MCR pipelines.

Partnerships, impact and reputation

• Identify institutional and international partners that complement Taylor's strengths and can support funding, doctoral education, high-quality outputs and regional influence.
• Coordinate research input to institutional partnership decisions so that activity is selective, evidence-based and linked to measurable outcomes.
• Work with KTC to ensure that enterprise and commercialisation opportunities are connected to strong research pipelines without duplicating KTC's operational mandate.

Policy, process and investment advice

• Review research policies, incentives, internal funding and approval processes to identify barriers, duplication and opportunities for simplification.
• Prepare concise, evidence-based business cases for strategic research investments, including expected benefits, costs, risks, milestones and review points.
• Advise on the alignment of workload, recognition and performance settings with the University's research ambitions, working through the appropriate academic and people governance processes.

Governance, relationships and change leadership

• Provide direct leadership to the Director, CRM and designated staff supporting research strategy, intelligence, planning and performance.
• Build trusted working relationships with Executive Deans, faculty research leaders, centre directors, TGRA, KTC, Finance, People and Culture, international recruitment, rankings and communications teams.
• Facilitate difficult priority and resource discussions using clear evidence, transparent criteria and institutional rather than unit-level interests.
• Communicate the research priorities and progress of University Strategy 2025–2035 in a concise, credible and consistent manner to the University community.
• Model collegial, ethical and inclusive leadership and contribute to the wider Research and Enterprise leadership agenda.

REQUIREMENTS

• A relevant postgraduate qualification, preferably a doctoral degree, or an equivalent combination of academic qualifications, research achievement and substantial senior-level experience in university research strategy or management.
• Extensive knowledge of the university research landscape, including research strategy development, funding, administration, assessment, performance management and sustainability.
• Strong analytical capabilities in research intelligence, bibliometrics, benchmarking and performance reporting, including experience using institutional research analytics platforms and interpreting field-normalised indicators.
• Demonstrated professional credibility and the ability to influence and collaborate effectively with academic and professional leaders across diverse disciplines.
• Sound knowledge of Malaysian and ASEAN research policies, funding landscapes, doctoral education and university performance environments.
• Experience with MyRA, QS or comparable external research assessment, benchmarking and university reputation frameworks.
• Proven experience leading major institutional initiatives, such as research strategy implementation, research centre portfolio reviews, strategic research recruitment programmes or institutional funding initiatives.
• Strong stakeholder management, facilitation and influencing skills, including the ability to resolve competing priorities constructively.