Administrative Assistant – Iserc Operations and Compliance

Role Overview

The Administrative Assistant for ISERC Operations and Compliance keeps the Institutional Scientific and Ethics Review Committee Secretariat running smoothly — tracking approved studies, chasing renewals and amendments, and making sure monitoring visits and compliance records never slip through the cracks. Day to day, this means maintaining databases of protocol deviations, adverse events, and progress reports while preparing the documentation that committee members, management, and regulators depend on. The post matters because it directly protects research participants and keeps the institution's ethics oversight credible in the eyes of NACOSTI and international standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor ongoing research against approved protocols, university policy, and national and international ethical guidelines — flagging deviations while helping uphold participant rights, safety, dignity, and confidentiality through proper informed consent and ethics documentation.
• Coordinate post-approval oversight: ethical approval renewals, annual progress reports, protocol amendments, and study closure reports.
• Support routine and for-cause monitoring visits and audits, assembling the materials needed to judge whether approved procedures are actually being followed and participants are protected.
• Log protocol deviations, non-compliance cases, and participant complaints, escalating them to the right oversight personnel for corrective and preventive action.
• Track adverse events and unanticipated problems so the Scientific and Ethics Review Committee and relevant regulatory bodies are notified on time.
• Maintain compliance databases, monitoring reports, site visit files, and regulatory records, and draw on them to prepare periodic compliance and administrative reports.
• Assist with the ethical clearance process — preparing reports, tracking documentation, and shepherding each submission through the pipeline.
• Contribute to quality assurance and continuous improvement work, including SOP development and review, accreditation processes, and institutional research governance systems.

Requirements & Qualifications

Education and experience

• Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Communication, Information Science, or a related discipline from an accredited and recognised university.
• Training in Research Ethics and the Responsible Conduct of Research.
• At least one year of experience in research administration, ethics review, compliance monitoring, quality assurance, or research management, ideally within a university or comparable institution.
• Prior work with Institutional Scientific and Ethics Review Committees, Institutional Review Boards, or research institutions is an added advantage.
• Experience conducting audits, inspections, or monitoring of research projects is desirable.
• Computer skills relevant to the role, gained from a recognised institution.

Skills and competencies

• Working knowledge of NACOSTI guidelines and international ethical standards.
• Strong analytical and report-writing abilities.
• Ability to conduct inspections, audits, and investigations objectively.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and electronic records management systems.
• Ability to work independently while handling confidential information with discretion.
• High ethical standards, integrity, and close attention to detail.