Centre Manager

The Centre Manager provides overall strategic, research and operational leadership for RIMA. This is the head-of-centre role with overall accountability for RIMA's strategy, delivery and performance.

The candidate would be responsible for the following duties:

1. Strategic Leadership & Direction

• Set the strategic direction of RIMA's research, publications and engagement work, ensuring alignment with RIMA's mission and AMP Singapore's organisational priorities.
• Lead efforts to monitor social, economic and policy trends affecting the Malay/Muslim community, including commissioning and/or conducting periodic environmental scans.
• Translate strategic priorities into multi-year and annual workplans, KPIs and measurable outcomes for the Centre.

2. Research Leadership & Project Governance

• Provide overall oversight for the design, implementation and dissemination of RIMA's research projects and studies.
• Serve as Project Lead/Principal Investigator for selected flagship and externally commissioned projects, including stakeholder engagement, research design, data collection, analysis and reporting.
• Ensure that research processes adhere to ethical standards, data protection requirements and good research governance, including secure safekeeping of all research data.
• Oversee the quality assurance of research outputs (reports, briefs, commentaries, books, podcasts and other publications).

3. Organisational, Financial & Operational Management

• Oversee and manage the administrative, research and operational functions of the Centre, including human resource planning, workload allocation and performance management.
• Develop, manage and monitor RIMA's overall budget, including project budgets, grant administration and financial stewardship.
• Put in place systems, SOPs and policies to support effective operations, risk management and compliance with AMP Singapore's governance requirements.

4. Programmes, Events, Publications & Thought Leadership

• Lead the conceptualisation, planning and execution of RIMA's conferences, workshops, seminars, webinars, training programmes and other public engagement activities.
• Drive RIMA's publishing and thought leadership work (e.g. commentaries, opinion pieces, Karyawan, briefs, reports, podcasts and other platforms) on key issues affecting the Malay/Muslim community.
• Lead and oversee RIMA's book and major publication projects, including concept development, commissioning of contributors, editorial review and coordination with designers/publishers.
• Represent RIMA at dialogues, forums, media engagements and other platforms as required, strengthening RIMA's profile as a trusted research and thought leadership centre.

5. Stakeholder Engagement & Partnerships

• Maintain and grow strong relationships with key stakeholders – including government agencies, community organisations, funders, academic partners and international collaborators.
• Lead efforts to expand RIMA's research networks, partnerships and collaborative platforms.
• Work closely with AMP Singapore to support its thought leadership initiatives, including follow-up to AMP Conventions and strategic projects.
• Provide, delegate and coordinate analytical and research support for AMP's various departments and projects.

6. Team Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead, supervise and mentor the research and administrative team to ensure high-quality work, timely delivery and professional growth.
• Build the team's capabilities in research methods, data analysis, writing, project management and stakeholder engagement through coaching and development opportunities.
• Foster a collaborative, values-driven culture within RIMA, aligned with AMP Singapore's mission and values.

7. Governance, Reporting & Accountability

• Prepare and present regular reports, analysis and updates to RIMA's Board and Executive Committee on strategy, research findings, finances, risks and operations.
• Report to AMP Singapore's Board/senior management on matters related to AMP–RIMA joint projects, commissioned studies and major collaborations.
• Ensure compliance with governance requirements, including timely submissions of reports, audits, grant deliverables and contractual obligations.

Job Requirements:

• Recognised university degree in any discipline.
• Proven experience in executing or managing social science research activities.
• Minimum 6 years research experience.
• Minimum 3 years management / project lead experience.
• Strong financial management skills, coupled with excellent organisational and interpersonal abilities.
• Good writing and communication skills, with a strong command of English.
• Experience in editorial work and managing publications.
• Strong networking capabilities and an understanding of the Malay/Muslim community will be considered an added advantage.