Duty Station: Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI)
Funding Body: Wellcome Trust
Project Type: International, Multi-Centre, Collaborative Health Research Programme
Duration: 1-year renewable contract, based on satisfactory performance
Reports To: Principal Investigator / Programme Director
Background
The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) is seeking a highly motivated, organised, and experienced Project Manager to lead the day-to-day implementation of a groundbreaking, Wellcome Trust-funded multi-national research programme. This high-profile initiative brings together leading academic and public health institutions across sub-Saharan Africa and global partners from the USA, UK, and Germany, working at the cutting edge of vaccine research, immunological profiling, and epidemic preparedness.
This role will be based at UVRI headquarters in Entebbe and serve as a central coordination hub across national and international stakeholders.
About the Project
The project aims to identify correlates of immune protection against Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) by integrating insights from both vaccine-induced and natural infection-derived immune responses. Through robust biomarker discovery and immunological profiling, the project will contribute to the global arsenal of tools needed for epidemic containment and rapid vaccine deployment against high-consequence pathogens.
This is a unique opportunity to contribute to global health equity by shaping research that could inform next-generation filovirus vaccines.
Key Responsibilities
- Project Coordination and Oversight
- Lead the development and implementation of project work plans, timelines, and milestones across all participating institutions.
- Act as the central point of contact between national and international partners.
- Organize consortium meetings, workshops, and stakeholder engagements.
- Financial Management
- Work closely with grants and finance teams to track budgets, expenditures, and ensure timely reporting to Wellcome Trust.
- Monitor financial compliance across sub-awards, ensuring adherence to funder and institutional regulations.
- Grant and Compliance Administration
- Maintain oversight of contractual deliverables, ethical approvals, and regulatory submissions.
- Support preparation of donor reports, scientific updates, and risk mitigation plans.
- Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning
- Develop and oversee tools for performance monitoring, impact tracking, and knowledge management.
- Lead quarterly review sessions to assess progress against KPIs and donor deliverables.
- Team and Capacity Building
- Provide supervision to junior project staff and liaise with HR to recruit administrative personnel if needed.
- Foster a collaborative team culture across disciplines and institutions.
Minimum Qualifications and Experience
- Master's degree in Public Health, Life Sciences, Health Research, Project Management, Business Administration, or related discipline.
- At least 5 years of experience in managing multi-partner research projects, preferably donor-funded (Wellcome Trust, CEPI, NIH, EDCTP, etc.).
- Proven experience in financial planning, reporting, and compliance.
- Demonstrated experience of managing budgets over 500,000 GBP
- Demonstrated experience coordinating cross-institutional and cross-border scientific programmes.
- Excellent interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills.
- Familiarity with research governance, GCP, and ethical review processes is a strong advantage.
Desirable
- Experience working in global health, vaccines, or immunology-related research.
- Proficiency in project management tools (MS Project, Asana, Monday.com, and other grant management platforms ).
- Ability to write clearly for both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Strong diplomacy, discretion, and problem solving skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication (including technical reporting)
Application Procedure
Interested candidates should submit
- A cover letter addressing key qualifications and interest in the role
- A detailed CV (maximum 3 pages) with contact information for three professional referees
- A copy of your last role appraisal
- Any other supporting documents (certificates, reports authored, etc)
Please e-mail your application to [vmirembe@uvri.go.ug, mkatusabe@uvri.go.ug and pkaleebu@uvri.go.ug] with the subject line “Application for Project Manager – Wellcome Trust Programme” by [16th October 2025].Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. UVRI is an equal opportunity employer.