Global Genetics Program Administrator

Note: This role is not suitable for students as it's full time.

QMUL is looking for Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) Administrator.

The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (FMD) is a significant constituent of the University, which is organised into six separate Institutes.  The Wolfson Institute of Population Health harnesses expertise across a wide range of population based research and education activities and aims to be an internationally recognised centre of excellence in population health and preventive medicine. 

The Institute is organised into five separate research centres which, though complementary and following the Institute strategic plan, also have Centre-specific objectives and requirements.

The Preventive Neurology Unit (PNU) was set up with the aim of developing trials to prevent neurological disease. It is part of the Centre for Prevention, Detection and Diagnosis, which has a focus on academic discipline, research, the translation of research into public health strategies and their practical implementation – all dedicated to the reduction of disease and disabilities.

The post holder will be joining the Preventive Neurology Unit (PNU), at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London to work on the large-scale international Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2), a 36 million dollar project funded by the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative (www.gp2.org). The aims of the GP2 project are to:

• Expand current understanding of the genetic architecture of PD;


• Accelerate discovery and validation of novel disease-causing genetic mutations;


• Provide training and resources to a broad, diverse base of scientists and clinicians.

Specifically, the post holder will join the Training Networking and Communication (TNC) working group (WG) led by the Professor in Neurology and Neuroepidemiology and coordinated by the project manager. The aim of the TNC-WG is to establish a virtual centre-of-excellence to promote training, networking and communication throughout the GP2 project. These three aspects will be delivered as follows:

• Training - To develop and provide training opportunities for individuals and groups with a focus on PD genetics, and with a focus on promoting training in ‘under-represented’ regions of the world.


• Networking - To create a network of trainees and collaborators, which will enable us to streamline opportunities, expertise, and data across the GP2 group.


• Communication - To listen and respond to the needs of the GP2 community. To support the development of communication tools (website and social media).

The post holder will contribute and support all aspects of the TNC group’s work delivering project milestones for GP2, in collaboration with other working groups and with linked projects.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Responsible for maintaining an up-to-date list (listserv) of GP2 members and trainees (e.g. weekly) and provide regular email communication to keep all members up-to-date.


• Autonomously provide administrative support and guidance to a multitude of international stakeholders in a fast paced and complex matrix organisation.


• Provide project support to the WG lead and project manager, including being responsible for keeping track of the project management of the WG, and dealing swiftly and independently with requests from international stakeholders.


• Take the lead in providing administrative support to GP2 members requiring assistance in accessing common project materials for team working via the GP2 website.


• Organise and support the project manager and leads to hold regular meetings between TNC WG members, including drafting an agenda and following-up action points.


• Liaise with the GP2 website designers and developers to support the delivery and regular updates of website and social media content.


• Support the TNC coordinator and leads in the administration of PhD, MSc, sabbaticals and other training opportunities funded through GP2. This will involve advertising the opportunities, handling submissions, setting up peer review, and providing feedback to candidates.


• Liase with the GP2 steering committee to plan annual GP2 meetings, either virtual or in-person, in international locations for an global scientific audience.


• Support regular blog posts from GP2 members and students benefiting from funding.


• Liaise with other working groups within the GP2 study and attend other working group meetings periodically.


• Maintain mentor and peer reviewer lists across the GP2 study.


• Support the collection of materials from GP2 members and investigators for a monthly videocast, working with the Digital Learning Administrator to implement on the GP2 website.


• Support regular communication of updates, research and training opportunities within the GP2 network.

The above list of responsibilities is not exhaustive and the jobholder may be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the level of the role, as reasonably requested by their line manager.

This job description accurately reflects the duties and responsibilities of the role at the time the job description was written. These duties and responsibilities may change over time without significantly impacting on the character of the role, the overall level of responsibility, or its grade.

Depending on strategic or operational needs, the jobholder may in the future be required to work for another existing or new organisational unit and/or at a different site within Queen Mary. This may be on a temporary or indefinite basis and may involve a change in line management and / or regularly working at more than one site.

Educated to A level, with GCSE grade C/4 or above or equivalent qualifications in Maths and English

Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience

Experience in independently arranging meetings and dealing with a large volume of stakeholders

Experience to operate independently in a fast paced role, providing administrative support to a multitude of international stakeholders with minimum supervision

Experience of having provided project support to a project coordinator / manager in a similar role

Experience in maintain spreadsheets of members of an organisation and using these for communication purposes

Experience working in research settings

Experience of working with web and digital agencies

Experience working within and providing administrative support to multi-disciplinary professional teams

Understanding of data management and the UK regulatory environment

Skills/Abilities

Excellent communication in written and verbal English

Able to operate efficiently in a complex, fast-paced environment and under time pressure

Demonstrable excellent IT skills, including e-mail, word processing and databases (Microsoft Office packages, other database programmes)

Critical attention to detail and high standards of accuracy