Director (Research Institute)

Job Purpose

Steers the Institute's strategic research and innovation agenda to translate academic excellence into commercially viable solutions, ensuring alignment with university priorities and global market needs for sustainable impact.

Key Accountabilities:

Strategic Mission Leadership

Develops and executes the Institute's core mission, establishing its strategic direction. Ensures this agenda is compelling to the university's foundational researchers while remaining fully aligned with commercialisation objectives. Accountable for translating this vision into an actionable research roadmap that addresses the full innovation pipeline.

Strategic Thought Leadership

Serves as the primary external face and academic visionary for the Institute's mission. Proactively cultivates and maintains high-level partnerships with government bodies, key industry leaders, and NGOs to shape policy discussions and industry trends. Leverages these external insights to set the Institute's internal strategic priorities, ensuring its work remains relevant and responsive to real-world challenges.

Mid-Stage Innovation Portfolio Management (TRL 4-6)

Holds direct accountability for the Institute's TRL 4-6 portfolio, managing the translation of foundational research sourced from academic centres into viable prototypes and solutions. Responsible for identifying and sourcing strategic TRL 1-3 research and managing its development through the TRL 4-6 phase.

Commercial Revenue Enablement

Drives the Institute's contribution to revenue by successfully advancing innovations through the TRL 4-6 pipeline. Manages the formal hand-off of mature (TRL 6) innovations to late-stage commercialisation teams. Concurrently enables other revenue streams by identifying strategic market gaps and supplying the expert faculty required for professional education and consultancy services.

Academic Stakeholder Management

Acts as the primary liaison to the university's academic matrix. Responsible for proactively building strategic partnerships and negotiating with academic leadership to secure and schedule the university faculty time required to meet the Institute's impact and revenue goals.

Institute Operations Management

Manages the Institute's day-to-day operations, ensuring the effective execution of its research portfolio and the achievement of key performance indicators. Serves as the primary relationship manager with the university's central operational platform, navigating processes to secure all non-academic resources (e.g., facilities, HR, IT) essential for mission success.

Institute Financial P&L Management

Holds full accountability for the Institute's financial stewardship and P&L performance. Responsible for rigorous budget planning, forecasting, and resource allocation to ensure resources are deployed efficiently. Develops and executes a diversified funding strategy to secure capital from competitive grants, strategic partnerships, and translational activities, ensuring a robust financial foundation for the Institute's research and operational agenda.

Generic Accountabilities:

Networking and Relationship Building

Foster and sustain effective working relationships and rapport with the government authorities, business and management institutions, national and key industry players and service providers to keep abreast with latest development to capture new business opportunities.

Good Governance

Enforce the implementation of applicable PETRONAS procedures and guidelines and affect the compliance to statutory and legislative requirements to ensure conformance to the established Limits of Authority (LOA) to safeguard PETRONAS interest, image and reputation.

Codes of Conduct & Business Ethics (COBE) and HSE Policies

Communicate, interpret and champion the execution of the objectives and provisions of the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) policies and Codes of Conduct & Business Ethics (COBE) and undertake appropriate mitigation and/or intervention programmes to safeguard business operations, high staff discipline and industrial harmony.

Leadership and Capability Development

Drive the development of competent working team that will enhance and sustain staff capabilities in achieving high performance delivery to ensure internalization of the right leadership and capabilities in executing their jobs.

Mindset, Behaviour and Culture

Develop and implement distinctive mindset, behaviour and culture to achieve high work performance by adoption and implementation of value interventions, tools and methodologies to promote and instil high sense of commitment, ownership, integrity and loyalty that will contribute to operational excellence.

Qualification & Experience

Education: PhD or equivalent advanced degree in a relevant scientific or technological field.

Experience: Extensive leadership experience in managing complex research initiatives, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation commercialisation.

Skills and Competencies:

• Advanced scientific research methodologies
• Strategic foresight and innovation management
• Effective stakeholder engagement and partnership development
• Robust financial and resource management
• Exceptional leadership and mentorship capabilities

Personal Attributes / Desired Characteristics:

• Visionary leadership and strategic thinking
• Exceptional communication and advocacy skills
• Ethical integrity and accountability
• Adaptability and resilience in complex environments
• Collaborative approach fostering interdisciplinary innovation