Research Manager

Prayoga, Bengaluru • Full time, On-site

• 8–12 years experience

Role at a Glance

Reports to: Director Research | Works with: Scientist leads, Finance, External partners

Purpose

The Research Manager is the operational backbone of Prayoga's research enterprise — freeing our scientists to focus entirely on science by owning everything else: administration, procurement, finance, and stakeholder management.

Key Responsibilities

Research Operations

•Own project schedules, milestones, risks and interdependencies across all active programmes

•Run operating rhythms — weekly stand-ups, monthly reviews, quarterly Board updates

•Maintain a live project tracker covering status, blockers and spend vs. budget

•Oversee lab operations: instrument calibration, consumables, safety compliance and record-keeping

Resource Planning

•Translate scientific plans into operational plans (people, time, instruments, budget)

•Forecast annual headcount, capex and opex; prepare the research operations budget

•Allocate resources dynamically as projects evolve

•Manage recruitment, onboarding and performance logistics for research staff and interns

Operational Effectiveness

•Continuously improve systems — lab booking, sample tracking, expense approvals, publications workflow

•Use technology to enable efficient workflows and processes across the research enterprise

•Define and track operational KPIs (time-to-procure, grant cycle time, lab utilisation)

Funding Agencies

•Primary operational contact for philanthropic, governmental and multilateral funders

•Manage the full grant lifecycle: identifying calls, budget preparation, proposal coordination, reporting, close-out

•Maintain a forward-looking funding pipeline and deadline calendar





Contract Research (Industry)

•Identify and onboard industry partners for contract research consistent with Prayoga's charitable objects

•Lead scope definition, pricing, contracting and delivery management

•Ensure commercial work remains incidental to mission and complies with Sections 2(15), 11(4) and 11(4A) of the Income-tax Act

Vendor Management

• Own the vendor ecosystem: instruments, consumables, analytical services, IT

• Empanel vendors, negotiate rates and SLAs; maintain a preferred-vendor list

• Run end-to-end procurement — specifications, quotations, POs, delivery, payment, performance reviews

• Maintain vendor compliance documentation (GST, PAN, TDS, KYC)

Qualifications & Experience

Essential

• Master's in science, engineering or a research-adjacent discipline (or equivalent professional qualification)

• 8+ years of relevant experience, including 4+ years in a research, R&D; or lab setting

• Demonstrated management of concurrent projects, budgets and cross-functional stakeholders

• Direct experience in at least one of: grant management, contract research, or lab operations

• Proficiency with project-management and collaboration tools

• Strong familiarity with technology — comfortable adopting and championing digital tools across research operations

• Excellent written and spoken English; Kannada/Hindi proficiency a plus

Desirable





• PhD or equivalent research exposure

• Familiarity with Indian grant frameworks (ANRF, DST, DBT, ICSSR) and CSR-funded research

• Working knowledge of Indian tax provisions for charitable trusts (Sections 11, 12A, 80G)

Key Competencies

• Systems thinking — sees how parts fit together and where friction accumulates

• Organisational rigour — documentation and follow-through on every commitment

• Stakeholder range — equally at ease with scientists, donors, vendors and the Executive Chairman

• Commercial judgment — negotiates without losing sight of the charitable mandate

• Financial literacy — reads a budget, grant report and vendor invoice with equal ease

• Quiet enabler — finds satisfaction in making others work possible

• Integrity — absolute reliability with funds, contracts and confidential data

How Success Is Measured

• Measurable reduction in scientist time spent on non-research tasks within 12 months

• Research projects delivered on scope, on time and within budget

• Healthy, multi-year funding pipeline with improving conversion rates

• Reductions in time-to-procure, grant-submission cycle time and open compliance items

• Clean statutory and grant audits; no material findings

• Positive feedback from scientist leads on operational support

What Prayoga Offers

• A mission-driven workplace at the frontier of scientific research, with access to high-end research labs and cutting-edge instrumentation

• Direct collaboration with experienced scientists and policy thinkers, and exposure to India's national scientific research ecosystem

• Genuine scope — you will shape the operating system of Prayoga's research enterprise

📌 Research Manager (Bengaluru)
🏢 Prayoga
📍 Bengaluru