Research Officer, Strategic Initiatives

Classification & Regular Hours

Hours per Week: 35

Salary Grade: 15

The base salary will be $71,970 - $102,690 per annum. Starting salary will be aligned with the successful candidate’s experience, skills, and demonstrated qualifications.

About Western

Since 1878, Western University has been committed to serving our communities through the pursuit of academic excellence and by providing students, faculty, and community members with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social, and cultural growth. We seek excellent students, faculty, and staff to join us in what has become known as the "Western Experience" - an opportunity to contribute to a better world through the development of new knowledge, new abilities, new connections, and new ways to make a difference.

About Us

The Faculty of Health Sciences is a large, diverse, and comprehensive unit, comprised of seven Schools (Nursing, Kinesiology, Health Studies, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Food and Nutrition Sciences, and Communication Sciences and Disorders), a large Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, four Research Centres. The faculty has approximately 5500 undergraduate students and more than 1500 Graduate students (250 PhD students).

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Program Manager, Research, the Strategic Research Officer works to advance the Faculty of Health Sciences' Strategic Plan by leading project coordination, research development, and grant strategy support for high impact strategic research initiatives. Working closely with Faculty leadership, research administration team members, Research Centre directors, researchers, and external partners, the role serves as a dedicated resource to support the development of large-scale funding applications, multidisciplinary research teams, co-designed community research initiatives, and international research collaborations. The Research Officer provides hands-on coordination throughout the planning, development, and submission phases of strategic research projects, helping researchers and partners translate emerging opportunities into competitive funding proposals and funded initiatives. Serving as an embedded project and grant development resource for strategically prioritized initiatives, the Strategic Research Officer provides intensive coordination support to research teams during periods of proposal development and project planning.

Qualifications

Education:

• Masters Degree in a related discipline (preferably in Health Sciences)
• PhD in a research discipline preferred

Experience:

• 5 years experience supporting research functions in an academic environment
• Experience preparing, writing, and/or supporting the preparation of, successful grant applications to the Canadian peer-reviewed granting system and grant program management
• Experience managing relationships with various stakeholders (e.g. academic, private-sector, industrial and other related interest-holders)

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Strong knowledge of major Canadian and international research funding programs, application processes, and sponsor requirements
• Knowledge of the research lifecycle and best practices in research development and reviewing and writing grant proposals
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate complex research projects involving multiple investigators, stakeholders, and contributors
• Demonstrated ability to support the development and submission of competitive grant applications, including multidisciplinary and multi-investigator proposals
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate activities involving researchers, research support units, and external collaborators
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills with the ability to simultaneously manage multiple priorities and competing deadlines within tightly prescribed timelines
• Strong written communication skills with an emphasis on proposal development, editing, and integrating contributions from multiple authors
• Strong interpersonal and facilitation skills with the ability to work effectively with researchers, academic leaders, staff, and external collaborators
• Ability to build collaborative working relationships and facilitate engagement among diverse stakeholder groups
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, tact, diplomacy, and discretion
• Ability to understand, interpret, and effectively communicate funding opportunity requirements, institutional policies, and research administration processes
• Ability to provide guidance, support, and feedback in a way that is positively received
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and other project coordination tools
• Ability to provide guidance, support and feedback in a positive manor

Western Values Diversity

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, members of racialized groups/visible minorities, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process.  If you require accommodations for interviews or other meetings, please contact Human Resources or phone 519-661-2194.

Please Note:

This position is an existing vacancy. This position is fully in-person, on-site. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those chosen for an interview will be contacted.