Associate Director, Research Acceleration & Strategic Initiatives

The University of Saskatchewan's (USask) main campus is located in the vibrant city of Saskatoon on Treaty 6 territory and the traditional homeland of the Métis. USask is one of the top research-intensive, medical doctoral universities in Canada, and is home to world-leading research  in areas of global importance, such as water and food security and infectious diseases.

Research Acceleration & Strategic Initiatives (RASI) supports the university research community in the incubation, development and submission of research grants, infrastructure projects, and initiatives.  A key goal of the office is to provide researchers and the university with services and programs that afford a competitive edge when applying for external research funding.

Primary Purpose: Reporting to the Director, Research Acceleration & Strategic Initiatives, the Associate Director is a senior member of the Office of the Vice-Present Research providing leadership within a discreet portfolio and across the unit operations. Overseeing the Research Integrity and Support Services team, the Associate Director plays a key role in developing and implementing policies, procedures and programs that ensure that USask’s funding application submissions and management processes reflect the leading-edge and externally mandated standards.

Nature of Work: This position plays a key role in the development of specialized programs and services that will advance the university’s goals with respect to research, scholarly and artistic work.  This includes working closely with the Director, RASI to develop short, medium, and long-term goals for the portfolio and unit, and in leading professional staff toward the achievement of these goals.

This position establishes and enhances a network of strategic relationships with internal and external contacts, agencies and partners to facilitate and respond to evergreen compliance and regulatory requirements. Collaborating with faculty, internal and external contacts, agencies and partners, this highly complex and challenging role establishes and maintains the level of professional relationships that support exceptional collaboration and problem-solving.  The Associate Director will represent the university in a variety of venues at conferences, workshops, roundtables, committees, and other events. 

This position exercises independent decision-making. The work is highly challenging and requires innovation and problem solving on a daily basis. Tight deadlines and high volumes of work can be expected to occur at certain times. The work is unstructured and complex, and the incumbent will be expected to negotiate boundaries, mediate complex issues and navigate conflict to ensure successful outcomes for the university. Discretion is required as this position is privy to and works with sensitive, highly confidential information.

The impact of error is extremely high; economic consequence to the university is significant and this position would have primary responsibility for ensuring that inflexible deadlines are met, risks to USask are identified and appropriate approvals are secured.  Extended and non-standard hours may occasionally be required and the incumbent will be expected to possess effective stress management tactics to maintain an enthusiastic and optimistic outlook for themself and the team.

This multi-faceted position requires strong leadership and managerial skills with an emphasis on enthusiasm, vision, objectivity, and accountability; exceptional collaborative ability to build working relationships with various stakeholders, on campus, provincially, and nationally; skill for innovation, strategic planning, versatility, and analytical thinking.  This is a key position that requires the ability to work independently and to be a self-initiator. 

Typical Duties or Accountabilities:

Strategic and Risk Management

• Act on behalf of the Director, RASI in their absence or as required and requested.
• Act as an Institutional Signing Authority on behalf of the Chair of the Board of Governors.
• Provide confidential and strategic advice, information and data to the director, RASI to support decision making, and advice and guidance on policy matters where risk is involved related to individuals, units and the institution; exhibit sound practices to ensure due diligence is exercised in procedural matters to minimize risk to the university.
• Positively influence the direction of the office and USask success through active participation in the RASI leadership team and development and implementation of strategic programming.
• Acting as a delegate of the research data steward, play a key decision-making role the integrity of USask’s grant management system.
• Act as the RASI lead on internal and external research-related audits and revenue reporting.

Development and delivery of programs and services

• Develop (as a senior member of the RASI leadership team) and implement appropriate policies, procedures and programs to support the enhancement of the university’s research goals.
• Develop and apply an in-depth understanding of the strategic priorities of the university and the OVPR in order to provide thoughtful and relevant advice to researchers, senior leadership and colleagues within the RASI office to ensure that proposals are aligned with those strategies.
• Develop and maintain expert knowledge of granting agencies and their programs: provide specialised expertise to grant compliance and management requirements, inclusive of research security requirement. Foster and maintain strong internal relationships with key university community members by establishing a solid and reliable resource network by building and maintaining collaborative inter- and intra-university relationships and partnerships.
• Liaise with external federal agencies to develop and maintain a current and expert knowledge of the Canadian and international research funding environments, with a particular emphasis on Tri-Agency guidelines and research security requirements.
• Act as an officer for the university’s contract security program, secure and hold Reliability Status, create and implement processes with team to ensure research is safeguarded and in compliance with funding agency requirements.
• Ensure that researchers are aware of RASI services through effective and timely communication strategies; ensure outreach and engagement of key stakeholders; ensure strategic messages and goals are met. Work with teams to develop and deliver educational opportunities, training workshops and seminars as needed to enhance researcher capacity to address compliance, research security and post-award management requirements.
• Recommend, develop, and implement changes procedures to improve administrative processes. Continually evaluate and assess the adequacy of services provided to researchers and oversees any changes in practice or procedures to improve service.
• Interpret complex university and agency policies and procedures, ensuring adherence and/or modification.
• Collaborate with other units across campus (e.g. Financial Operations, Connection Point, UnivRS) to develop strategies and supports to address research information, process and policy needs.

Lead, manage and mentor

• Recruit, hire and supervise a diverse team of RASI professional staff.
• Manage a team of professional staff, creating an environment of engagement, promoting an efficient and effective collegial working environment, and ensuring members performs at a high level by effectively outlining expectations to staff, providing quality mentoring, assessing staff performance, and supporting training and education.
• Ensure timely, high-quality implementation of the annual performance evaluation process including goal setting, merit reviews and the implementation of performance management up to and including termination.
• Co-lead annual merit review processes including recommending the allocation of merit funding.

Education: A graduate degree, supplemented by at least seven years’ experience in a research administrative environment, preferably in a university setting is required. A broad knowledge of the international, national and regional research funding environment, and advanced knowledge of research policies and processes at a university is essential to the success of this position.

Licenses: None

Experience: At least seven years’ experience in a research administrative environment, preferably in a university setting is required.

Skills: The candidate must be a strong tactical thinker, able to facilitate dialogue, build consensus and develop synergies with a broad range of constituencies in order to achieve common goals. In order to stay current with the broad and dynamic research funding requirements, the incumbent will need to demonstrate resourcefulness and self-reliance to independently discover and synthesize relevant information from a variety of sources.

In addition, the successful candidate must have: demonstrated strong scholarly writing skills and excellent communications skills; proven interpersonal skills coupled with the ability to work both within a team and independently; strong organizational and leadership skills; effective time management skills; consistent resourcefulness and self-direction; ability to work independently and prioritize work effectively in accordance with the goals and objectives of the OVPR and the university; flexibility to respond to fluctuating workload demands while maintaining productivity and quality; and the capability to maintain composure and focus when working to deadlines. 

Demonstrated skills and attributes:

• Outstanding interpersonal, communication and mentorship skills.
• Ability to think strategically, facilitate dialogue, build consensus, and develop synergies with a broad range of constituencies to achieve common goals.
• A commitment to providing excellent service.
• Solutions-oriented and fully able to operate at both the strategic and tactical levels.
• Enthusiasm for new challenges in a constantly changing environment and an ability to share that enthusiasm with others.
• Ability to make decisions at high levels where the risks are significant.
• Ability to simultaneously manage a diverse range of complex projects and activities.
• Experience with financial planning and reporting.
• Experience in leading change and innovation to enhance operational effectiveness and efficiency.

This position is exempt from any bargaining unit. 

Department: Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives 
Status: Permanent
Employment Group: Exempt
Full Time Equivalent (FTE): 1.0
Salary: The salary range, based on 1.0 FTE, is $88,740.00 - 148,665.00 per annum. The starting salary will be commensurate with education and experience.
Salary Phase/Band: Salary Band 4
Posted Date: 4/2/2024
Closing Date: 4/16/2024 at 6:00 pm CST
Number of Openings: 1
Work Location: May be eligible for hybrid work under the terms of USask's Alternative Workspace Guidelines

The successful applicant will be required to provide the following current verification(s) where 'Yes' is indicated below. Further information is available at: https://careers.usask.ca/tips-for-applying.php

Criminal Record Check: Not Applicable
Driver's License and Abstract Check: Not Applicable
Education/Credential Verification: Not Applicable
Vulnerable Sector Check: Not Applicable