Research Manager

Staff - Non Union

Job Category
M&P - AAPS

Job Profile
AAPS Salaried - Research and Facilitation, Level B

Job Title
Research Manager

Department
FNHA Chair | School of Population & Public Health | Faculty of Medicine

Compensation Range
$6,068.92 - $8,724.25 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date
April 22, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

May 5, 2025

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career. 

Job Description Summary
The Research Manager performs a variety of research activities in a community and academic environment that focus on the portfolio encompassed within the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) Cancer and Wellness Chair position. Under the direction of the FNHA Chair in Cancer and Wellness at UBC the Research Manager is responsible for facilitating and maintaining strong engagement, collaboration and coordination amongst partner organizations, communities and health system. The Research Manager is responsible for all research activities including ensuring that project budgets and reporting requirements are carried out according to contract requirements to partners and funding agencies, developing project timelines and work plans, and ensuring the administration of activities is successfully carried out against timelines and protocols. The Research Manager develops grant applications, presentations and publications. This position is also responsible for making professional decisions and recommendations on all aspects of research work and ensures the quality of research activities.
Organizational Status

The Research Manager works independently under the direction of the FNHA Chair in Cancer and Wellness at the UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health (CEIH). The Research Manager also works with client(s) both internal and external to UBC, funding agencies, and other university departments (for example the health faculties and Office of Research Services).

The CEIH is a single coordinating point for Indigenous health initiatives within UBC, and a contact for community organizations external to UBC. The CEIH is located in the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH), Faculty of Medicine. The Centre aims to develop and recommend targeted and integrated plans for Indigenous health activities at UBC. It is responsible for organizing, implementing and evaluating the programs housed within the Centre (such as the Summer Science Student Program, and the UBC Certificate in Indigenous Public Health, among others) with additional programs likely to be created and/or adopted by the Centre.
Housed within the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) is an innovative unit that encompasses many of the health-related groupings at UBC as a collaborative venture. The School is structured around four divisions: Occupational and Environmental Health; Health Services and Policy; Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health Practice; and Health in Populations. The resulting mix of professions and disciplines is seen as a means of connecting individuals and learners to galvanize the relationship between health research, public health and health services and to enhance learning.
Work Performed

• Coordinates all research activities including: overseeing project budgets and ensuring reporting requirements are carried out according to contract requirements to partners and funding agencies; developing project timelines and work plans with UBC teams, FNHA partner, external health system partner organizations, and Indigenous communities nationally and globally; completes data acquisition requests and oversees data access and analysis; and monitors the administration of activities to ensure they are successfully carried out against timelines and protocols.

• Uses professional expertise to participate in strategic planning meetings and provide recommendations for the strategic direction of Chair initiatives.

• Identifies funding sources and develops research grant applications. Works with the Chair to identify and explore funding opportunities.

• Attends ethics review meetings and prepares ethical review submissions.

• Compiles and prepares relevant background information through literature reviews, develops reports, presentations and background/briefing materials.

• Facilitates community access to health information resources, services and materials and responds to community questions and concerns about Indigenous cancer research.

• Maintains and develops research related records, databases and protocols.

• Coordinates and participates in activities to support knowledge exchange and dialogue between knowledge holders, knowledge developers and knowledge users.

• Develops plans, reports and formal and informal presentations and publications for diverse audiences, including community, academic and external stakeholders.

• Identifies, monitors, and records issues during collaborative meetings.

• Performs basic statistical analyses according to established protocols.

• Analyzes federal, provincial and First Nations policies and research as relevant to Chair research priorities.

• Provides training and oversees the work of research assistants and students in research projects related to the commitments of the Chair.

• Supports supervision of project managers on relevant research projects led by the Chair.

• Other related duties as requested by the Chair.

External Relations

• Coordinates planning and engagement activities with BC First Nations and Indigenous communities, FNHA, UBC, UNBC, BC Cancer, research agencies.

• Builds and maintains effective working relationships internally and externally to the organization.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
The work of the Research Manager is monitored by the FNHA Chair in Cancer and Wellness at the Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health. The Research Manager exercises considerable judgment, initiates and carries through activities important to the functioning of the CEIH. Poor judgment or ineffective communications with community partners (i.e., Indigenous peoples, faculty members, Department Heads, and Deans) could impede or seriously compromise relations and UBC programs, and adversely affect UBC s reputation. The incumbent must exercise judgment to recognize potential conflicts, relationship and financial risks and act accordingly. The incumbent is expected to display considerable personal initiative and has wide latitude in decision-making. Errors in judgment or procedure would lead to serious administrative problems for the CEIH. The incumbent is accountable for the timely delivery and reliability of their work. Poor decisions and errors in judgment could result in delayed completion of projects or inappropriate planning, resulting in financial loss, and damage the reputation of the CEIH, the Faculty of Medicine and the University of British Columbia. In addition, the impact, if an error occurred, would be the misinterpretation of results in information disseminated to decision-makers, the public, and academic audiences. The consequences could lead to inappropriate policy and decision-making related to CEIH programming.
This position will be responsible for access, collection, use and disclosure of personal information in accordance with the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RSBC 1996) and other UBC privacy and security policies. This position requires employees to work under strict confidentiality requirements; internal procedures and policies to protect personal information must be followed and adherence to these requirements will be regularly reviewed by the employer.
Supervision Received

The Research Manager position works independently under the general direction of the FNHA Chair in Cancer and Wellness at the Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health. Initially, the incumbent receives detailed instructions on the assignment of new duties and thereafter, the incumbent works independently and consults with the FNHA Chair in Cancer and Wellness on new or unusual problems.
Supervision Given
The Research Manager is responsible for supervising research assistants and may supervise research project managers (where deemed applicable by Chair). The incumbent may also supervise work study and summer students who might be hired to work on assigned studies, and assist in the supervision of UBC Medical Students in the FLEX courses working on research under the Chair position and additional research volunteers. The Research Manager will assign and review completed work.
Minimum Qualifications

Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of three years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Preferred Qualifications

• Completion of at least a Masters degree in a relevant discipline (such as public health, community health science, epidemiology) preferred.

• Must be able to navigate university governance and reporting, Indigenous community governance structures and organizations.

• Demonstrated experience working in a community or university-based environment that prioritizes social justice, equity, and the unique vulnerabilities, resiliencies and human rights needs pertinent to working with Indigenous peoples and communities.

• Must have an understanding of Indigenous community knowledges and protocols.

• Project management experience is an asset.

• Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail.

• High level of thoroughness, accuracy, and ability to identify and correct missing and incomplete data.

• Ability to effectively use SPSS, NVivo, Access at an intermediate level.

• Ability to analyse and interpret quantitative and qualitative data, determine implications, and provide recommendations.

• Ability to exercise sound judgment.

• Must be organized and have the ability to prioritize and work effectively under pressure to meet deadlines.

• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to develop and maintain cooperative and productive working relationships.

• The incumbent must possess the ability to work independently and collegiality with others, while exercising tact, discretion and judgment.

• The candidate must be self-motivated and able to work independently with minimal supervision.

• Ability to effectively use the Microsoft Office Suite (e.g., Outlook, MS Word, MS Excel) as well as online document archiving and sharing environments (e.g., Dropbox).

• Excellent command of the English language with a strong ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

• Strong ability to compose correspondence, reports, presentations, and other written materials using clear and concise business English.

• Ability to accurately proofread for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

• Must have a valid BC Driver s License.

• Must be willing to travel.

• Individuals living in Prince George will be strongly considered.

• Must be flexible in working hours to accommodate Chair’s schedule, student schedules, and different time-zones of partners.