Chief Science Officer

The Role: Chief Science Officer

The Chief Science Officer (CSO) will be a scientific leader who will drive innovation, scientific vision, partnerships, and provide organizational leadership. The CSO works closely with the CEO and the CLS leadership team to manage, guide, and build relationships - nationally and internationally - in order to secure funding, sustain growth, and ensure success. The CSO drives organizational impact as a world-leading synchrotron and leads the development and implementation of CLS's science strategy.

The CSO oversees the Science Division, including the Industry Services group and its range of services,  from purchased access to comprehensive experimental design, execution, and analysis.

The CSO ensures CLS’s scientific experimental facilities, programs, and initiatives are globally competitive with significant developments in related technology and are competitive with third-generation synchrotron facilities worldwide. The CSO is an influential voice in the Canadian science policy and innovation ecosystem.

Nature of the Work

The CSO leads the development and implementation of CLS’s strategic science planning, determining, and developing the scope of services offered by CLS to academic and industrial users, and sustaining and enhancing the quality of services and capabilities of CLS.

In collaboration with the CEO and Executive Management, the CSO motivates and leads a high-performance scientific management team, ensuring that all systems, processes, and personnel required to design, build, commission, and operate globally competitive beamlines are aligned with the strategic plan. The CSO leads collaborations with national and international scientific and academic institutions in order to develop, expand, and publish scientific discoveries and innovations in synchrotron science and related fields. They will encourage, promote, and support technology transfer to maximize the socio-economic benefits to Canada of the investments in CLS.  They will strengthen business partnerships and innovation to connect CLS research capacity to economic opportunities and growth.

The CSO leads relations with universities and partner institutions and works with the CLS external Science Advisory and User Executive Committees, to foster research and development efforts in synchrotron science and related fields of study. The CSO manages the peer review process within the CLS. They also liaise with federal departments and funding agencies such as NSERC, NRC, and CIHR regarding academic use of facilities.

The CSO oversees all aspects of beamline operations as well as the development, implementation, and review of policies and procedures, including those relating to CLS intellectual property connected to research activity. The CSO implements approved budgets, monitors expenses, develops projections for operational expenditures, and prepares detailed progress reports on beamline operations, scientific results of users, as well as in-house research. They ensure appropriate staffing for science operations and handle employee relations matters, including performance management, addressing complaints, resolving problems, and taking corrective action when necessary. The CSO oversees the review of resource requirements, the development of replacement-upgrade programs, and new photon beamlines that are consistent with the CLS mission.

The Person

• A relevant Ph.D. in a scientific discipline, with a minimum of 10 years of relevant scientific experience, most recently in a senior leadership role.
• Familiarity with synchrotron science and/or experience working in a comparable research facility would be considered an asset. 
• Targeted candidates will come from University, Government or a private research institute. The term appointment could involve a secondment arrangement from an institution such as a University.
• Displays exceptional interpersonal and communication skills.

Accountabilities

• Increasing awareness of services and value of CLS with funders, stakeholders and users. Maximize beamline performance. Enhancing industrial engagement, education, and outreach. Expanding usership and service provision. Reinforcing our performance culture. Enriching our team. Aligning leadership and strategy. Enhancing governance processes.

Express Your Enthusiasm

Please email a convincing cover letter and tailored resume (PDF or Word document only) to John Dugdale or Laura Youngberg at [email protected] indicating the job title in the subject line of the email.

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