Senior Sponsored Awards and Research Compliance Officer

About Us

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is Ontario's cancer research institute. We bring together people from across the province and around the world to improve the lives of everyone affected by cancer. We take on the biggest challenges in cancer research and deliver real-world solutions to find cancer earlier and treat it more effectively. We are committed to helping people living with cancer, as well as future generations, live longer and healthier lives.

Launched in December 2005, OICR is an independent institute funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.

Job Details

Position: Senior Sponsored Awards and Research Compliance Officer

Location: MaRS Centre, Toronto

Department: Research Operations

Reports To: Senior Director, Research Operations & Therapeutic Innovation

Salary: Commensurate with level of experience; total compensation includes a competitive benefits plan, plus a defined benefit pension plan (HOOPP)

Hours: 35 hours/week

Job Type: Hybrid

Status: Full-time, Temporary (Leave coverage for June 2024 to September 2025)

Position Summary

OICR is seeking a Senior Sponsored Awards/Research Compliance Officer (SA/RCO) to join the Research Operations team.

The Senior SA/RCO will provide administrative support and facilitate submission of OICR investigators' grant applications to funding agencies and will receive, review, negotiate, and track award agreements. The Senior SA/RCO will be responsible for accountability requirements of funding sponsors and will work with OICR Principal Investigators (PI), leadership and the Manager, Research and Financial Reporting, to ensure compliance. The Senior SA/RCO will oversee the Institute's Responsible Conduct of Research and Research (RCR) Ethics training and will be responsible for liaising with the Institute's Research Ethics Board (REB) to ensure that all projects have appropriate approvals. The Senior SA/RCO will contribute to enhancing team efficiencies, developing strong infrastructure that is responsive to evolving stakeholder needs, and employing sound information management system(s).

This position is temporary, full-time for 16 months to cover a maternity leave.

Position Responsibilities

Grants (Pre-Award):

• Monitor announcements from funding agencies and communicate these to OICR scientists in a systematic manner.
• Maintain institutional profiles on external agency/sponsor sites.
• Train OICR PIs and/or their support staff in the use of funding agencies' electronic submission systems.
• Provide guidance and suggestions to applicants to ensure alignment with funding announcements, any institutional and/or agency policy requirements, as well as OICR research administration matters.
• Act as a primary institutional contact for external agencies.
• Liaise with funders to answer questions regarding competition guidelines.
• Flag institutional and/or agency policy/procedural concerns in applications.
• Maintain records of all grant application submissions and provide external funding metrics as requested.
• Work with OICR PIs, non-PI leaders, and Finance to review all grant applications, letters of intent, letters of support, etc. prior to the approval and sign-off by the OICR Executive Vice-President and Head of Implementation Science.

Grants (Post-Award):

• Review, negotiate and complete Funding and Data Access agreements (with the assistance of OICR's legal, financial and commercialization teams, when needed).
• Draft, negotiate, and complete sub-grant agreements (with the assistance of various OICR departments, when needed).
• Ensure compliance with OICR's and granting agencies' relevant policies, regulations and requirements as well as other regulations and requirements.
• Work closely with granting agencies and internal departments to resolve any problems throughout the life of the award.
• Maintain records (both electronic and hard copy as applicable) of all agreements; and
• Work closely with OICR investigators, their support staff, and Finance to ensure timely submission of scientific and financial reports to granting agencies.
• Provide support as well as pre- and post-Award metrics to internal and external stakeholders (e.g., University of Toronto, OICR's Board of Directors).
• Respond to auditors' questions as needed (e.g., annual NIH audit).
• Respond to ad hoc reporting requested by funding agencies.

Training and Compliance:

• Write and update institutional policies to reflect changes in the sponsored awards and research ethics/compliance landscape, as appropriate.
• Ensure compliance with internal policies and procedures related to pre- and post-award management of awards in tandem with Finance and Operations teams.
• Oversee, track and ensure compliance with RCR training for all OICR research staff.
• Oversee, track and ensure compliance with Ethics training for all OICR research staff.
• Provide guidance and training for OICR researchers on REB requirements, submissions, etc.
• Draft and update training materials, how-to documents, etc. for OICR's intranet.
• Act as a liaison with the Institute's REB.
• Track REB submissions and documents.
• Ensure that certifications (e.g., REB, animal use, biosafety permits) are in place for research projects.
• Provide metrics on institutional compliance to support the Institute's Enterprise Risk Management activity.
• Respond to governmental agency audits, including but not limited to the annual NIH audit. Develop policies or procedures that address audit concerns to ensure OICR compliance and good standing.

Other:

• Review agreements for data access, obtaining institutional approvals for data requests, and ensure all necessary compliance components are in place.
• Provide support to the Office of the Deputy Director on relevant sponsored award matters.
• Draft and update institutional policies to reflect changes in the sponsored awards and research ethics/compliance landscape, as appropriate.
• Develop, maintain, and ensure compliance with internal policies and procedures related to pre- and post-award management of awards in tandem with Finance and Operations teams.
• Provide metrics on training completion rates and other compliance-related activities (e.g., research misconduct) to OICR's Office of Risk and Compliance.
• Maintain the sponsored awards database to provide external funding metrics.
• Provide pre- and post-Award metrics to internal and external stakeholders.
• Keep up-to-date on best practices, tools and techniques in areas of responsibility and sharing information and resources with the team, as well as the broader OICR community.
• Draft and coordinate submission of PI award nomination packages on behalf of OICR (e.g., Canadian Cancer Society awards of excellence, CCRA awards).
• Serves as the institutional system administrator for funding agencies' electronic submission systems (e.g., Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), National Institutes of Health (NIH)).
• Coordinate the submission of the geopolitical risk assessments together with the requesting PI and internal stakeholders (e.g., IT, Information Security, Risk and Compliance).
• Advise OICR PIs on the development of Data Management and Research Security Mitigation Plans submitted to funding agencies.

Qualifications

• University degree in a science field with some research experience, or recognized equivalent.
• Experience in pre- and post-awards management.
• Familiar with the funding processes of government agencies (e.g., CIHR, NIH, CFI) and charitable foundations (e.g., Canadian Cancer Society, Cancer Research Society).
• Demonstrated experience with budgets and legal agreements.
• Comfortable working independently with guidance from the supervisor and other OICR management, whilst also being open to receiving feedback.
• Must be a team player with flexibility to adjust and adapt work priorities during peak times.
• Attention to detail, excellent organizational, time management, and problem-solving skills.
• Sound understanding of potential ethics and governance issues in research.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office software applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and Google documents in shared folders.
• Ability to work with customized software for Sponsored Awards tracking.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to client service and satisfaction.

For more information about OICR, please visit the website at

To learn more about working at OICR, visit our career page.

POSTED DATE: April 11, 2024
CLOSING DATE: Until Filled

OICR is committed to fostering a climate of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. This commitment is central to, and mutually supportive of, our research excellence mandate. We welcome and respect the diversity of all members of our community and we support an inclusive culture for all. We welcome all applicants, and encourage applications from racialized persons, Indigenous Peoples, women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S persons, and others who may contribute to furthering a diversity of ideas within our community. OICR is committed to fair assessment of a candidate's abilities, and consideration for diversity of thought, method, and experience. Providing an accessible workplace and recruitment process is important to us, as described in our Accessibility Plan ). Should you require accommodation during any stage in the recruitment process, please complete the form at the bottom of page Information received related to accommodation will be handled confidentially.

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The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research thanks all applicants. However, only those under consideration will be contacted.