Science Strategist

**Classification & Regular Hours**:
Hours per Week: 35

Salary Grade: 17

Please note, this is a 2-year, temporary full time contract opportunity. This contract will include a comprehensive benefits package.

**About Western**:
**About Us**:
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is Canada’s health research investment agency. Its mandate is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system. The Institute of Aging is one of the thirteen institutes of CIHR. Each Institute is dedicated to a specific area of focus, linking and supporting researchers in pursuing common goals. As one of the 13 Institutes of CIHR, the Institute of Aging shares responsibility for achieving the principal objectives of CIHR.

The Institute of Aging’s mandate is “to support research, to promote healthy aging and to address the causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems and palliation for the complex health challenges that can be present in older individuals”. This mandate covers all research areas related to aging and older persons, from the biology of aging to public health, and fosters excellence in all its diversity in research and training.

The Institute has a vision to “Foster research excellence to achieve equitable health outcomes and enable healthy aging for all older Canadians.” It’s mission is to “Advance training, research and knowledge mobilization to maintain and improve the health and wellbeing of all Canadians as they age.

The Institute of Aging works very closely with all the other 12 CIHR Institutes and is the main co-leader of a number of crucial multi-institute initiatives, including the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, as well as the Dementia Research Strategy and its national (Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging) and international components. The Institute of Aging also contributes intensively to the Canadian presence in a number of international initiatives within its mandate.

**Responsibilities**:
The Science Strategist contributes to the success of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Aging (CIHR- IA) by providing primary scientific support to the Scientific Director and Assistant Director in all aspects of scientific content related to research in Aging. Primary areas of support include initiating and providing data analytics, literature and research reviews, development of scientific articles and reports and providing advice on strategic research directions. The Science Strategist provides support, guidance and expertise to other staff members as required to develop scientific content in Institute related funding opportunities. The role oversees and supervises the work of CIHR Institute trainees and consultants as required.

The Science Strategist works directly with other CIHR-IA staff members, Ottawa-based CIHR staff, federal and provincial government officials, Institute Advisory Board members, Canadian and international researchers and trainees, senior staff of other CIHR Institutes, and Institute stakeholders and partners to conceive, develop, implement and evaluate programs and projects to ensure the Institute meets its goals. The role provides project status reports for stakeholders, manages financial information, and develops reports and forecasts as required.

The Science Strategist is also responsible for the activities associated with both the large multi-Institute initiatives and Institute-specific initiatives that they lead. The role provides leadership and oversight to effectively develop and implement research funding opportunities, including knowledge mobilization plans ensuring that team members are kept informed of progress and that strategic outcomes are achieved within the time and budget assigned. The Science Strategist represents the CIHR-IA at required meetings and presents the Institute perspective. The role offers expertise in all aspects of the assigned portfolio and implications for the Institute of Aging and ensures the effective alignment of resources to best support the attainment of the strategic funding objectives.

**Qualifications**:

- Education:
- Master’s degree in a discipline related to the CIHR-IAs mandate
- PhD in health or biological sciences with a focus on Aging is preferred
- Experience:
- 7 years’ experience in an academic or scientific role managing, evaluating and implementing scientific research in the field of aging in Canada
- 5 years managing projects, budgets and personnel
- Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
- In-depth knowledge of the research literature related to aging
- Ability to synthesize and report on scientific literature related to aging
- In-depth knowledge of techniques for planning, managing and coordinating projects, with competing prioriti