Research Administrative Coordinator

About Queen's University

Queen's University is a leading research-intensive institution that offers a unique and transformative student learning experience. Our employment opportunities are diverse and exciting, with a wide range of roles available in globally recognized research, faculty administration, engineering and construction, athletics and recreation, power generation, corporate shared services, and more.

We are committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcome applications from individuals from equity-seeking groups, including women, racialized/visible minorities, Indigenous/Aboriginal peoples, persons with a disability, persons who identify in the LGBTQ+ community, and others who reflect the diversity of Canadian society.

Job Summary

The Research Administrative Coordinator will play a key role in leading the coordination of ongoing organizational and research administrative processes and activities for research projects under the Principal Investigator (PI). This position will provide support through the planning and administration of university and departmental administrative processes, assist with preparing grant and research proposals, monitoring the progress of research activities, ensuring deliverables and deadlines are met, and supporting personnel hiring and student onboarding processes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead project coordination and administration, including developing and maintaining detailed project timelines, task sets, resources, and activities; planning and coordinating workflows and implementing them among the team; monitoring for compliance, and making recommendations for changes to the PI.
• Maintain communication within the research teams to support progress along the project management timeline. Track and prepare regular reports on research program activities, such as grants, presentations, publications, and trainees. Provide regular updates at team meetings.
• Under the scientific supervision of the faculty members, assemble data for information and regular reports as required by the funding agencies. Prepare grant proposals and evaluate contracts.
• Communicate/liaise with other staff, labs, and external agencies and institutions to stay aware of developments, communicate research results and current information in the field, foster collaborative research efforts, and develop solutions to improve existing processes.
• Act as primary contact and resource person for the unit while only escalating complex situations to the PI.
• Review researcher reports to monitor research project objectives and participation of relevant scholars/faculty.
• Organize, maintain, and store research files using confidential and secure methods. Support the preparation of relevant peer-reviewed publications for submission to academic journals.
• Coordinate, attend, and provide administrative and logistical support for conferences, meetings, events, agencies, and competitions that will profile and advance internal and external research activities. Duties include drafting and distributing correspondence and compiling background information.
• Schedule and approve, or recommend the approval of, employees' hours of work, overtime, and absences. Monitor and oversee employee attendance.
• Participate in screening and interviewing job candidates and provide input into staff selection. Ensure all documentation required for personnel hiring is submitted to the department administrative team.
• Provide orientation and facilitate on-the-job training to employees and students in the research group.
• Undertake other duties as required.

Required Qualifications:

• University degree in a relevant field combined with several years of relevant research and/or coordination experience.
• Experience working at a post-secondary education institution considered an asset.
• Experience with technical writing and copy editing is an asset.
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Excel, SharePoint, Microsoft Word, Adobe, and a demonstrated ability to adapt to emerging software and information technologies.
• Demonstrated successful and progressive experience in project coordination or management in a fast-paced research environment.
• Consideration may be given to an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Special Skills:

• Interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written) and the ability to work collaboratively with people from a variety of settings and backgrounds, particularly public safety personnel and sector representatives.
• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and developing intercultural competence.
• Excellent organizational, planning, and time management skills, adaptability, and flexibility, with the ability to anticipate deadlines and prioritize activities and tasks alongside multiple research project timelines.
• Resourcefulness, meticulous attention to detail, and proven ability to communicate data in a clear, concise, and accurate manner.
• Excellent computer skills and experience with computer software programs and portals for research administration.
• High degree of diplomacy, discretion, tact, maturity, and judgment.
• Well-developed research skills, including the ability to locate, review, synthesize, and summarize relevant research information, and condense and clarify information into multiple formats (manuscripts, reports, presentations, grant proposals).
• Ability to collate and analyze data and generate a coherent, concise report.
• Supervisory and leadership skills to provide work direction, instruction, functional guidance, and training to students and junior staff.
• Analytical, interpretive, and problem-solving skills with the ability to solve unexpected problems as they arise, referring only more complex problems to the supervisor.

Decision Making:

• Make suggestions on online project team collaboration and coordination of activities.
• Decide what to do when encountering an unexpected problem and when it is serious enough to contact the Principal Investigator.
• Use independent judgment to adapt procedures as the need arises.
• Decide how to collate, store, and analyze data and prepare for presentation.
• Determine best way to coordinate research activities and draft reports in order to meet the needs of the research project.
• Advise researchers, staff, and students regarding expenditures, best methods for handling expenses, and prepare reports on a regular basis.
• Determine appropriate response to research inquiries and decide when new information calls for further action such as distribution or verification.
• Determine chart-field allocations for all research-related transactions and what documentation is required for processing to research accounts.
• Determine best solution to administrative problems within guidelines and determine if policy or procedure should be modified. Decide on how to best implement changes, if necessary.
• In consultation with the investigators, determine layout, content, and formatting of social media and other communication content.
• Assess the suitability of job candidates and recommend the most appropriate person for hire.
• Determine priorities and make decisions about staff utilization and the assignment of work to achieve optimum efficiencies and productivity.
• Assess employees' training needs and make recommendations for internal or external training to attain proficiency.
• Monitor and assess output and the quality of employees' work, and recommend need for formal training or development plans to management and identifies possible staff performance and/or disciplinary issues.

Employment Equity and Accessibility Statement:

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Queen's is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, visible minorities, Aboriginal Peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

The University provides support in its recruitment processes to applicants with disabilities, including accommodation that takes into account an applicant's accessibility needs.