Scientific and Business Development Director

Staff - Non Union

Job Category

M&P - AAPS

Job Title

Scientific and Business Development Director - The Electron Microbeam and X-Ray Diffraction Facility (EMXDF)

Department

Faculty | Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences | Faculty of Science (Erik Eberhardt)

Posting End Date

May 30, 2025

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

Job End Date

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 Summary

The Scientific and Business Development Director is responsible for the scientific leadership, research direction and business development of the Electron Microbeam and X-Ray Diffraction Facility (EMXDF) at EOAS.

This position requires leadership in facility and team management, research investigational work including developing new methodologies, consultation with and advises departmental, UBC and industry facility users on Electron Microbeam and X-Ray Diffraction measurements, and method development for electron beam techniques.

Organizational Status

The position reports to the Head of Department, with scientific oversight from the EMXDF Steering Committee. The incumbent will work closely with EOAS faculty members, supervise research scientists, advise users of the facility and participate in the education of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. As a professional geoscientist and expert in the fields of electron-beam microanalysis, X-ray crystallography, and mineral chemistry, the incumbent will develop administrative and scientific policy as appropriate to meet the needs of researchers and other clients.

The Department of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) is a large and complex organization with over 50 tenured/tenure-track faculty, 50 staff employees, 200 graduate students and PDFs, and over 350 undergraduate students in Atmospheric Science, Environmental Science, Geological Engineering, Geological Sciences, Geophysics, and Oceanography. Departmental programs extend beyond the Faculty of Science and interface with the Faculty of Applied Science.

EOAS houses multiple semi-autonomous ancillary research units, several fee-for-service laboratory operations, a public geological museum, stores operations, a fleet of vehicles and a research boat, a mechanical shop, and a remote field school facility in the Okanagan. The Department maintains strong relationships with numerous industry and government sectors.

Work Performed

Leadership:

- Formulates and implements the short and long-range strategies and goals for the operation and promotion of the facilities; develop the tactical and operation plan for the facilities.
- Leads a team of highly specialized analytical staff and directs the daily operation of the EMXRDF, which provides both technician-run sample analysis and self-ser‐vice sample analysis.
- Fosters scientific excellence by ensuring the facility provides leading edge support for both graduate student research programs and departmental, UBC and industry research initiatives.
- Manages the EMXRDF operating budget including, forecasting and resource allocation to align with the strategic direction of the Facility.
- Maintains the operational continuity of the instruments with service contracts, oversees instrument maintenance and repairs, and manages instrument servicing and vendor communication.

Business Development:

- Identifies funding and market opportunities for synergy and collaboration, and keeps abreast of industry trends related to technology transfer and corporate development in related industries.
- Engages with faculty and research staff to identify and facilitate increased inter‐action with other research institutes, including evaluating and facilitating business and collaboration opportunities, fostering new research collaborations, that enhance the reputation and funding opportunities for the EMXRDF and increasing access to government and private research facilitation and funding initiatives.
- Develops commercialization and marketing strategies with the capability to be successful with business development for the lab.
- Attends relevant academic and industry conferences in geoscience and mineral exploration, follows current literature in the fi eld, interfaces with equipment manufacturers, and actively networks with related analytical laboratories in Canada and internationally.
- Develops and executes a communication and public relations strategy to promote the EMXRDF facility’s laboratory services, research and method development, and publications from facility users.

Research:

- Leads and evaluates the development of analytical methods (with domain expertise in mineralogy and geological sciences),