Institutional Research Programs Officer

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

Salary Grade: 15

**About Western**:
**About Us**:
Western Research provides strategic and administrative support to advance Western University’s research mission and profile.

**Responsibilities**:
The Institutional Research Programs Officer will be responsible for supporting external research funding processes at Western. The role will directly support research funding development through the identification external opportunities for funding, and will assist directly with opportunity dissemination, grant crafting, and proposal development. The role will ensure that each proposal conforms to Western's and the funding agencies’ policies, procedures and criteria. The Institutional Research Programs Officer will coordinate activities among Western's researchers, its local affiliates, and other national and international peer institutions, with the goal of facilitating the success of research proposals. The role will provide expertise regarding external funding processes, and deliver client-oriented services in support of the university's research initiatives and endeavours. External proposals are typically related to major provincial, national and international research grant programs and institutional level grant programs.

**Qualifications**:
**Education**:

- 4 year Undergraduate Degree
- Graduate degree (thesis based) is preferred

**Experience**:

- 5 years’ experience working with major government research programs; and/or experience in an academic research administration environment or related field

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

- Customer service skills to understand customer needs and expectations, with a desire to deliver helpful and reliable service to the University community
- Ability to handle details with a high degree of accuracy and to organize and prioritize a high volume of work to meet deadlines
- Ability to understand, interpret, and effectively communicate University guidelines, policies and practices to key stakeholders
- Ability to evaluate issues, recognize potential problems and take action to proactively resolve issues
- Project management skills to manage multiple projects simultaneously from conception to completion within tightly prescribed timelines
- Oral and written communication skills with an emphasis on proposal development and delivering presentations
- Communication skills to translate information into easily understood terms, summarize information, provide a rationale for action and with an ability to complete detailed analytics and reports
- Proven ability and natural inclination to develop relationships by interacting with people in a professional, respectful and diplomatic manner
- Ability to work independently and effectively as a member of the team to achieve department goals
- In-depth knowledge of best practices for reviewing and writing grant proposals and of Canadian peer-review granting systems, processes and procedures
- Familiarity with intellectual property management, including copyrights and patents
- Ability to work in a manner that models best practices in confidentiality standards
- A desire to grow and advance skills, which is demonstrated by attending conferences, workshops and other professional developmental opportunities to enhance performance
- Professional manner, tact, diplomacy and discretion in dealing with associates and colleagues including senior management
- Ability to provide guidance, support and feedback in a way that is positively received
- Advanced computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite
- Ability to research new avenues of funding from federal granting agencies, industry and other funding sources

**Western Values Diversity**:
**Please Note**:
We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those chosen for an interview will be contacted.