Research Partnerships Officer

Overview:
**Term: 2 Years**

The Research Partnerships Officer will support the Director, Innovation and Research Partnerships and the Associate Dean, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ADIE) in advancing the Faculty of Mathematics strategic research partnerships interests. The incumbent also supports individual faculty by project managing industry collaborations and related funding opportunities in Math and Computer Science (CS).

Moreover, the incumbent will support the Director in the development of effective research proposals for government, private sector and not-for-profit funding agents. The Research Partnerships Officer will also provide project management, review and oversight of research proposals and writing support to teams of faculty members and industry partners pursuing major partnerships and/or infrastructure grants; The incumbent also collects and analyzes internal data with respect to these activities

**Responsibilities**:
Coordinate Communication with External Partners
- Support interactions between faculty and external partners that will build and maintain strong relationships
- Maintain effective relationships with the relevant staff in companies of various sizes and sectors, as well as researchers in the Faculty of Mathematics
- Coordinate the participation of external partners in the preparation of collaborative projects and proposals to aid in leveraging industry sponsored funding
- Support in the organization of events that profile Math and CS researchers and aid them in expanding their connections to industry

Facilitate New Partnerships and Funding Opportunities
- Support the Director with relationship management of new partnerships by preparing relevant information (e.g. one pagers, presentations, etc.)
- Maintain a relationship with government funding agencies and become intimately familiar with their matching programs (NSERC Alliance, Mitacs, OCE, etc.)
- Assess emerging trends and suggest prospective collaboration opportunities between the Faculty of Mathematics and external partners
- Actively research industry tradeshows, conferences and industry organizations around the world, and make informed suggestions for the Director

Support Strategic Research Initiatives

The Faculty of Mathematics regularly prepares large scale research proposals to leverage industry funding in support of the Faculty’s strategic priorities. The incumbent will be responsible for ensuring these proposals are of the highest quality through:

- Synthesizing proposal components prepared or provided by faculty members and external partners
- Assist the Director, Innovation and Research Partnerships in writing compelling proposal material, including background preparation, fact-checking, and the translation of technical research information into accurate text that is understandable, readable, and appropriate to the audience
- Work with the Director, Innovation and Research Partnerships to identify and develop opportunities to establish new matching and infrastructure funding as well as grow existing programs

Data Collection and Analytics
- Support with the collection and analysis of relevant data to describe individual researcher achievements, funding, and success rate statistics
- Produce fact sheets and presentations that profile Math and CS research and researchers
- Provide the Director, Innovation and Research Partnerships with advice, information and data related to upcoming funding opportunities to support decision making in the establishment of internal procedures
- Maintain contacts with the Office of Research and relevant funding agencies to ensure information provided and interpretation of guidelines to Math and CS researchers are complete, current, and accurate

Grant Competition Coordination and Management
- Verify budget calculations and projections and adherence to the university and agency requirements, fact-checking
- Act as expert source of information and advice regarding matching and infrastructure funding agent priorities, guidelines, deadlines, review procedures, selection, etc.

Qualifications:

- Master’s degree required
- University-level experience required
- A minimum of 2 years’ experience preparing and reviewing funding proposals for government and not for profit funding agencies
- Demonstrated research skills, including the ability to compile and integrate relevant information (qualitative and statistical), from a broad range of sources to inform strategy and planning
- Demonstrated ability to effectively interact and maintain good relationships with business, startups, and entrepreneurs, in general
- Maturity, tact, and diplomacy
- Strong time management, project management, and problem-solving skills
- Active and empathetic listener
- Ability to work with confidential information
- Detail orientation
- Team player also capable of working independently and proactively
- Technical skills: Microsoft 365, AirTable, Excel
- Working Hours: Regular working hours, some eveni