Manager, Ideation Fund

Help bring research to life and drive your career forward with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Canada's largest research and technology organization.

We are looking for a Manager, Ideation Fund to work within the NRC’s National Program Office (NPO). The Manager would be someone who shares our core values of Integrity, Excellence, Respect and Creativity.

The NPO was established to administer new grant and contribution (G&C) programs announced in Budget 2018 to support the government’s vision for a “re-imagined” NRC—one that is at the centre of research excellence and collaboration, bringing together the best innovative minds from across the country to deliver solutions and breakthroughs that matter to Canadians. Among the programs is the Ideation Fund, which enables NRC researchers to explore transformative research ideas in collaboration with external partners such as academic institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Acting as a discovery and demonstration phase for a continually evolving suite of Research and Development (R&D) deliverables at the NRC, the Ideation Fund supports exploratory research through two mechanisms:

- The **New Beginnings Initiative** ($2M/year) supports small-scale exploratory research projects led by individual NRC employees working with external collaborators who possess complementary capabilities. Proposals for projects of up to one year in duration are evaluated through an internal peer review process, with selected NRC applicants awarded up to $25K in operating funding and their external collaborators awarded up to $25K in grant funding.
- The **Small Teams Initiative** ($4M/year) supports the exploration of transformative ideas by NRC teams working with external collaborators who possess complementary capabilities. Proposals for projects of up to 3 years in duration are evaluated through a peer review process, with selected projects awarded up to $1M in operating funding for internal NRC expenses and up to $1M/year in G&C funding for external collaborators.

The Manager, Ideation Fund will be responsible for managing the team that administers the above-noted initiatives. Responsibilities of the team include:

- developing internal NPO guidelines, procedures, forms and related tools for the intake and review of funding proposals;
- managing all aspects of the due diligence, assessment and approval process for proposals submitted to the Ideation Fund, including the peer review process;
- negotiating, drafting, and ensuring the timely signature of G&C agreements for selected applicants under the Ideation Fund;
- providing guidance and feedback to applicants, prospective applicants, and funding recipients, and responding to their enquiries;
- monitoring G&C recipient compliance with the terms and conditions of funding agreements executed under the Ideation Fund;
- reviewing and validating payment claims submitted by funding recipients under the Ideation Fund;
- leading internal and external stakeholder consultations regarding the Ideation Fund;
- developing program policy advice, briefings and presentations for executives and advisory committees; and
- developing peer review guidance, GBA+ (Gender-Based Analysis +) guidance, and EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) guidance for NPO programs.

**Screening Criteria**:
**Education**:
Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution in policy, business administration, science or another related/relevant degree.

For information on certificates and diplomas issued abroad, please see Degree equivalency

**Experience**:

- Significant* and recent** experience in delivering and managing grant and/or contribution programs in the public service context including extensive experience leading peer review processes
- Significant* experience providing strategic advice and written and oral briefings to executives in the public service context
- Significant* experience in managing a broad range of R&D stakeholder relationships across the public, private, academic and/or not-for-profit sectors
- Experience effectively managing human resources
- Experience effectively managing financial resources including reviewing and approving grants and/or contribution agreements
- Experience in analyzing complex business situations and creating solutions to identified problems.

**Asset**:
Experience in the designing GBA+/EDI guidelines for grant/contribution programs
- Significant experience is defined as experience associated with having performed a broad range of activities over approximately the course of at least (3) years.

**Recent is defined as within the last 5 years.**Condition of Employment**:
Secret (II)

**Language Requirements**:
Bilingual Imperative CBC/CBC

Information on language requirements and self-assessment tests

**Assessment Criteria**:
**Technical Competencies**:

- Knowledge of strategic direction for NRC and the federal government, with a broad understanding of current Sc