Description
The School of Public Policy invites applications for a Research Coordinator, Canadian Climate Policy Partnership position. This Full-time Fixed Term position is for approximately 1 year (based on length of grant funding), with the possibility of extension.
The School of Public Policy (SPP or the School) is an autonomous institute at the University of Calgary located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The SPP is located on the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta. The City of Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Districts 5 and 6.
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Founded in 2008, the School is devoted to public policy research and education. Its education programs include a Master of Public Policy and a Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development. Located at the University of Calgary's downtown campus, the School is home to over 60 full-time or part-time faculty, staff, and affiliated fellows. The School's research activities are organized around several key policy areas: International Policy and Trade; Health and Social Policy; Energy and Environmental Policy; Fiscal and Economic Policy; and Agricultural Policy. The School achieves its mandate through integrated activity across its academic programming, research portfolio and extensive outreach.
This position reports to a professor in the School and involves coordination of and contribution to research focused on Canadian climate policy. The position normally involves working Monday to Friday, 35 hours per week. On occasion there may be the need to work outside of regular hours as well as travel within Canada. This is a two-year limited term position with the possibility of extension based on secured funding.
The position entails coordinating research programming, research projects and outreach activity, as well as undertaking team-based research, in a fast-moving and changing environment often involving multiple stakeholders. Peak times will occur near deadlines for reporting analysis and results to project stakeholders.
This position also requires considerable problem-solving ability and initiative, which may include identifying relevant questions and directing them to the Principal Investigator (PI) in a timely manner, independently knowing where to look for information, and contributing to discussions about solutions to complex problems. Knowledge of University policy and processes will be essential, as the incumbent will also be responsible for managing project HR needs, facilitating grant applications, and providing guidance to internal and external project members and stakeholders. The Research Coordinator is responsible for the timely execution of all assigned projects or planning initiatives and problem solving, including working within prescribed project budgets.
Presentation and communication of research and research results to a variety of audiences and in different venues will also be involved (i.e. presentations at conferences, workshops, team meetings as well as in various written publications). The incumbent works on multiple projects, meeting multiple simultaneous deadlines throughout the year. Given that the nature of the projects associated with this role has a strong connection with development activities, it is critically important that the incumbent have expertise in writing publishable documents related to outreach and development.
This Research Coordinator position is focused on managing, facilitating and executing a partnership-focused project on Canadian climate policy. The critical activities of the project, supported by this position are:
- collecting and transforming data on Canadian national and subnational climate policies, making the data available for policy analysis by a broad set of researchers, policymakers, and others; and
- engaging in research and policy analysis that is relevant and accessible to both academic and non-academic audiences; and
- knowledge mobilization activities; and
- supporting expansion of partner research networks linking academic and non-academic sectors to foster high-quality and data-driven applied research on climate policies in Canada.
This position involves two distinct skillsets: (1) project coordination and (2) conducting research. This position involves supporting, advancing, and stewarding new and existing research partnerships. This includes the coordination of details regarding partnership agreements, payment schedules, reporting and tracking of project deliverables and offering administrative, logistical, and other support to the PI and broader research team. Additionally, the incumbent will schedule appointments, prepare meeting material, write reports, and organize partnership-related initiatives like team workshops.
Operationally, the candidate will be intimately involved in relationship building and maintenance, finances (including budget management and administration), as well as the logistics required to complete the project. The candidate will work with other team members and the PI to deliver on the project objectives, as well as lead project KPI data collection, measurement, and reporting.
In addition, the incumbent will liaise with the business operations staff, communications team, development staff, and outreach staff. The position is primarily oriented to ensuring research activities are completed in a timely manner, and assisting the PI with reporting and day-to-day management of research activities, though some research is undertaken. The Research Coordinator works independently and as part of a team on projects within the School.
Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):
- Leads, manages or participates in projects as assigned by the PI.
- Provides input into the day-to-day operational aspects of a project/program, including identifying and resolving issues and conflicts.
- Prepares project/program-related communication (e.g. reports, briefings, correspondence, presentations, website content, etc.)
- Organizes time effectively so that results are produced by set deadlines that support overall project timelines.
- Collaborates regularly and closely with others (i.e., participation in project meetings and brainstorming sessions) as required or to conduct research, obtain and verify results.
- Regularly monitors and controls partnership dealings and outcomes and ensures the PI is kept informed of activities and progress.
- Represents the School of Public Policy externally.
- Supports execution of the Canadian Climate Policy Partnership outputs and deliverables.
- Provides administrative and logistical support to PI and research team.
- Responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of files, including contacts database.
- Works closely with the PI and research team members in organizing research agenda.
- Tracks project activities, outputs and impacts.
- Supports the development and implementation of the planning and program development processes.
- Works collaboratively with the PI and research team to determine priorities, establish goals and objectives, develop and implement action plans, identify performance measures/targets, and monitor/evaluate progress toward performance targets.
- Helps with design and implementation of processes to support project lifecycle management.
- Contributes to and assists in the development and submission of funding applications.
- Assists in completion of reports to funders.
- Support the design of program budget with the PI, by prioritizing and organizing program budgets and deliverables.
- Liaises with external research contractors, as needed.
- Develops program overview documentation, including website content.
- Coordinates and assists with developing a range of research-related activities including conferences, symposia, and other programming.
- Liaises with faculty, students and stakeholders as appropriate for successful completion of research work.
- Makes recommendations to policy or procedural changes to increase operational efficiency and meet project objectives.
- Maintain detailed and organized project documentation (both electronic and physical files; includes storing and managing the files).
- Maintains database of contacts and stakeholders.
- Offers administrative and logistical support to PI and research team, including: schedules appointments and meetings, prepares meeting material, tracks action items, writes various reports and supports partnership-related initiatives like research workshops and making travel arrangements for team members.
- Establishes and maintains effective, productive relationships with staff, peers, supervisors, reports-to manager, partners, and international stakeholders.
- Work with partner organizations in database validation.
- Supports the development of academic publications.
- Undertakes qualitative and quantitative analysis of Canadian climate policies.
- Assists the team in preparation of literature reviews, briefing documents, background reports, research papers, applied research, presentations and other research products.
- Applies analytical skills for the collection, formatting and analysis of data. Includes comparing and/or validating results with established literature.
- Works independently, or with the PI and other team members to set guidelines for completion of data analysis.
- Organizes time effectively so that research results are produced by set deadlines that support overall project timelines.
- Provides technical expertise to other team researchers, which may include research assistants and student researchers.
- Performs data analysis that involves basic spreadsheet analysis, as well as graphic representation of conclusions and results.
- Undertakes a careful and insightful evaluation and interpretation of all analytical results.
- Organizes and engages in stakeholder consultation meetings to guide analysis.
- Responds to inquiries from team members or research assistants who require assistance.
- Updates and/or maintains external communications (email correspondence and project website).
- Works with the research team to effectively communicate research results to media and to stakeholders.
- Gathers information to support the team in sharing research findings with stakeholders as needed.
- Reviews, prepares and present reports of results using excellent policy and academic writing skills.
- Collaborates regularly and closely with team members (i.e., participation in project meetings and brainstorming sessions) as required to conduct research, obtain and verify results, and to assist research related outreach activities associated with the program.
- Interacts frequently with internal and external stakeholders in the area of research to maintain strong working relationships and ensure that research is conducted in a timely manner.
- This includes gathering information and sharing research findings with stakeholders as needed.
Qualifications / Requirements:
- A combination of experience, training and education will be considered.
- Completion of at least a Bachelor's degree, with a Master's degree preferred, with a specialization in one or more of economics, public policy, geography, political science, international affairs, or a related field.
- 1-3 years of professional experience in a research-focused setting is required.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently, effectively prioritize and organize work, handle multiple assignments, and meet deadlines is essential.
- The ability to work collaboratively and interact respectfully and persuasively with a variety of internal and external contacts is essential.
- Strong organizational and coordination skills are required.
- Ability to act with discretion and to handle confidential material is required.
- Effective interpersonal and communication skills with demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and concisely in both written and verbal forms is required.
- Flexibility, commitment, and ability to plan meetings (scheduling, location, recruiting participants) are required.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Zoom and Microsoft Teams is required.
- Direct experience managing complex projects and working collaboratively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders (including governments) a major asset.
- Experience with preparing budgets and funding proposals a significant asset.
- Experience with research initiatives in a University setting is an asset.
- Practical experience in qualitative and quantitative research and/or climate policy research strongly preferred.
- Strong analytical skills in reaching sound decisions and resolving complex problem is a significant asset.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently in performance of day-to-day duties while remaining adaptable and flexible in a fast-moving and changing environment is a significant asset.
- Strong organizational skills in the collection, maintenance, and organization of significant amount of qualitative and quantitative data are a significant asset.
- Professional designation as project manager/coordinator is an asset.
- Working knowledge of French an asset.
Application Deadline: April 14, 2025.
Only candidates who submit a cover letter and CV through the UCalgary application portal will be considered.
We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.
This position is part of the AUPE bargaining unit, and falls under the Specialist / Advisor Job Family, Phase 2.
For a listing of all management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary, view our Management and Staff Careers website.
About the University of Calgary
UCalgary is Canada's entrepreneurial university, located in Canada's most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada's leader in the creation of start-ups. Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.
The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.
As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding [diversity] EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Institutional Commitments (equity@ucalgary.ca) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources (hrhire@ucalgary.ca).
Do you have most but not all the qualifications? Research show that women, racialized and visible minorities, and persons with disabilities are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At UCalgary we are committed to achieving equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible employment practices and workplaces and encourage you to apply if you believe you are right for this role.
We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, however preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.
