Job Description Research Finance and Administrative Coordinator Location Kingston, ON K7L 3N6 :
About Queen's University
Queen's University is the Canadian research intensive university with a transformative student learning experience. Here the employment experience is as diverse as it is interesting. We have opportunities in multiple areas of globally recognized research, faculty administration, engineering \& construction, athletics \& recreation, power generation, corporate shared services, and many more.
We are committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcome applications from individuals from equity seeking groups such as women, racialized/visible minorities, Indigenous/Aboriginal peoples, persons with a disability, persons who identify in the LGBTQ community and others who reflect the diversity of Canadian society.
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Job Summary
Reporting to the Department Manager, the incumbent will be responsible for coordination activities in support of the Department of Surgery's research program. Responsibilities include a broad range of functions such as providing research accounting activities, generating research account reports in FAST, setting up research projects in TRAQ DSS, coordinating ethics submissions, preparing annual research productivity reports, supporting the preparation and submission of competitive applications to research funding agencies, liaising with researchers to determine research needs, providing guidance on potential funding sources, and providing assistance with research applications in advance of their submission. In all of these activities, the incumbent will act as liaison with internal and external granting agencies as well as the Queen's Office of Research Services. The incumbent will also provide administrative support to the Surgery Research Director, and back-up Finance support to the Department Financial Officer, as needed.
Job Description
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Research Program Support
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Act as resource person, liaison, and communicator for research-related matters, such as grants and contracts, ethics, research accounting, finance, and procurement.
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Support the preparation and submission of competitive applications to research funding agencies by providing appropriate guidance and assistance to researchers in the completion and submission of funding applications. Organize letters of support and any extra material required; provide guidance on research expenses for budget preparation; submission of TRAQ DSS, prepare research common CVs, proofread and format manuscripts and grants; verify references and; send, upload and submit manuscripts, abstracts, grants, copyright transfer agreements and submission forms. Ensure applications are complete, accurate, well presented, submitted on time, meet the objectives of the funding agency and comply with agency guidelines.
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Ensure that opportunities for research funding are investigated and distributed appropriately to researchers who may be interested. Distribute information about established and new sources of research funding to the appropriate Queen's researchers, monitor the websites of primary funding agencies and work with researchers to find sources of research funding.
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Act as administrative liaison between researchers and external funding agencies. Communicate with external funding agencies on behalf of researchers with regard to funding opportunities, to resolve research inquiries, to clarify policy, and to receive research results.
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Coordinate and provide administrative support to the Department's Research Committee meetings; prepare agenda and back-up materials, send out information packages to participants, take and compile minutes for distribution, and follow-up on action items as necessary.
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Provide administrative support to Surgery's Research Director in the form of written correspondence items, as well as schedule meetings and maintain the Research Director's calendar.
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Track the Department Research Committee's funding, including the
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Draft Research Funding letters from the Department for new funding awards and renewals.
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Gather and review research information for the annual departmental report and quarterly Surgery eNewsletter.
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Set-up and maintain filing systems, and maintain a running database of all research projects, grants, as well as Departmental publications, awards, presentations; gather and organize data, verify accuracy and allow for efficient access when required.
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Assist in planning and coordinating annual research events (i.e. the Colorectal Cancer Education Day, William Ersil Resident Research Day, Sorbie Faculty Research Day, and the Ashworth Lecture Series). Responsible for the budget and organization of sponsors for these events, where applicable.
Research Accounting
- Assist Department researchers towards understanding their Statement of Operations and financial report; running queries reports regularly; assist by responding to inquiries as required. Track status of research accounts to assist researchers in abiding by the Research Administration Policy. Act as the liaison between researchers and central Research Accounting as needed. Perform research accounting activities such as accounts payable (cheque requisitions and P-card payments), purchase orders, cheque requisitions, travel expense reports, monthly monitoring of account activity reconciliations to ensure accuracy and validity of account transactions.
- Act as a delegate for Faculty research-related expenses in ERS. Process and/or approve travel and research-related ERS claims and other expense reimbursements, ensuring that all Queen's Finance and funding agency guidelines are met.
- Shopper and requestor roles in Queen's procurement system (acQuire) on behalf of Faculty researchers.
- Process journal entries on behalf of researchers, including recoding expenses.
- Process Purchase Orders (PO's), process vouchers, and pay invoices on behalf of Faculty researchers.
Department Annual Reporting/Research Metrics
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Track and report individual faculty member and divisional research metrics annually for Departmental accountability, based on standardized metrics.
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Assist in preparing annual Surgery Research Chair Reports to submit to the
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Review annual reports submitted by faculty, search PubMed and other sources for information to be added to annual reports for SEAMO and departmental metrics, ensuring all deadlines are met.
Department Finance Support
- Act as backup for the Financial Officer , who is responsible for the day-to- day financial and accounting processes for the Department of Surgery, including preparing budgets, financial forecasts and other financial models to provide to senior leadership for operational and strategic planning purposes.
- Reviews, prepares, and processes accounts payable and receivable transactions, in addition to performing other financial duties for the Department, including preparing purchase orders, expense reimbursements, deposits, journal entries, etc.
- Assist the Financial Officer with equipment in Asset Tracking.
- Assist the Department Manager and Financial Officer in the completion of Queen's Office of Advancement's mid-term and year-end reports for Surgery Endowment and Trust funds.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Four-Year Bachelor Degree or equivalent. In addition, requires on-going learning to remain ahead of changes in research, technology or emerging fields.
- 5 or more years of related experience, preferably involving research coordination, project management and/or financial management.
- Previous experience in office and financial administration. Ability to perform accounting and financial management duties, including ability to analyze and present financial data.
- Knowledge of university policies and procedures will be considered an asset.
- Knowledge of university structure and financial/computing systems will be considered an asset.
- Working knowledge of PeopleSoft systems is considered an asset.
- Consideration may be given to an equivalent combination of education and experience.
SPECIAL SKILLS:
- Excellent organizational and time management skills and the ability to work under pressure with multiple deadlines.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written for assisting in drafting correspondence, reports, proposal and related documents, preferably for submission to granting councils foundations and /or contracting agencies.
- The ability to take initiative and to assess and establish priorities while working in an environment with multiple interruptions and strict deadlines.
- Incumbent must be able to work independently and collaboratively.
- Discretion in dealing with confidential and sensitive administrative and research (including financial) information.
- Analytical skills in order to make the most of information at hand.
- Knowledge of both university and hospital structures including policies, procedures and administrative systems considered an asset.
- Strict attention to detail and advanced ability to perform financial administration activities.
- Advanced computer knowledge, specifically of the Internet, Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel as well as database programs.
- Ability to work non-traditional hours to support events periodically.
DECISION MAKING:
- Set priorities and determine which project requires the most attention, within inflexible time constraints.
- Determine coordination required in preparing grant and contract proposals. Determine timelines to ensure critical deadlines for submission are met.
- Determine content of application proposals, budgets and reports based on University and granting agencies.
- Make recommendations regarding improvements to grant applications; suggest and help implement changes. If appropriate, choose formats for reporting.
- Determine when and who to identify and inform of new grant funding opportunities. Determine information required to pursue opportunities.
- Determine appropriate use of PeopleSoft to track and report data for individual research finance accounts.
- Determine appropriate chart fields to be charged and what documentation is required for processing cheque requisitions and travel expense claims to research accounts.
- Problem solve and resolve issues related to research financial transactions and research accounts within established guidelines determining when to refer issues to the Finance Officer and Department Manager.
- Advise researchers, staff and students regarding expenditures, best methods for handling expenses, and prepare reports on a regular basis.
- Determine appropriate response to research inquiries and decide when new information calls for further action such as distribution or verification.
- Determine how, when and to whom information should be distributed.
- Make daily operations decisions and recommendations and resolve administrative problems within guidelines as they arise, referring only highly unusual problems to the Department Manager and Department Research Director.
Employment Equity and Accessibility Statement
The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Queen's is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, visible minorities, Aboriginal Peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
The University provides support in its recruitment processes to all applicants who require accommodation due to a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code, including those with disabilities. Candidates requiring accommodation during the recruitment process are asked to contact Human Resources at *******@queensu.ca.
