Research Project Manager

Who We Are

Simon Fraser University (SFU) is among Canada’s leading comprehensive universities and consistently ranks as one of the top employers in the country. Make a worldwide impact at SFU, Canada’s engaged university. Defined by innovative education, cutting-edge research, and far-reaching community engagement, SFU values a healthy work-life balance, professional growth and development. Research Operations supports the institution’s research mission – providing a highly coordinated suite of services that cover all aspects of the research life-cycle for Canada’s fastest-growing research-intensive university measured by the growth of sponsored research income. The Institutional Strategic Awards (ISA) team – a core part of Research Operations – supports SFU’s largest research funding proposals, award nominations, and projects.

About the Role

ISA’s Research Project Management Team

Complementing our research development specialists, ISA fields a team of Research Project Managers (RPMs) who help coordinate complex funding applications, implement our successful grants, support our top researchers, and onboard new research initiatives. ISA RPMs generally support projects that are institutional, large-scale, complex, administratively onerous or high risk, and that are aligned with SFU’s strategic goals and initiatives. An ISA RPM’s level of involvement on a project can range from identifying needs that a project-based project manager can fulfill, providing high-level oversight and guidance, assisting with particularly challenging aspects, to conducting full project management.

The RPM will play an essential role in advancing a number of priority projects at SFU. In particular, this position will support the NIH-funded Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study, one of the longest-running community-recruited cohort studies of people who inject drugs in the world.

The ideal candidate is a resourceful problem-solver who is able to anticipate project needs/risks and adapt to rapidly-evolving and uncertain situations. They enjoy applying project management principles and methodologies to address challenges and implementing workflows grounded in best practices. They have a service-oriented mindset, take pride in delivering results for their clients, and have a strong track-record of collaborating and bringing project teams together. Experience supporting complex research ethics processes and working with vulnerable populations is considered an asset.