Administrative and Research Assistant to the Director

Department:	Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research	Effective Date:	Nov. 25, 2004
Grade:	USG 5	Reports to:

General Accountability

Reporting to the Director, Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research (WIHIR), the Administrative and Research Assistant (ARA) provides secretarial support and assists with the administration, accounts management, budgeting and budget modeling of the Institute. The ARA will work with the Director and Managing Director in supporting and implementing research and research programs with industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government and post-secondary institutions. This position is designed to bridge and maintain a working relationship with the Office of Research and Finance. The incumbent will continually develop and maintain a data bank to track funding for the past, present and potential WIHIR sponsors/partners. Careful management of the finances of WIHIR, its relationship with faculty and staff involved in its research programs, oversight of its other research activities, and liaison with internal and external agencies and partners will ensure its continued, successful operation.

Nature and Scope

WIHIR is a trans-disciplinary research collaborative dedicated to the advancement of health through the discovery and development of new Health Informatics concepts and tools. WIHIR is one of the few institutes focused on Health Informatics research in North America and the first institute of its kind at a Canadian University. WIHIR is comprised of over 55 members from faculties and departments across campus.

The following positions report directly to the Director of WIHIR:

Managing Director, WIHIR
Administrative and Research Assistant, WIHIR

Generally

The incumbent is responsible for providing administrative support, budget management and modeling, accounts management, and for providing research support for WIHIR’s programs in areas such as searching and accessing information sources and testing selected WIHIR developed software prototypes. This position is directly accountable to the Director of WIHIR, and works closely with the Managing Director to co-ordinate Institute and research activities. Facing non-negotiable deadlines that are internal and external to WIHIR, and timely precision in accessing, collecting and providing data on short notice is crucial.

Specifically

Providing support and continuity for WIHIR initiatives. Responsibilities include: administrative support, accounts management, budgeting and budget modeling, testing of research prototypes, grant application support, and liaison for guidelines and policies governing the university, research grants and contracts.

Managing WIHIR Partnerships, the Director’s Executive Industrial Research Chair, research accounts and associated fellowships and awards.

2 – 5 grants and/or awards per year.
Managing WIHIR partnerships.
Managing budgets and accounts with an initial budget exceeding $1 million (expected to increase with additional partnerships).

Coordinating federal and provincial grant and contract applications, addressing the criteria for all submissions.

Co-ordinating grant submissions such as: NSERC Discovery Grants, Strategic Grants, IRC's, CRD's, CFI, OIT, CHRP, CITO with the appropriate review committees.
Aiding in the preparation of grants and in meeting grant submission dates.

Managing, accessing and maintaining WIHIR databases and other information resources.

Assisting with announcements, publicity and public relations.

Overall

Makes independent decisions regarding, but not limited to, the following:

Interpreting problems and concerns from academic departments for subsequent action
Managing administrative and research databases; maintaining records system for WIHIR funding, outreach and research programs
Arranging meetings, seminars and conferences internal/external to the UW
Preparing and distributing memos, correspondence and meeting notes
Expediting travel arrangements and preparing itineraries

Significant Internal Relationships

UW President
Dean of Science
Department of Biology
School of Optometry
School of Computer Science
WIHIR Board of Directors
WIHIR Management Team
WIHIR Themes and Groups
Office of Research
UW Service Offices (Financial, Graphics, Food Services etc.)

Significant External Relationships

WIHIR Corporate and Associate Partners
WIHIR Research Partners
WIHIR Advisory Board
Other Universities and Colleges
Government Ministries and Agencies (Federal, Provincial and Local) Corporations, Businesses, NGOs, particularly related to health
Hotels & Conference Centres

Statistical Data

$100-150,000 WIHIR infrastructure budget
1 NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Science - $1 Million over 5 years
Other health-related joint research funds ranging between $500,000 - $1,000,000 annually
About 60 WIHIR members
6 WIHIR Corporate and Associate Partners, projected to increase to 10-15
Many external relationships with companies and researchers

The incumbent is responsible for maintaining cumulative statistics for WIHIR for funding and research. The incumbent is furthermore responsible for drawing from this data to create funding reports, tables and graphs, for the purpose of submissions and/or presentations.

Specific Accountabilities

The ARA will act independently requiring little or no supervision. This position is accountable for the undertaking of administrative support, budget and account management. The ARA is faced with a multitude of tasks and deadlines, while continually maintaining tact, diplomacy and confidentiality surrounding all facets of the job. A clear network of communication must be carried out with utmost professionalism to on/off campus origins, on behalf of WIHIR.