| Date: |
May 1, 2012 |
| Reports to (Job Title): |
Associate Dean, Research and External Partnerships |
| Jobs Reporting (Job Titles): |
None |
| Location: |
Main Campus |
Primary Purpose
The primary objective of the position is to promote engineering research growth to meet or exceed Faculty research targets, and raise the profile of engineering research both internally and externally. S/he serves a vital end-to-end function in the management, promotion, and advancement of engineering research activity on campus, encompassing five key accountabilities: i) leading strategic planning activities to: establish priorities and objectives in the short- and long-term, communicate engineering research success and grow the engineering research ‘brand’, and increase the breadth of engineering research funding; ii) providing leadership to individual engineering faculty members in establishing robust research programs, and promoting their ongoing success; iii) facilitating development and growth of faculty-wide research institutes and centres, providing leadership in strategic planning, monitoring performance, and directing change to advance research goals and communications strategies; iv) developing and maintaining a robust network of external relationships, including industry, academic, and government partners; and v) ensuring effective day-to-day operations of the Engineering Research Office (ERO) led by the Associate Dean, Research and External Partnerships (ADR), which manages all engineering research activity on campus.
Key Accountabilities:
1.Guiding and supporting research growth and raising the engineering research profile to advance the faculty’s strategic research agenda, including but not limited to:
- Providing leadership and direction in strategic planning activities to advance engineering research in the short- and long-term. Working closely with the ADR, the Director, Engineering Research helps to define and advance faculty research goals; in this capacity, s/he monitors and evaluates progress against proposed objectives, indentifies gaps in performance and capacity, and develops strategies to meet faculty priorities and targets
- Developing and overseeing implementation of faculty- and department-level strategic recommendations, as a member of the Faculty Research Advisory Committee
- Business and financial planning to establish viable strategic, tactical, and operational targets in close collaboration with the ADR
- Working closely with the ADR to identify and develop opportunities to establish new research initiatives and grow existing programs. This includes increasing, strengthening and diversifying engineering research funding sources, developing strategies to improve Engineering success rates in major Federal and Provincial award programs, and maintaining a working knowledge of significant developments and trends related to national and global economics, innovation, and technological development to ensure engineering research programs are strategically positioned to respond to emerging issues
- Soliciting and orchestrating direct funding opportunities from government ministries at both the provincial and federal levels
- Managing relationships within the engineering research community on campus, as well as interactions with external financial partners, industry, academia and alumni
- Working closely with the Engineering Development and Communications teams to develop and maintain a clear and integrated strategic communications plan to increase visibility of engineering research and influence stakeholders
- Working with the Engineering Development and Communications teams to identify engineering research success stories, organize funding announcements and media events, develop and produce materials to promote research programs and activities, and grow the engineering research ‘brand’
- Communicating potential research opportunities to departments and individual faculty researchers, assessing their viability for possible follow-up
2.Providing leadership to individual researchers, supporting development and ongoing success of major research proposals, including but not limited to:
- Identifying opportunities for major research projects, including sources of funding and potential collaborators, both internal and external
- Providing guidance and direction in preparation, coordination, implementation and reporting on major funding proposals
- Providing guidance and coordinating efforts related to financial and technical reporting on major projects, assisting with internal and external audits
- Establishing and communicating internal deadlines for submission and review of research proposals to department Chairs, faculty, and centres/institutes
- Developing and distributing reference material to aid proposal development
- Organizing and chairing in-house workshops, information sessions, and panel discussions on upcoming government funding opportunities. This includes securing relevant agency and industry speakers to instruct faculty researchers on program guidelines and proposal development
- Final review of applications to ensure compliance with agency evaluation criteria and university guidelines, including budgets. This includes advising the Associate Dean, Research and External Partnerships on proposal quality and likelihood of success
- Assessing riskiness of Interim Research Account authorization along with Office of Research pre-awards staff and Faculty Financial Officer, and recommending action to the ADR
- Coaching and mentorship of faculty researchers in approaching and securing industry partnerships
3.Facilitating development and growth of faculty-wide research institutes and centres, including but not limited to:
- Providing leadership to Managing Directors of existing institutes/centres, directing establishment of appropriate research goals, performance metrics, strategic direction, and communications plans to ensure activities align with Faculty of Engineering objectives
- Communicating research opportunities to Managing Directors and the broader membership of the Centres/Institutes
- Identifying synergies within and between institutes/centres, promoting communication and collaboration in establishing large multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary projects
- Monitoring performance and coordinating year-end reporting activities. This includes collecting, evaluating and summarizing performance against priorities and performance targets, and effecting changes required for improvement
- Identifying and overseeing cross-promotional opportunities, raising the profile of engineering centres and the Faculty
- Providing leadership in the development of new institutes/centres and institutes in the Faculty of Engineering
4.Developing and maintaining external partnerships, including but not limited to:
- Initiating and cultivating meaningful and productive interactions with prospective industry, academic, and government partners. This includes delivering the engineering research value proposition, helping potential partners identify and articulate a business problem, then connecting them with engineering research talent on campus who can provide research support.
- Stewarding existing relationships, including managing and growing partnerships and tracking outcomes
- Working closely with external partners to ensure that the terms, conditions and requirements of each contract or grant are carried out to the satisfaction of all parties
- Coordinating and providing direction to UW Industrial Liaison Officers and Department and Faculty liaison staff to build an effective network of industry partnerships
- Fostering and developing relationships with current and potential research sponsors and supporters in collaboration with Engineering Development and Alumni Affairs teams
- Encouraging international collaborations with other universities in collaboration with the Waterloo International Office of Research
- Coordinating and participating in campus visits, events, workshops, and conferences that bring together potential partners and engineering researchers
5.Ensuring efficient operation of the Office of the Associate Dean, Research and External Partnerships (Engineering Research Office (ERO)), including but not limited to:
- Working with the ADR to recruit ERO employees, including permanent support staff, co-op students, and temporary contract employees
- Supervising and motivating ERO employees; the Director provides leadership by planning for employee development and training, assigning activities, monitoring workload, and evaluating performance.
- Establishing and overseeing implementation of procedures for submission of research funding applications to the ERO
- Review applications and assisting in the selection process for Faculty of Engineering fellowships and research awards
- Developing and maintaining an up-to-date library of resources and materials to support research programs and activities
- Monitoring and editing Engineering Research website content, including appropriate communication of the ERO ‘brand’ and management of social networking activities
- Preparing the annual Engineering research report and Faculty strategic plan updates (Vision 2015 or equivalent)
- Preparing, monitoring, and administering the annual budget, accounting for all expenditures by activity
Position Requirements
Education:
Master’s degree in engineering required; doctoral degree and/or Master of Business Administration degree strongly preferred.
Experience:
- 5-10 years in research or research administration. Experience in an academic institution is preferred.
- Effective communication skills (both written and oral), including the ability to prepare and deliver presentations to large, diverse audiences.
- Outstanding interpersonal skills, including the ability to manage both internal and external relationships. The incumbent must have the ability to move seamlessly within academic, business, industrial, and governmental communities, being equally comfortable with students, faculty researchers, senior executives from small, medium and large, multinational corporations, and government officials
- Strong managerial skills, including the ability to manage and motivate personnel
- Proven leadership skills, including the ability to define and implement strategic plans for advancement of large programs, and to build collaborative research opportunities with diverse groups
- Excellent analytical skills and business acumen, including the ability to identify and articulate significant trends affecting economic, social and environmental priorities and how they will impact innovation and technologies development
- Effective critical thinking and decision making skills
- Ability to prepare and manage a complex budget
- Ability to balance competing demands on tight deadlines within a results-oriented environment
Technical:
| MS Word |
Excel |
PowerPoint |
Other |
| Advanced |
Advanced |
Advanced |
Advanced knowledge of SharePoint, Salesforce and the Microsoft Office suite, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Working knowledge of web-design tools and software. |
Nature and Scope
Interpersonal Skills:
Internally, the Director of Engineering Research presents, discusses information and problems with:
Collaborates, negotiates and “sells” ideas with:
- Associate Dean, Research and External Partnerships
Obtains action, reaches agreement and negotiates with:
- Faculty Financial Officer
- Director of Planning, Engineering
- Director of Development and Communications, Engineering
- Office of Research staff
- Waterloo International staff
- Communications and public affairs staff
- Office of Development staff
- Office of External Relations staff
- Finance staff
Deals with, influences, and motivates:
- Engineering faculty and staff
- Faculty Industrial Liaison Officers
- Managing Directors of faculty-wide research centres and institutes
Externally, deals with, influences, and motivates:
- research partners
- Various funding agencies
- Industry partners
- Provincial and federal government
Canadian and international universities
Level of Responsibility:
Manage a faculty-wide function or process that is highly specialized and has direct supervision of others, including Engineering Research Office support staff, temporary employees and co-op students
Decision-Making Authority:
- Informs the Associate Dean, Research and External Partnerships on matters related to risk in research activities, and makes recommendations on the approval of research proposals
- Makes decisions on timelines, budget allocation, staffing resources to meet stated objectives
Physical and Sensory Demands:
Minimal demands typical of an administrative position within an office environment
Working Environment:
Travel: Occasional travel required
Working Hours: Regular working hours, some evening/weekend work required.
Risks – physical and psychological:
Physical risks
Psychological risks
Minimal exposure to disagreeable conditions typical of a supervisory position
