City : Hamilton

Category : Other

Industry : Education

Employer : McMaster University

About the CHILD Cohort Study:

The CHILD Cohort Study (www.childstudy.ca)(CHILD) is a national prospective longitudinal birth cohort study involving over 3,500 Canadian infants and their families. The CHILD cohort study explores how genetics, biology, social exposures and early childhood environmental exposures lead to the development of early chronic diseases such as asthma, allergies. The study has recruitment sites in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto, with the National Coordinating Centre (NCC) located at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Established in 2009, the CHILD cohort study has become an internationally recognized study of detailed physiology combined with comprehensive biologic, social and environmental assessments. All of the data has been compiled into a state of the art platform to support data science for innovation in understanding pediatric trajectories of health. It is a key resource to support our understanding of precision health by providing comprehensive normative data.

Reporting directly to the Director of Administration (DOA) of Medicine and dotted line to the CHILD Study Director, we are seeking an energetic, creative, forward thinking and methodologically trained individual to join the study as Director of Strategy & Operations of the CHILD National Coordinating Centre (NCC). They will be tasked with providing strategic operational oversight for this interdisciplinary and multisite research program.

Job Summary:

The Director of Strategy & Operations reports directly to the DOA, Department of Medicine and dotted line to the CHILD Study Director and is responsible for driving the success of the cohort as Canada’s largest most deeply phenotype pediatric longitudinal cohort study. This requires strong science to business development acumen, experience and skills, strategic vision, a forward-thinking mindset and the ability to swiftly execute priority actions that will drive the success of the CHILD Cohort, expand its reach and influence. The director will provide management support to the CHILD Scientific Directors and CHILD Executive and will be required to drive a successful business model working with other site leaders, site coordinators and technical teams to build and maintain the database as well as support data sharing. With the aim to create a viable sustainable enterprise, the post holder will continuously assess needs, ensure the provision of quality services in line with demands, monitor the financial well- being of the CHILD Cohorts and adjust costing to ensure financial health while working to build a sustainability model.

The Director, Strategy & Operations is directly responsible for the ongoing human resource development and management of the NCC staff. In addition, the Director, Strategy & Operations will take on fulfilling all senior-level management functions while reporting to the Study Director & CHILD Executive and will directly manage a team of approximately four to six staff members. 

Accountabilities:

Strategic and Operational Planning:

• Strategic oversight, growth of CHILD cohort study influence, brand recognition as well as ensuring financial stability
• Collaborate with CHILD Directors & Executive to develop an implementation plan for the scientific vision for the cohort sustainability, patient engagement, data sharing and knowledge mobilization
• Develop and oversee a functional operational structure that delivers on the CHILD strategic vision
• Oversight of the National Coordinating Center operational team as well as matrixed teams involved in the day-to-day running of the CHILD cohort study functions
• Ensuring the functionality of all Governance Committees as outlined in the governance framework (KMb, executive committee, scientific committee)
• Facilitate team research grant applications, reports, and protocols
• Identify and develop applications for infrastructure and operational funding to support CHILD
• Develop and execute strategies to ensure that the CHILD research platform is used to optimal levels and fulfills its vision and mission of being the best-in-class pediatric longitudinal cohort for precision health innovation
• Builds trusted relationships with academic and research subject matter experts as well as other industry leaders to gather insights and develop actionable go-to market plans.
• Report on CHILD’s key deliverables and progress to the CHILD Directors and Executive Committee, other funding agencies, and research ethics boards, while demonstrating transparency and accountability of CHILD through required reporting to all relevant agencies and to other external agencies
• Consult and engage experts and vendors to ensure infrastructure including its IT infrastructure meets regulatory compliance frameworks, and achieves the vision of building a sustainable data science platfor

Staffing:

• Responsible for orientation and onboarding of scientists, trainees who interact with the CHILD study.
• Staffing responsibilities also include hiring/recruitment and performance management for the staff managed within CHILD NCC.

Fiscal Management:

• Develop, manage, and have oversight of the CHILD’s budgets.
• Support the enabling units’ responsible investigators/ Directors/ Managers in budget development, management and control
• In Collaboration with the Study Director and McMaster University’s Research Office, develop and oversee funding sub-agreements with all institutions participating in data collection. Provide timely information to the executive committee and other funding partners about the financial progress of the CHILD study through regular report mechanisms in place between McMaster and the study per the financial agreement
• Liaise on financial budget projections and planning to sustain the study long-term as per the internal institute agreement which includes assigning budget authority over the entirety of the project.

Partnerships/Collaborations:

• The Director, Strategy & Operations, will oversee the establishment of strategic partnerships and communications plans for the CHILD study.
• Support the development of strategies to ensure sustainability of the cohort, increase its access and usability as a data science platform and engage the participants and communities to increase the success of the study.
• Support partnerships, outreach and knowledge translation strategies that will increase the success of the study.
• The Director, Strategy & Operations will oversee the public relations activity and promotional aspects of the study

Other Duties:

• Oversee the data and sample access process and the design of data management systems
• Evaluate new developments in analytical software; exchange technical information with internal and external colleagues.

Qualifications:

Education:

• Masters in Public Health / Population Health or equivalent with working knowledge of observational cohorts with biological samples
• MBA or Masters in Health Administration would be preferred

Experience:

• A minimum of two of the years of research management experience, preferably in a research environment with national scope along with seven to ten years of clinical research experience.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Training in Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion principles applied to research is an asset
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills as well as interpersonal, presentation and facilitation skills and the ability to mobilize teams.
• Demonstrated excellence in creative problem solving, championing change, driving results, budget development, supervisory experience (preferably in a unionized environment) as well as developing teams and people, and proficiency in the use of electronic communications.
• Proven skill in relationship management and achieving results using a collaborative approach as well as experience with infrastructure development.
• Significant related experience in a senior setting with strategic planning, decision-making, and financial analysis responsibility is required.
• Required software proficiency MS Office (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), statistical analysis software (e.g., R, SPSS, Stata), citation management software (e.g., EndNote), web conferencing (e.g., Zoom)

Assets:

• Doctoral degree in Epidemiology, Physiology or equivalent
• Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) designation
• Excellent knowledge of project, information, data and sample management systems, databases, word processing and presentation applications
• Excellent knowledge of the governance, policies, procedures, and protocols of academic institutions
• Excellent interpersonal, communication (oral and written), facilitation, negotiation, presentation, organizational, conflict management, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to think strategically and work effectively in a fast-paced environment, exercising mature judgment and a high level of diplomacy, integrity, discretion, and professionalism.
• Ability to develop relationships and partnerships and to work collaboratively with industry partners and researchers and staff at various academic institutions nationally and internationally
• Strong ability to initiate, lead and design research programs
• Oversight of website and management databases
• Ethics certifications preferred: CITI Canada GCP, CITI Canada Privacy, Tri-Council Policy Statement 2