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Posting End Date

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

Job Description Summary

This role will support the Life Sciences Institute (LSI) and the Women’s Health Research Cluster (WHRC). 75% of the role will support the LSI and 25% will be focused on the WHRC.

The Grant and Science Writer (GSW) will be responsible for developing, writing, publishing and editing grants as well as scientific papers along with a wide variety of research related documents within the Life Sciences Institute (LSI). The incumbent will also review grant applications and provide feedback to WHRC members regarding how sex and gender-based analysis (SGBA) can be integrated within their study design and overall application.

Major responsibilities include but are not limited to: identifying, developing, writing, and preparing research grants, grant budgets and budget justifications, letters of intent, academic proposals, background documentation, research program rationales, ethics submissions, academic manuscripts, and other documents. Responsibilities also include reviewing grant proposals and providing guidance about SGBA integration in study design, statistical analysis and knowledge translation. The position may also be involved in writing/editing content for internal and external communications related to the LSI.

Organizational Status

The LSI is a UBC Research Institute supported by the UBC faculties of Medicine and Science. It is home to the research programs of approximately 90 Principal Investigators from three faculties and over 15 departments, who conduct research on a wide variety of life science topics. The advertised position reports to the Strategic Research Development Officer and works closely with LSI Principal Investigators, research staff, and trainees as required.

The WHRC is a UBC-funded start-up organization that believes health should be equitable. It strives to bring sex and gender health equity into balance by promoting, expanding, and catalyzing impactful research on women’s health. Through 4 pillars of work—Research Facilitation, Capacity Development, Knowledge Translation (KT) and Advocacy—the WHRC engages and supports their international network of >470 scholar, trainee and community members in pursuit of this goal together.

Work Performed

Identifying appropriate funding sources for various projects

Identifying, interpreting, and clearly communicating requests and instructions for grant proposals and publication guidelines

Writing, editing, and providing editorial review feedback on scientific and technical documents, grant proposals, letters of intent, and other

scientific documents based on communications with authors, editorial boards, staff, internal reviewers, and other sources of feedback. A portion of this will include providing specific feedback on the integration of SGBA in grant proposals.

Managing, collecting, and coordinating relevant grant information, research budgets, statistics, signatures, and curriculum vitae

Identifying, developing, preparing, and submitting academic manuscripts for publication

Developing a timeline and framework for grant and publication deadlines

Conducting literature searches for grants and scientific publications as required

Liaising between authors, staff, trainees, editorial boards, and publishing staff to assist in transforming research initiatives, concepts, and

results into written documentation.

Managing grant applications and publications as projects to ensure timely completion, balancing the needs, priorities, and deadlines of multiple collaborations. Includes developing a project management framework, tracking progress, and communicating with collaborators.

Writing research ethics board submissions, in collaboration with the Principal Investigator and collaborators

Writing/editing materials related to internal and external research communications

Performing other related duties as required

Consequence of Error/Judgement

The GSW is required to conduct all research facilitation activities in an ethical manner following approved guidelines. This is an important research facilitation role, and has considerable freedom to act in carrying out project tasks in related disciplines. A high degree of judgment and initiative is required to manage preparation and submission process of research proposals/manuscripts. Errors may result in missed revenue opportunities, and/or inefficient use of time and resources pursuing unfruitful avenues of funding or publication opportunities. The position must exercise judgement and strong analytical thinking in the sourcing and selection of potential opportunities and the relevance of trends in the grants and publications space. Work requires the ability to quickly absorb large amounts of complex scientific and industry information and an understanding of how to translate this information to funding and publication success. Errors made could influence the ability of researchers to meet critical deadlines. Confidentiality must be maintained when dealing with research ideas and data, as breach of confidentiality could compromise the research programs and credibility of LSI/WHRC researchers.

Supervision Received

Considerable latitude for the GSW s work is provided. Direction is provided by principal investigators leading the grant, manuscript, or ethics application. The GSW is expected to develop a work plan and timelines, and to exercise a considerable amount of judgment and initiative in their duties and responsibilities. Direct day-to-day supervision will be provided by the Strategic Research Development Officer, with some supervision by the WHRC’s Director of Operations & Strategic Initiatives.

Supervision Given

May provide guidance to staff, students, and postdoctoral fellows, as required, within the realm of grant and scientific writing.

Preferred Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Post-graduate degree or equivalent professional designation if responsible for a research project. PhD degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience is preferred. Minimum of three years experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience. 4 years or equivalent combination of education and experience if responsible for research project otherwise 6 years or equivalent combination of education and experience if not research work is preferred. Grant and manuscript writing experience essential. Proven mastery of English grammar, punctuation, and scientific writing style is essential. Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing and to summarize relevant information in clear and succinct English, is essential. Understanding of sex and gender-based analysis best practices. Ability to effectively manage multiple tasks and priorities. Ability to deconstruct program guidelines and break them down into clear descriptions of actions and essential steps for new faculty. Ability to liaise with the funding agencies and gather further program information. Ability to exercise tact and discretion. Ability to develop and maintain cooperative and productive working relationships with groups and individuals such as senior level academics, researchers, government agencies and UBC administration