Program Officer

About Volt-Age at Concordia University

Concordia University is advancing towards a resilient, decarbonized society through the Volt-Age research program, an initiative emphasizing innovative technologies for sustainable electrification. We invite you to contribute to this mission and help shape the future of energy.

Position Overview

Reporting to the Director of Operations, the Program Officer will be responsible for coordinating the development of Volt-Age’s strategic scientific activities, monitoring the implementation of research projects, and supporting the work of the Volt-Age Scientific Committee. The Program Officer will play a crucial role in managing calls for proposals and review processes, maintaining a database of reviewers, organizing research project progress reporting and budget administration, and advancing scientific strategies for the research program.

Join our team and support Volt-Age in its mission to promote scientific excellence. Together, we can advance scientific knowledge and make a positive impact in the research community.

Responsibilities

• Manage the life-cycle of calls for research proposals: Draft call text, develop relevant forms and templates, receive and save applications, extract relevant information, organize all steps related to peer review process, compile ranking based on scoring, communicate with peer review committee, draft of notices of award, communicate results to PIs, and maintain well organized files.
• Maintain a database of reviewers: Maintain a database of reviewers, including contact information, areas of expertise, and availability. Regularly update the database and ensure accuracy.
• Project administration and reporting: Act as primary point of contact for funded Investigators, request project reports and updates on a regular basis, and track project milestones, progress, and outcomes. Assist in monitoring research project budget spending and ensuring that financial reports are delivered in a timely manner in collaboration with finance team. Support the preparation of briefs and summaries, as required. Process requests for extensions and ensure all relevant parties are informed. Participate in reporting process to CFREF and other funders, in collaboration with other Volt-Age team members. 
• Collaboration and coordination: Collaborate with other administrative staff, researchers, and stakeholders. Liaise with colleagues at Concordia’s Office of the Vice-President, Research, Innovation and Impact (OVPRII), School of Graduate Studies, Finance and other relevant departments at Concordia or its CFREF partner institutions.
• Scientific Committee Secretary: Coordinate meetings and related activities for the Scientific Committee. Prepare meeting agendas, take meeting minutes, support meeting logistics (virtual or in-person), and distribute relevant materials.
• Other related duties, as assigned by the Director of Operations

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline or an acceptable combination of education and experience.
• Bilingual in English and French, with strong written and verbal communication skills with diverse audiences in both languages.
• Experience in project management, writing grants or proposals, or writing calls to tender
• Experience in a research or university setting is considered an asset.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to deal effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills with the proven ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment, with accuracy and diligent attention to detail.
• Ability to summarize complex information.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Proficient in MS Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and other relevant software applications.

Testing required

The language skills of qualified candidates may be tested.

Territorial Acknowledgement

Concordia University is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtià:ke/Montreal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community.

Employment Equity

Concordia University is strongly committed to employment equity within its community, and to recruiting a diverse faculty and staff. The University encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including women, members of visible minorities, Indigenous persons, members of sexual minorities, persons with disabilities, and others who may contribute to diversification; candidates are invited to self-identify in their applications. As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a diversity survey. This information is voluntary and any information collected for this purpose is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources employees. Results will be aggregated and used to help Concordia achieve its goal to see all members of our community not only reflected, but welcomed, included and supported in their efforts to contribute to all areas of university life.

Accessibility

Concordia desires to increase diversity among its community members and we strive to make our recruitment processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants. If you are contacted for an interview and anticipate needing accommodations during the process, please contact volt-age@concordia.ca to this effect.