Project Officer

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Position Summary

The Health Data Science (HeDS) Platform at McGill University is seeking a full-time Project Manager who will play a central coordinating role in implementing McGill’s contribution to the funded RNA Cooperative initiative. This cross-functional position supports scientific, technical, training, and data stewardship activities across four D2R platforms and facilitates collaboration with international partners including IP Dakar, Biovac, Biofarma, and the RNA PATH Secretariat.

The successful candidate will ensure coherent execution across research tasks, data infrastructure development, training programs, and operational deliverables. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in multidisciplinary environments involving data science, wet-lab research, vaccine development, global health capacity building, and complex stakeholder interactions.

Key Responsibilities

Project Management & Planning

• Develop and maintain the integrated project plan (Gantt chart, milestones, dependencies).
• Track progress toward Month 9 and Month 18 milestones across the four D2R platforms.
• Ensure alignment between technical teams (computational, QC, formulation, bioprocessing).
• Ensure timely delivery of SOPs, training materials, datasets, and documentation for Global Access compliance.

Partner & Consortium Engagement

• Serve as the primary operational contact between D2R platforms and external partners, including:
  • DCVM institutions (Biovac, IP Dakar, Bio-M, Biofarma)
  • PATH / RNA PATH Secretariat
  • Other possible Cooperative scientific nodes
• Schedule and facilitate joint meetings, technical sessions, and planning workshops.
• Support organization of on-site courses, virtual training, and train-the-trainer activities.

Data Governance & RDM Alignment

• Ensure that project outputs align with FAIR and CARE principles, McGill D2R RDM guidelines, and the RNA Cooperative Charter.
• Support documentation for open-access deliverables.

Financial & Administrative Oversight

• Assist with budget tracking, expenditure approvals, and alignment with Gates Foundation requirements.
• In collaboration with HR, support hiring, onboarding, and time allocation of project staff if needed.
• Prepare internal summaries for D2R leadership and external progress reports for the Foundation.

Training Program Management

• Organize and track:
  • 3 in-person hands-on courses at partner sites,
  • 8 platform-specific online workshops,
  • 3 train-the-trainer cycles,
  • IVT maintenance & reagent-prep training modules.
• Organize logistics, registration, documentation, and post-event evaluations.
• Ensure alignment across platforms so training materials are coherent and interoperable.

Risk Management & Communication

• Identify operational risks (coordination of delays, staffing gaps, technical dependencies).
• Propose and monitor mitigation strategies with platform leads.
• Facilitate clear, structured communication between teams using shared tools (Slack, Teams, Notion, shared drives).

Other Qualifying Skills and/or Abilities

Education

• Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., Bioinformatics, Data Science, Molecular Biology, Public Health, Biotechnology, Project Management).
• PhD or advanced technical training is an asset but not required.

Experience

• 3–5+ years of experience in scientific or technical project management.
• Demonstrated ability to work across computational and experimental domains.
• Experience interacting with research labs, data teams, and external scientific partners.
• Prior involvement in global health, genomics, vaccines, or R&D consortia is a strong asset.

Skills & Competencies

• Comfortable navigating discussions involving vaccine development, sequencing, QCing, formulation, bioprocessing, data science and RDM.
• Excellent communication and intercultural collaboration skills.
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams with tight timelines.
• Competency with project management tools (MS Project, Asana, Notion, etc.).
• Ability to translate technical content into clear operational plans.

As one of Montreal's Top Employers, here is what we offer:

• Competitive benefits package (Health, Dental, Life Insurance) (if eligible)
• Defined contribution pension plan (with employer contribution up to 10%) (if eligible)
• Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA)
• Competitive vacation policy
• Two (2) personal days
• Two (2) floating holidays
• Nine (9) "Summer Fridays" - paid days off between the St-Jean Baptiste holiday and Labour Day
• Paid time off over the December holiday period
• Tuition waiver for regular employees and their dependents
• Up to two (2) days of remote work per week where the position permits

Before applying, please note that to work at McGill University, you must be both authorized to work in Canada and willing to work in the province of Quebec at the campus where the position is based / located.

Knowledge of English: McGill University is an English-language university where day to day duties may require English communication both verbally and in writing. The level of English required for this position has been assessed at a level #4 on a scale of 0-4.

For a definition of our language proficiency levels, please click here.

Bachelor's Degree 3 Years Related Experience /

(MPEX Grade 05) $71,890.00 - $89,860.00 - $107,830.00

Job Profile:

MPEX-ADM2B - Research Administration - Professional 2

33.75 (Full time)

Academic Associate

2026-12-31

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