Staff - Non Union

Job Category

M&P - AAPS

Job Profile

AAPS Salaried - Administration, Level B

Job Title

GRAIN Project Manager

Department

Research | McIver | Department of Physics and Astronomy | Faculty of Science

Compensation Range

$6,747.50 - $9,701.42 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date

June 26, 2026

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

Job End Date

March 31, 2031

Job description

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

Under the direction of the Project Lead Scientist at the University of British Columbia, the incumbent will act as the project manager for the Canadian GRravitational-wave Astrophysics Infrastructure Network (GRAIN). GRAIN is a multi-million-dollar project that will build detector hardware infrastructure and computing infrastructure to enable gravitational-wave astrophysics with current and near-future ground-based detectors and the LISA mission. The GRAIN project manager will have oversight of the technical and budgetary success of the project in partnership with the GRAIN Science Board and institutional partners McGill University, the Université de Montréal, Bishop’s University, the University of Manitoba, and the University of Lethbridge.

This multi-institutional national infrastructure project is funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) led by the University of British Columbia. The GRAIN project manager will coordinate with GRAIN hardware and computing leads (including those at the Digital Research Alliance of Canada and those within the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre) to ensure that the priorities and directions set by the GRAIN Science Board are implemented.

The project manager will develop project schedules, including milestones, critical paths, timelines, and deliverables, and will be responsible for reporting and compliance with institutional, provincial, and national requirements. They will manage the project budget, facilitate purchasing and hiring, and schedule day-to-day project activities. They will interpret and apply policies and procedures when making independent decisions. They will write and edit reports on management aspects of GRAIN, maintain project records, generate specialized analyses and reports for financial planning, and report on project progress and budget to the GRAIN Science Board.

Organizational Status

The successful applicant will report directly to the Project Lead Scientist at the University of British Columbia (faculty). They will also interact with researchers, scientific staff, software developers, students, and other contributors at partner institutions (McGill University, the Université de Montréal, Bishop’s University, the University of Manitoba, and the University of Lethbridge) as well as stakeholders around the world (especially France and the United States).

This role is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement, including flexible work hours, pursuant to University policies and guidelines.

This is a two-year term position with renewal based on performance.

Work performed

Managing project schedules including milestones, critical path, timelines, deliverables and reporting.
Liaising with granting agencies (CFI) and other institutions (McGill, Lethbridge, Bishop's, UManitoba, UdeM) and domestic/international partners (LIGO Lab in the US and the Laboratoire des Matériaux Avancés in France) regarding project progress and budgets.
Leading financial planning processes for GRAIN, including budget projections across 10 participating institutions and partners.
Developing and implementing cross-institutional administrative policies and procedures for GRAIN, including procurement, hiring, and management of development, delivery and operation of GRAIN infrastructure.
Responsible for GRAIN project reports and management of GRAIN operations.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Good judgement by the candidate will result in a higher probability of on-time, under budget delivery of the detector instrumentation and computing infrastructure components of the GRAIN project.

Errors or poor judgement may result in project delays, lack of coherence across development of different project elements, and suboptimal deployment of resources across the GRAIN project.

Supervision Received

This is an autonomous position that will chair the Management Team of GRAIN and directly advise the multi-institution Science Board on governance of GRAIN.

Much of the work will be performed in a team environment. The GRAIN Project Manager will report to the GRAIN Science Board. The successful applicant will also be expected to interact constructively with the GRAIN project team and user base.

Supervision Given

The successful candidate will direct a small team of researchers and managers based at different Canadian and international institutions, including the GRAIN Hardware Development Lead based at the Université de Montréal and the GRAIN Computing Development Lead based at McGill. The GRAIN project manager will take primary responsibility for GRAIN project scheduling and workflow management. Manages staff and is responsible for hiring, discipline, evaluation (and termination, where applicable) for 2 deputy project managers and 13 staff (UBC, McGill, Lethbridge, Bishop's, UManitoba, UdeM) who report to those deputy project managers.

Minimum Qualifications:

Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of three years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

Graduation from a program specializing in project management
Formal designation as a Project Management Professional (PMP) or Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) from the Project Management Institute (PMI)
Expertise in the project management of large projects, preferably in an academic setting with members from a wide variety of backgrounds, and expertise in compliance with and reporting of Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) grants
Expertise in managing scientific projects
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Master's Degree or an acceptable combination of equivalent education and experience.
- Minimum five years of recent and relevant experience in project management (preferably in scientific or other related fields), including budget and grant management, strategic planning, reporting, and meeting logistics
- Experience in providing direction and creating work plans to ensure project milestones are met
- Experience with project management frameworks and software
- Strong computer skills
- Strong analytical, organizational, time-management, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to prioritize and handle multiple tasks at the same time
- Good written and oral communication and interpersonal skills
- Accuracy and attention to detail
- Ability to work independently and in a team environment
- Willingness to travel to partner organizations within Canada on occasion
- Ability to communicate effectively across large international scientific collaborations and with GRAIN partners and stakeholders around the world.

To be successful in this role you will be:

Adaptable
Communicator
Efficient
Organized
Proactive
Problem solver
Self-directed
Team player

UBC acknowledges that certain circumstances may cause career interruptions that legitimately affect an applicant’s record of achievement. We encourage applicants to note in their applications whether they would like consideration given to the impact of any circumstances, such as those due to health or family reasons, in order to allow for a fair assessment of their application.

Accessibility

UBC and the GRAIN team are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all team members. This position is accessible to applicants with disabilities and working environment and/or time constraints.

If you have any needs or questions regarding accommodations or accessibility during the job application, recruitment and hiring process or for more information and support, please visit UBC’s Center For Workplace Accessibility website at https://hr.ubc.ca/health-and-wellbeing/workplace-accessibility or contact the Centre at [email protected]. To learn more about how the University is working to create a more inclusive working and learning environment, please see the UBC Inclusion Action Plan’s goals related to recruitment and retention at: https://equity.ubc.ca/stear-framework-and-roadmap-for-change/

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible work environment for all members of its workforce. Within this hiring process we will make efforts to create an accessible process for all candidates (including but not limited to disabled people). Confidential accommodations are available on request by contacting our HR Manager at [email protected].