Strategic Research Development Officer

Date Posted: 07/28/2026
Req ID: 49622
Faculty/Division: UofT Mississauga
Department: UTM: Office of the Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation
Campus: University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM)
Position Number: 00059891
Existing Vacancy: Yes

Description:

About us:

U of T Mississauga—the second largest campus of Canada’s top-ranked university and the only research university in Ontario’s booming Peel Region—is one of the world’s great catalysts of human potential.

Our employee community hums with the energy of 3,400 faculty, librarians and staff, who power our campus with curiosity, connection and care. We work together to spark life-changing research and innovation, make an indelible mark on the world by building equitable cities and societies, enable healthy lives, create a sustainable future and ignite entrepreneurship. Above all, we prioritize student success, and seek to give our 16,500 students the lift of a lifetime through learning and discovery. We love to open opportunities available nowhere else for our community to achieve their ambitions and make their unique contributions to Canada and the world.

This work all comes together on a spectacularly green campus, alongside the Missinihe-ziibi (Trusting Creek or Credit River), where we seek to honour truth, reciprocity and reconciliation on the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, Seneca and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We’re thrilled to welcome those who want to learn more about us and to be part of what we do.

Your opportunity:

The Office of the Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation (OVPRI) at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) supports, promotes and inspires the research, scholarship and creative activity of the research community, and enhances the research environment, reputation and profile of UTM. The OVPRI is organized in three pillars of research and innovation services and support: 1) Research grant development, 2) Core research facilities, and 3) Partnerships and Innovation, The OVPRI operates several core facilities, a venture incubation hub, and supports highly specialized research teams that draw on world-class research expertise across multiple academic divisions, regional, national, and international academic partners, and commercial organizations.

The Strategic Research Development Officer is an integral member of the UTM research enterprise and acts as a resource and support to faculty and academic leadership. The incumbent will support UTM’s research community to advance UTM’s and the University of Toronto’s strategic research initiatives and activities. The position will work in collaboration with the Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation (VPRI), and under the direction of the Director, Office of the Vice- Principal, Research and Innovation.

You will be responsible for developing and enhancing the research enterprise at UTM. Working closely with OVPRI and academic leadership and UTM faculty, you will identify opportunities for research funding, support the application development process for individual and collaborative funding opportunities, including team and interdisciplinary projects, and develop strategies for research partnerships/collaborations. You will support campus and faculty research endeavours at UTM by helping to draft and coordinate submissions for research funding, awards, and honours and helping to ensure that all submissions and applications meet University and sponsor standards and requirements. You will assist efforts to enhance the UTM research environment by cultivating relationships and partnerships across the university and within the division.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Coordinating and guiding faculty applicants through various phases of the research funding or award nomination application process, including advising on potential challenges, developing application progress timelines, and tracking progress
• Assisting with the writing and/or editing of research funding applications, award nomination content, press releases for the media, and other targeted communications to support strategic initiatives
• Liaising with internal and external contacts to coordinate execution of seminars and workshops, and delivering such presentations to promote research initiatives, collaboration opportunities, and programs
• Identifying, developing and executing strategies for research and development collaborations
• Producing complex statistical and/or financial reports
• Coordinating tasks for projects and other strategic initiatives with stakeholders
• Planning and overseeing activities that enhance and expand research funding activity and effectiveness
• Keeping well-informed on research funding programs, application guidelines, policies/procedures and regulations
  
  

Essential Qualifications:

• Master's Degree or acceptable combination of equivalent experience.
• Minimum five years of relevant experience in an academic research environment required.
• Experience writing, editing and coordinating the creation of complex, multi-stakeholder grant applications required.
• Expert understanding of Provincial, Canadian and International research funding programs and sponsors, such as NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC, CFI, ORF, ERA, NFRF, etc. required.
• Experience organizing and facilitating workshops and training sessions required.
• Advanced computer skills (Excel, Access, Word, PowerPoint).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiating, and marketing skills.

To be successful in this role you will be:

• Approachable
• Communicator
• Diligent
• Organized
• Responsible
• Team player
  
  

**Please note, one position is available for a 18 month term

Closing Date: 08/06/2026, 11:59PM ET
Employee Group: USW
Appointment Type: Budget - Term
Schedule: Full-Time
Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone:
USW Pay Band 15 -- $97,348. with an annual step progression to a maximum of $124,491. Pay scale and job class assignment is subject to determination pursuant to the Job Evaluation/Pay Equity Maintenance Protocol.
Job Category: Administrative / Managerial
Recruiter: Desiray Stewart

Lived Experience Statement
Candidates who are members of Indigenous, Black, racialized and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other equity deserving groups are encouraged to apply, and their lived experience shall be taken into consideration as applicable to the posted position.

Job descriptions are available upon request for internal applicants.