Director, Research Legal Operations and Agreements

University of Calgary; Calgary; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Calgary is seeking an accomplished Director, Research Legal Operations & Agreements to lead a high-volume research contracting portfolio. This senior role reports to the Associate General Counsel (Research) and shapes operational strategy across intake, review pathways, and knowledge management to enable scalable, compliant service delivery.

The successful candidate will supervise contract specialists and staff, guide negotiation strategy, and implement AI-enabled tools to improve

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree required; disciplines include business, commerce, law, public administration, science, engineering, health sciences or related field.
• 8+ years in complex contracting, research agreements, or comparable environment.
• Experience leading and developing professional staff.
• Ability to manage high-volume workflows and competing priorities with risk-based judgment.
• Strong relationship management and communication with senior leaders and external partners.
• Experience with contract lifecycle management and legal tech is preferred.
• Law degree, graduate degree or professional designation in related areas preferred.
• Experience supporting international or cross-border research collaborations preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead intake, risk-based triage and assignment of research agreements.
• Advise on agreement structures and identify complex issues.
• Determine review pathway and escalation needs.
• Serve as senior non-lawyer expert for research contracting guidance.
• Guide negotiation strategy and ensure consistent risk-based standards.
• Oversee complex agreements and updates to institutional guidance.
• Lead and develop contract specialists and administrative staff.
• Design and improve operating practices, workflows and controls.
• Set performance metrics and report on service delivery.
• Lead use of contract, workflow, document and knowledge-management systems.
• Build relationships with researchers, administrators and external partners.
• Align processes with Research Services and other units.

Skills

Contracting leadership

Risk-based decision making

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Team development

Legal operations

Communication (written)

Process improvement

Knowledge management

Automation / AI tools

Change management

Cross-border collaboration

Education

Undergraduate degree

Law degree or related advanced credential preferred

Tools

Microsoft 365

Contract management platforms

Automation/AI-enabled tools

Job description

Description

UCalgary is seeking an accomplished legal operations leader to serve as Director, Research Legal Operations & Agreements.

This Regular Full-time role will report to the Associate General Counsel (Research), and will shape and lead the operational strategy for a sophisticated, high-volume research contracting portfolio at a time of significant growth and expanding international reach. The role offers a distinctive opportunity to lead skilled contract specialists and administrative professionals, strengthen risk-based intake and workflow practices, and advance service delivery through knowledge management, technology enablement, automation and continuous improvement. Working at the intersection of legal operations, complex contracting and research innovation, the Director will have the mandate and visibility to build scalable practices, strengthen team capability and influence how Research Legal supports the University's strategic ambitions. This is a senior research contracting and legal operations position; a law degree is not required.

The successful candidate will be a collaborative and pragmatic leader who combines sound judgment with strong negotiation, mediation and relationship-building skills. Comfortable navigating complexity and competing priorities, the Director will build trusted relationships with a broad range of internal and external partners and serve as a key strategic and operational resource for Legal Services, Deans, Department Heads and the Office of the Vice-P \ rincipal (Research).

This opportunity will appeal to an experienced legal operations leader who is energized by organizational growth and wants to build modern, scalable services while gaining broad exposure to complex legal and business issues at the forefront of research, innovation, and technology.

Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):

• Lead the intake, risk-based triage and assignment of research agreements and related requests.
• Advise client groups on appropriate agreement structures and identify complex or non-standard legal and commercial issues.
• Determine the appropriate review pathway, assign or reassign files, and escalate matters requiring legal counsel or specialized expertise.
• Serve as the senior non-lawyer subject-matter expert for research contracting, guiding staff on institutional positions, precedents, playbooks and escalation requirements.
• Guide negotiation strategy and the consistent application of risk-based contracting standards, balancing institutional interests, research objectives and timely service.
• Oversee complex or sensitive agreements and work with counsel to address significant departures, recurring issues and needed updates to institutional guidance.
• Lead, coach and develop contract specialists and administrative staff, with clear roles, expectations and decision-making authority.
• Design and continuously improve operating practices, workflows and controls to support consistent, efficient service.
• Set performance measures, report on service delivery and support longer-term planning, priorities and resource needs.
• Lead the effective use of contract, workflow, document and knowledge-management systems, including appropriate automation and AI-enabled tools.
• Build trusted relationships with researchers, administrators, internal service partners, sponsors and other external parties.
• Partner with Research Services and other University units to align processes, resolve bottlenecks and improve the client experience.

Qualifications / Requirements

• An undergraduate degree is required. Relevant disciplines may include business, commerce, law, public administration, science, engineering, health sciences, information management or a related field.
• At least eight years of progressively responsible experience in complex contracting, research agreements, commercial transactions, legal operations or a comparable environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading, developing and supporting skilled professional and administrative staff.
• Proven ability to manage high-volume workflows, competing priorities and complex matters using sound, risk-based judgment.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-management skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with senior leaders, researchers, colleagues and external partners.
• Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to review complex documents accurately and efficiently.
• Excellent written communication skills, including the ability to translate complex contractual and operational issues into clear, practical guidance.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and experience using legal technology, contract-management platforms, automation or AI-assisted tools to improve processes and service delivery.
• Experience negotiating specialized research agreements, such as sponsored or clinical research, multi-party collaborations, data-sharing, material transfer, licensing, commercialization or government funding agreements preferred.
• A law degree, graduate degree or relevant professional designation in areas such as law, business, project management, procurement or legal operations preferred.
• Experience supporting international, cross-border or otherwise complex research collaborations involving multiple institutions, funders or private-sector partners preferred.
• Experience designing intake, triage and risk-based contracting models, including performance metrics, service reporting and resource-planning approaches preferred.
• Experience leading process improvement or service transformation initiatives, including the implementation of contract lifecycle management, workflow, knowledge-management, automation or AI-enabled solutions preferred.
• Demonstrated success leading change, building team capability and embedding new operating practices in a complex environment involving multiple clients and partners preferred.

Application Deadline

October 29, 2026

We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.

About the University of Calgary

UCalgary is Canada's entrepreneurial university, located in Canada's most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands‑on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada's leader in the creation of start-ups. Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy ii' taa'poh'to'p committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

The university's commitment to the Indigenous Strategy is evident through the oversight of 18 Elders serving on the Circle of Advisors and the many unit-based circles working towards implementation of the strategy including the Faculty Advisory Circle and teams such as the Office of Indigenous Engagement, the Writing Symbols Lodge, and the Indigenous Research Support Team. Many Indigenous-based events and processes are impacting curriculum, programming and polices at the University of Calgary.

As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding [diversity] EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Institutional Commitments ([e-mail]) and requests for accommodations can be sent to People & Culture ([e-mail]).

Do you have most but not all the qualifications? Research show that women, racialized and visible minorities, and persons with disabilities are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At UCalgary we are committed to achieving equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible employment practices and workplaces.

About the University of Calgary

This position is classified in the Management Career Band, Level 3 of the Management and Professional Staff Career Framework.

For a listing of all management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary, view our Management and Staff Careers website.