Project Specialist, Faculty of Nursing- Dr. Karen Benzies

University of Calgary; Calgary; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 90,000; Part time

Job summary

The University of Calgary's Faculty of Nursing seeks a Project Specialist for a 14-month part-time role. The position involves managing the Alberta Family Integrated Care project, requiring strong interpersonal skills and extensive experience in health research and project management.

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years' experience in a health research environment.
• Minimum 3-5 years' experience with research project management.
• Experience managing relationships with multi-disciplinary stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Oversee development of comprehensive project documentation.
• Manage project budget and financial transactions.
• Conduct descriptive statistical analyses for reports.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Problem-solving

Critical thinking

Time management

Education

Graduate degree in health care or health sciences

Tools

Qualtrics

Microsoft Office Suite

Statistical analysis software (e.g., SPSS, Prism)

Job description

Description

The Faculty of Nursing invites applications for a Project Specialist. This Fixed Term Recurring Part-timeposition is for approximately 14 months (based on length of grant funding), with the possibility of extension.

As a member of a team, the Project Specialist reports directly to Dr. K. Benzies, Professor, Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary.

The quality of work varies with job stressors being high and including deadlines and attention to detail. The Project Specialist will be required to work between Monday and Friday, up to 35 hours per week. Workdays may vary in length depending on workload. This position has no direct reports. The work environment requires time spent at a computer, on the telephone, in in-patient pediatrics units, and will require local area travel.

The position requires independent judgment and decision-making in day-to-day operations, and professional comportment while conducting business. Decisions will be guided by the research proposal and related project documentation but will require the ability to recognize when adaptations are needed and to undertake appropriate adaptations. The incumbent will manage the adaptation, development, and pilot testing of Alberta Family Integrated Care (FICare) for inpatient pediatric units with a focus on children with medical complexities at Alberta Children's Hospital. This project is sponsored by the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, and approved by the Alberta Children's Hospital Executive Leadership Team. The incumbent will oversee all aspects of the project including but not limited to management of scope, ethical approvals, time, quality, budget, stakeholder, communication, evaluation, change and project.

The work requires a high degree of accuracy, organization, and time and priority management in order to manage and meet deadlines and project outputs. The incumbent must be able to work independently with diverse teams of multi-disciplinary stakeholders across multiple sectors and levels of business to ensure project deliverables. The Project Specialist will manage the project at all phases across multiple departments, business processes and stakeholder groups. This position also requires dealing effectively with complex issues, implementing corrective actions, facilitating collaborative project management delivery across multi-disciplinary stakeholders, and effectively managing project milestones and deliverables. The project requires strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate with healthcare professionals.

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

• Oversee development of comprehensive project documentation
• Monitor, control, and manage all project documents and data
• Recruit participants for participation in a quantitative phase of the research study assessing the feasibility of this adaptation into inpatient pediatrics
• Manage surveys in Qualtrics, including downloads, cleaning, and importing to statistical analysis software
• Conduct descriptive statistical analyses; and populate tables to describe participant characteristics for reports and manuscripts
• Think critically to plan and adapt FICare to the inpatient pediatrics environment
• Work closely with the multi-disciplinary healthcare teams and management teams to implement the new model
• Test baseline assessment and fidelity audit tools for inpatient pediatrics
• Plan, schedule and identify project resources to develop and manage the project scope and timeline using project management tools (e.g., timeline), and secure resources needed to successfully execute the project
• Act as primary contact for internal and external multi-disciplinary stakeholders across Alberta Health Services, University of Calgary, parents/families and others who have a positive or negative interest in this initiative
• Manage stakeholder relationships by analyzing and responding to stakeholder's needs and levels of influence throughout the project
• Oversee and monitor preparation and submission of ethics applications and amendments
• Facilitate project planning, strategies and processes, including monitoring and controlling scope of project to ensure on-time, on-budget delivery
• Monitor project budget and financial transactions. Identify and take corrective action
• Monitor, track, assess impact, and escalate risks/issues. Initiate and/or ensure corrective action is taken by relevant multi-disciplinary stakeholders
• Implement and manage change when necessary to meet project outputs
• Report project status to stakeholders and sponsor (Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation and Alberta Health Services)
• Conduct implementation, fidelity, and evaluation site visits
• Administrative duties applicable to project management
• Ensure compliance with protocols and file management system
• Act professionally while conducting research business
• Exercise good judgement and adhere to ethical conduct and privacy requirements
• Maintain personal competency in skills as required by identifying learning needs and pursuing appropriate learning activities
• Maintain a professional appearance
• Seek input and consult others as appropriate
• Be willing to complete other duties as required

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Graduate degree, preferably in health care or health sciences is required
• Minimum 6 years' experience in a health research environment is required
• Minimum 3-5 years' experience with research project management is required
• Minimum 3-5 years' experience with budget management is required
• Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills are critical to the role
• Experience managing relationships with various multi-disciplinary stakeholders at multiple levels across universities, health services organizations, and government sectors is required
• Experience with knowledge translation, and monitoring and tracking outcomes and impact is required
• Excellent problem-solving and critical thinking skills are crucial to the role
• Excellent stakeholder-facing and internal communication skills is required
• Experience report and manuscript writing is required
• Ability to complete assigned and scheduled tasks under own initiative is required
• Ability to collaborate, adapt and be flexible in a dynamic, rapidly changing environment is required
• Strong time and priority management skills in order to prioritize and meet deadlines is required
• Demonstrated leadership and mentorship capacity is required
• Strong understanding of University structures and processes is required
• Understanding of Alberta Health Services structures and processes is required
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative evaluation processes is required
• Proficiency with computer systems, especially Microsoft Office Suite is required
• Experience with Qualtrics web-based survey software is required
• Understanding of Alberta Health Services processes is an asset
• Experience with thematic analysis is an asset
• Experience with statistical data analysis software, including SPSS and Prism, is an asset
• Experience with reference management software (EndNote) is an asset
• Experience working closely with healthcare professionals and/or a background in nursing is an asset
• Change management experience is an asset
• Experience with HREBA and/or CHREB is an asset
• Local area and provincial travel is a requirement of this position; valid driver's license is required

Application Deadline: May 22, 2025

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.

This position is part of the AUPE bargaining unit, and falls under the Specialist / Advisor Job Family, Phase 3.

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

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 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.

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 Human Resources ([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 and encourage you to apply if you believe you are right for this role.

We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, however preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.