Research and Grants Officer

McGill University; Montreal (administrative region); On-site; CAD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Defined contribution pension plan

Group RRSP/TFSA

Vacation policy

Personal days

Floating holidays

Summer Fridays

Remote work 2 days/week

Job summary

McGill University seeks a Research and Grants Officer to collaborate with the ADR and support the full grant lifecycle from writing to submission. The role emphasizes grantsmanship, developing a framework for grant prep, and communicating funding opportunities to faculty.

A strong analytics focus will drive dashboards tracking submissions, success rates, and financial allocations. The position supports junior and early-career faculty, with emphasis on data-driven insights to optimize research

Qualifications

• PhD in humanities or quantitative and qualitative social sciences preferred.
• A minimum of 2 years of grant writing and submission experience.
• Proficiency in Excel, PowerBI, MS Office365.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Knowledge of statistical programming (STATA and/or R) and Python is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Advises on grant proposal development and reviews draft applications for coherence and readiness.
• Develops a faculty grant preparation framework with evaluation criteria.
• Maintains a repository of successful grant proposals and analyzes data.
• Oversees internal peer review processes for grant applications.
• Analyzes research performance data and prepares annual reports on funding trends and impact.
• Develops and maintains quantitative dashboards and data visualizations.
• Advises on award nominations and aligns with funder criteria.
• Identifies and communicates funding opportunities and drafts related communications.
• Facilitates faculty peer-support networks for grant writers and knowledge sharing.
• Produces original capacity-building resources to enhance research funding success.

Skills

Grant writing

Stakeholder engagement

Data visualization

Adaptability

Education

PhD in Humanities or social sciences

Tools

PowerBI

Excel

MS Office365

STATA

R

Python

Job description

Position Summary

Under the supervisor of Director of Administration, the Research and Grants Officer will collaborate with the Associate Dean, Research (ADR), to support grant and research administration in the Faculty of Arts and advance the direction of the ADR portfolio. The incumbent will work closely with Faculty of Arts academic staff throughout the full grant lifecycle (writing, submission, budget review) with the overall aim of increasing the number and quality of grant proposals. The incumbent is responsible for identifying and communicating research funding opportunities for academics, as well as preparing and maintaining grantsmanship resources. The incumbent will also develop and maintain quantitative dashboards to track submissions, success rates, financial commitments, and dollar allocations to help optimize existing research resources.

Primary Responsibilities

• Advises on and provides grant proposal development support to faculty, particularly junior and early-career faculty, by reviewing draft applications, offering guidance and feedback, recommending revisions, and validating the overall coherence, feasibility, quality and readiness of proposals prior to submission.
• Develop a faculty support framework (structure, delivery method, and evaluation criteria) for grant preparation; evaluate and maintain effectiveness of framework against outcomes (e.g., grant success rates) and revise it accordingly.
• Develop a repository of successful grant proposals; interpret and statistically analyze the data and provide recommendations to academics submitting grants and provide guidance to the ADR
• Oversee internal peer review processes for grant applications; establish review criteria with the Associate Dean and assess proposal readiness for submission.
• Analyze research performance data, identify meaningful benchmarks and comparators, and prepare annual reports on research impact, application and funding trends, and benchmarking outcomes.
• Develop, maintain and improve quantitative dashboards and data visualizations
• Advise faculty on award nominations by assessing alignment with award criteria, evaluating competitiveness and fit, and providing guidance on complex or ambiguous cases.
• Identify and communicate funding opportunities to faculty; review and edit nomination packages to align with funder and donor requirements; draft memos, announcements, and communications on research opportunities.
• Organize and facilitate faculty peer-support networks for grant writers, leveraging expertise in social sciences and humanities research methodologies to foster effective proposal development and knowledge sharing.
• Develop and produce original faculty capacity-building resources, including best-practices guides and support materials, informed by analysis of successful grant applications to enhance research funding success.

Other Qualifying Skills and/or Abilities

• PhD in the field of Humanities or Quantitative and Qualitative Social Sciences preferred
• A minimum of 2 years of experience with grant writing and submission
• Proficiency in using Excel, PowerBI, MS Office365
• Demonstrated ability to build-relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to be adaptable and flexible, with the capacity to respond effectively to evolving priorities and dynamic research environment
• Strong client-service-orientation, with excellent interpersonal and stakeholder engagement skills
• Knowledge in statistical programming (STATA and or R) and Python is an asset

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