Description
The Department of Community Health Sciences in the Cumming School of Medicine invites applications for an Administrative Assistant. This Full-time Fixed Term position is for approximately 8 months (based on length of grant funding), with the possibility of extension.
This position is embedded within the Canada Research Chair in Black and Racialized Peoples' Health at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. The program is funded by six active grants totalling $6.6 million from four funders SSHRC, CIHR, Alberta Innovates, and the Canadian Cancer Society and operates across three research streams with seven postdoctoral fellows, five graduate students, multiple research coordinators, and a national network of 42 scholars.
At this scale, the program generates substantial administrative demand participant honoraria across multiple grants, purchasing and expense claims from a large team, ethics documentation across several active protocols, calendar and scheduling coordination for a nationally engaged CRC Director, and onboarding of new staff and trainees. The Research and Administrative Support role exists to handle this transactional and operational volume efficiently, freeing the Research Program Manager (M2) and CRC Director to focus on program leadership, financial oversight, and research.
This is a research-context administrative position requiring familiarity with grant-funded research environments. It is not a general clerical role. The successful candidate will understand the difference between grant-eligible and ineligible expenses, be comfortable working across multiple concurrent funding sources, and bring the organizational precision required to support a complex, nationally visible research program.
Reporting to the Principal Investigator.
Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):
Financial & Purchasing Administration
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Process all research-related expense claims, reimbursements, and purchasing requests for the program team ‿ postdocs, graduate students, research coordinators, and research assistants ensuring expenses are correctly coded to the appropriate grant and aligned with University of Calgary and funder policies
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Process participant honoraria and incentive payments across all active research projects, maintaining accurate records of payments by grant, participant, and project in compliance with ethics approval requirements
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Coordinate purchasing of research supplies, equipment, and services through UCalgary procurement systems, obtaining appropriate approvals and ensuring purchases meet grant eligibility requirements
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Maintain organized records of all financial transactions by grant for the Research Program Manager's budget tracking and funder reporting purposes
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Process travel bookings and travel expense claims for the program team, including complex multi-destination travel for national conference attendance and partner site visits
Calendar & Scheduling Management
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Manage Principal Investigator's calendar, scheduling and coordinating meetings, conference calls, institutional commitments, community partner engagements, and external speaking or policy engagements
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Coordinate scheduling for program team meetings, advisory committee meetings, stakeholder events, and community engagement activities, managing logistics including room bookings, video conferencing links, catering, and participant communications
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Maintain an advance calendar of key program deadlines funder reporting dates, ethics renewal deadlines, grant submission timelines, and personnel contract end dates and provide timely reminders to the Research Program Manager and CRC Director
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Coordinate logistics for visits by external collaborators, community partners, and delegation guests, including travel arrangements, accommodation, itineraries, and campus access.
CV & Academic Profile Maintenance
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Maintaining an accurate and current CV and academic profile is a critical obligation for a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair. CRC renewal, grant applications, and institutional reporting all depend on a complete and up-to-date record of publications, presentations, awards, trainee supervision, and knowledge mobilization activities. This function has historically been neglected due to workload pressures and is a specific priority for this role
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Maintain curriculum vitae in current and accurate condition updating publications, conference presentations, media appearances, awards, honours, committee memberships, and knowledge mobilization outputs on an ongoing basis
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Monitor scholarly databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, SCOPUS) for new publications involving Dr. Salami and program team members, and flag additions for verification
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Maintain accurate trainee supervision records graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, undergraduate students including program, start date, completion status, and post-program placement
Onboarding & HR Administration Support
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Coordinate onboarding logistics for new program staff, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students system access requests, UCalgary ID setup, building access, ethics training enrollment (TCPS 2 CORE, GCP), IT equipment requests, and program orientation scheduling
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Maintain an up-to-date onboarding checklist and ensure all new team members complete mandatory compliance training in a timely manner
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Prepare and collate HR documentation for new hires ‿ offer letter supporting materials, contract templates, and new employee forms for review and approval by the Research Program Manager
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Track personnel contract end dates and ethics training renewal deadlines for all program staff, flagging upcoming renewals to the Research Program Manager with sufficient lead time
Ethics & Research Support
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Support the preparation, formatting, and submission of research ethics board applications, amendments, and annual renewals through the CHREB portal, under the direction of the Research Program Manager or postdoc leads
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Collects qualitative and quantitative data including interviews and survey
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Support data cleaning and data analysis process
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Track ethics protocol status across all active projects protocol numbers, approval dates, renewal deadlines, and amendment submissions and maintain a master ethics tracking log
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Prepare and organize participant consent form packages, ensuring current approved versions are in use and that copies are filed correctly
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Assist with the collation and formatting of research reports, grant progress reports, policy briefs, and other program outputs formatting, proofreading, and document assembly not drafting or intellectual content
General Administrative & Communications Support
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Prepare agendas for team meetings, advisory committee meetings, and community partner meetings; take and distribute accurate meeting minutes
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Maintain organized digital filing systems for all program records including ethics approvals, grant documents, partner agreements, personnel files, and correspondence
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Maintain and update mailing lists, contact databases, and member lists for the national partner network, advisory committees, and BYMLP program participants and mentors
Draft routine correspondence and email communications for the CRC Director's review and signature acknowledgements, meeting confirmations, stakeholder communications
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Qualifications / Requirements:
Required
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Minimum one year of research experience
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Minimum two years of administrative experience in a research, academic, health sector, or non-profit environment
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Demonstrated experience with expense processing, purchasing, and financial record-keeping in an institutional or grant-funded environment
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Experience working in programs focused on Black communities
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Strong organizational skills ability to manage multiple concurrent tasks, track deadlines across several workstreams, and maintain accurate records
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Excellent written communication skills ‿ clear, professional correspondence and document preparation
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Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and experience with calendar management tools
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Ability to work accurately and independently with minimal supervision, exercising sound judgment on routine matters
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High level of discretion and respect for the confidentiality of research participants, personnel records, and institutional information
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Demonstrated ability to interact professionally and respectfully with a diverse range of people ‿ researchers, community members, students, funders, and institutional staff
Preferred / Strong Assets
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Post-secondary degree in relevant field
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Experience in a university research environment, particularly supporting grant-funded research programs
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Familiarity with University of Calgary administrative systems PeopleSoft, Concur (expense management), RMS, or equivalent institutional platforms
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Experience with research ethics processes and familiarity with CHREB, TCPS 2, or GCP requirements
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Experience processing participant honoraria and research participant payments
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Familiarity with academic CV formats, including CIHR Common CV or equivalent tri-agency formats
Experience supporting the administrative needs of a senior academic, executive, or research leader ‿ including calendar management at a complex level
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Application Deadline: July 22, 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.
This position is part of the AUPE bargaining unit, and falls under the Operational/Administrative Job Family, Phase 2.
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 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 ([email protected]) and requests for accommodations can be sent to People & Culture ([email protected]).
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.
