University of British Columbia

Job Title: Research & Program Developer, SEEDS Sustainability Program

Department: SEEDS Sustainability | Sustainability and Engineering | Campus + Community Planning 

Posting End Date: August 12, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Apply: https://ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/ubcstaffjobs/job/UBC-Vancouver-Campus/Research---Program-Developer--SEEDS-Sustainability-Program_JR18089-1 

Job Details: 

Location: University of British Columbia (UBC) Vancouver Campus

Time type: Full time

Job Category: M&P - AAPS

Job Profile: AAPS Salaried - Research and Facilitation, Level C

Compensation Range: $7,622.83 - $11,886.67 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Job End Date: Sept 30, 2027

• 3 year termed position with possibilities for extension
• This position requires some in-person work based at the UBC Vancouver campus and currently has the option for a hybrid work arrangement (within British Columbia) in consultation with the manager.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career. 

Job Summary

Campus and Community Planning (C+CP) works collaboratively to create a vibrant and resilient campus for an engaged community on the traditional territory of the Musqueam people, taking a leading-edge approach to sustainability, engagement, community building, planning, design and development. C+CP is responsible for leading UBC’s operational sustainability plans that set UBC’s targets and actions for climate, green buildings, transportation, integrated stormwater, green infrastructure, waste and water, using UBC as a living lab for a sustainable future, and plays a key role in developing partnerships that enhance integration of operational and academic efforts in sustainability. These major sustainability plans for the UBC campus are endorsed by the UBC Board of Governors and have connections to many other UBC plans and strategies, including UBC’s Strategic Plan, 20-Year Sustainability Strategy, Inclusion Action Plan, Wellbeing Strategic Framework, and the UBC Climate Emergency Response, among others. C+CP collaborates and coordinates with many UBC partners, departments and units to advance and embed these goals across the university, including senior staff and leadership from UBC Financial Operations, the UBC Sustainability Hub, Student Housing and Community Services, Safety and Risk Services, Human Resources, Communications and Marketing, Alma Mater Society, Building Operations, Energy and Water Services, UBC IT, and other units in C+CP and across UBC Okanagan.

Within C+CP, the SEEDS (Social Ecological Economic Development Studies) Sustainability Program is an internationally recognized Campus as Living Laboratory initiative with a mandate to advance UBC’s sustainability, climate and wellbeing commitments, UBC’s Strategic Plan, and help advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as they align with the University’s strategic priorities through interdisciplinary partnerships, applied student research and advisory guidance. SEEDS “Big Five” Research Priorities represent key interconnected societal issues that advance knowledge and action on UBC’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments, and are periodically adapted to align with the UBC’s sustainability and strategic priorities. Current Research Priorities include: 1) Accelerate Climate Action, 2) Maintain & Enhance Urban Biodiversity, 3) Enable the Great Food Transformation, 4) Create Circular & Regenerative Economies, and 5) Foster Community Wellbeing & Inclusion. Collaborative interdisciplinary initiatives work in parallel to advance these priorities and harness the Campus as a Living Laboratory: Climate Crisis in Urban Biodiversity (CCUB), Campus Biodiversity Initiative: Research and Demonstration (CBIRD),  UBC Food System Project (UBCFSP), and Food Security Initiative (FSI).

SEEDS Goals:

1. Advance strategies to achieve UBC’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments and help advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as they align with the University’s strategic priorities and mandate

2. Catalyze impactful applied research experiences that empower and equip students to explore and develop solutions to societal challenges and advance UBC’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments

3. Foster and strengthen interdisciplinary partnerships between campus students, faculty, staff and community

4. Integrate operational and academic efforts in sustainability that connect UBC’s curriculum to UBC’s sustainability mandate

5. Generate scalable solutions to critical societal issues that leverage the Campus as a Living Laboratory

6. Co-create, mobilize and amplify knowledge for inclusive and meaningful engagement, knowledge and action to address critical societal issues with communities in which issues affect for shared solutions and collective impact

SEEDS goals contribute to UBC’s Strategic Plan’s Pillars including Transformative Learning, People and Places, Local and Global Engagement and Research Excellence, and many of the supporting strategies including interdisciplinary, sustainability, knowledge mobilization, inclusion, innovation, and reputation. 

The Research & Project Developer is responsible for facilitating SEEDS research and program activities including implementing strategic aspects of the SEEDS mandate to advance UBC’s sustainability, climate and wellbeing commitments, policies and plans, UBC’s Strategic Plan, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as they align with the University’s strategic priorities and mandate, and enhance student experiential learning, applied research and professional development across the University. The position works with significant autonomy to build and deliver SEEDS R&D activities and interface with academic and operational partners across campus. The position develops and manages SEEDS curricular and co-curricular research. The incumbent works closely with key stakeholders across the University including faculty, staff, students, senior managers and other community partners. The incumbent makes decisions and recommendations on SEEDS research and partnership activities at UBC, and plays a key role in operationalizing SEEDS Strategic Plan and affiliated interdisciplinary initiative strategic plans. The position develops and implements operational procedures that will enable SEEDS to be effective in delivering its mandate, and measures to assess the effectiveness of activities. This role will continue to evolve and the individual must be willing to respond to the given priorities and work cooperatively in a dynamic environment.

Organizational Status

Reports to the Manager, SEEDS Sustainability Program in Sustainability & Engineering (S&E), within C+CP. Supervises student and Management & Professional staff as appropriate. Works in close collaboration with senior management within C+CP, including those responsible for climate, waste, water, green buildings and infrastructure, transportation, biodiversity, and related sustainability land use, neighbourhood planning and policy development. The position requires extensive contact with faculty and students across UBC’s faculties and schools, and with senior administration staff from across the University, including C+CP, Sustainability Hub, UBC Wellbeing, Student Housing and Community Services, Facilities, the AMS and GSS, UNA and other departments.

Work Performed

Under the direction of the Manager, SEEDS Sustainability Program:

Research & Development (R&D) Management:

• Establishes and plans applied research clusters and partnerships that can support SEEDS priorities
• Develops and manages SEEDS research projects, including participant recruitment, project scoping, execution, monitoring, close and follow up
• Manages project completion to ensure outcomes inform the development and implementation of UBC’s sustainability and wellbeing policies, plans and practices, while providing experiential learning, teaching and research opportunities with students and faculty
• Assembles and guides project teams of varying compositions, typically consisting of students, faculty and staff across most of the University’s faculties, schools and operational departments
• Delivers impactful applied research experiences that empower and equip students to explore and develop solutions to societal challenges and advance UBC’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments
• Develops program strategies aligned with the University's strategic sustainability objectives and campus as a living laboratory
• Sets research priorities and goals
• Outlines strategic research plans
• Identifies research synergies and creates opportunities for new avenues of research to inform operational sustainability policy.

Partnership Development and Management:

• Identifies and manages strategic partnerships with internal campus and external stakeholders, including new and ongoing partnership planning and relationship management.
• Recruits and maintains  partnerships with faculty, staff and other partners
• Serves on various committees that support SEEDS research, partnerships and knowledge exchange to advance UBC’s strategic sustainability, climate and wellbeing commitments
• Serves on various SEEDS advisory committees that advance SEEDS strategic planning.

Funding:

• Identifies and pursues funding opportunities to enhance and grow SEEDS under the general direction of the SEEDS Manager, Sustainability Advisory Committee, and interdisciplinary initiatives
• Develops and manages various research and project budgets.

Knowledge Exchange:

• Participates in developing strategies that can translate and mobilize research and partnerships to advance UBC’s sustainability, climate and wellbeing commitments
• Develops workshops and activities to establish partnerships among faculty, students and operational staff, and community partners that have potential to lead to solution generation, and greater collective impact
• Identifies and pursues engagement initiatives to enhance SEEDS visibility across campus and beyond.

Information Management & Reporting: 

• Researches and synthesizes information to support reporting, communication and engagement
• Identifies and manages various research data and information repositories, research portal, and asset maps
• Scopes and identifies new ways to optimize SEEDS data, information and project management systems.

Administration & Human Resourcing:

• Responsible for student and program M&P staff management, recruitment and training.
• Develops and implements research participant recruitment strategies
• Develops and implements a broad scope of program procedures and processes including strategic planning, research approaches, project, information and data management, quality assurance, evaluation and recognition
• Develops and implements operational procedures that enables SEEDS to be effective in delivering its mandate
• Develops measures of impact to evaluate the effectiveness of activities
• Contributes to the implementation of SEEDS overall strategic direction
• Performs other duties as required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Makes decisions in research development and management within a broad range and diverse program functions, including development and management of research, partnerships, projects, budgets, evaluation, reporting and knowledge exchange. Decisions affect the effective implementation of the program, partnerships and projects, and errors could result in missed opportunities, damaged relationships and loss of credibility for the University, C+CP, SEEDS and academic and operational partners. The incumbent must exercise a high level of professional judgement, initiative and tact that involves dealing with various academic and operational units, departments, and individuals, as well as external partners and service providers. Failure to exercise sound professional and managerial judgement, could result in significant resource and reputational costs, inefficient use of grant resources, and have negative impact on future internal and external partnerships. Decisions can impact UBC’s leadership and reputation on sustainability, climate and well-being. Errors in judgement may have negative consequences on the quality of teaching, learning and research at UBC, and may result in significant impacts on delivery of applied curricular research and student academic progress.

Supervision Received

Works with a high degree of autonomy under the general direction of the Manager, SEEDS Sustainability Program. Work is reviewed against work plan objectives.

Supervision Given

Supervises student and Management & Professional staff as appropriate and provides direction, setting of priorities, and associated responsibilities. Leads and manages project teams of varying compositions, depending on the project scope and nature. Project teams may include senior staff, faculty, department heads, students and community partners across a broad range of university departments and other external partners. Supervises consultants and other specialists on a project basis.

Minimum Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of four years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience in environmental sciences, sustainability or related field.
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree preferred in a relevant discipline or its equivalent in environmental sciences, sustainability or related field. 
• Broad understanding of sustainability issues is required, including green buildings, energy, emissions reduction, and ability to  conceptually graspand apply SEEDS objectives and focus areas.
• Sustainability-related projects and partnerships management experience is required.
• Knowledge and experience in a post-secondary institutional environment is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in budget management, writing successful research and grant proposals required.
• Ability to lead and manage effective collaborations with a wide range of academic and non-academic partners, including teams of comprised of various levels of staff, faculty and students.
• Familiarity with participatory and community-based actions methodologies and approaches preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to translate ideas across disciplines and articulate complex information to a variety of internal and external stakeholders in verbal and written form. 
• Ability to adapt and respond to changing priorities, set work priorities, work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to manage, prioritize and complete multiple projects, tasks and priorities simultaneously within demonstrated allocated resource and time constraints.
• Ability to be proactive, take initiative, be resourceful, demonstrate decisiveness and provide leadership
• A high degree of independent and collaborative decision-making in situations calling for cooperation as well as independent judgment to make sound decisions without supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to manage teams possessing various disciplinary knowledge and experiences, diverse skills and personalities, providing monitoring and feedback in complex dynamic environments.
• Ability to work in a in a collaborative and inclusive manner, maintains effective working relationships, and fosters equitable experiences and a respectful environment.
• Demonstrated experience in information management, and familiarity with various information, data and project management programs.
• Experience with data management, analysis, and visualization programs is an asset. Familiarity with Geographic Information System and/or other analytical mapping programs considered an asset.
• Strong proficiency in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and experience with SharePointis an asset.