Manager, Research Workflow Design, Information Technologies

Position Overview

The Research Dataflow Services (RDS) team within Information Technologies is currently seeking a Full-time Regular Manager, Research Workflow Design.

Reporting to the Director, Research Computing Services, this position works 35 hours per week, with normal business hours being 08:30 - 16:30, Monday to Friday. There may be a requirement for after-hours work. The position is responsible for the management of 3 - 15 direct reports, comprised of both University staff as well as external contractors. The position will be required to develop services, develop processes, plan ongoing workflow research, build research plans with faculty, enforce standards, and provide direction to and oversight to the Research Dataflow Services team.

The Research Dataflow Services (RDS) team consists of subject matter experts who design and implement Proof of Concept (POC) secure workflow solutions to support data-intensive research across all faculties at the University of Calgary. These POC designs must incorporate an understanding of research goals, computational strategies, and infrastructural limitations. POC designs will be implemented on local Research Computing Services infrastructure, on National Digital Research Alliance of Canada infrastructure, or on commercial cloud infrastructure depending on the project and the RDS team must maintain expertise on all of these infrastructures. POC designs will be used to establish best practice strategies for core workflow functionality and enable the RDS team to deliver an infrastructure template and workflow definition to client Principal Investigators (PIs). The members of this team report directly to this position.

The position will be required to ensure an ongoing workflow research program is advanced, long-term collaborative relationships are developed with PIs, technical architecture standards for workflows are developed and adhered to, efficient computational strategies are used in workflow designs, POC designs are completed in a timely manner, goals are set for both the team and individual team members, and conducting performance reviews. The position will be required to develop standard operating procedures and documentation standards and to hold team members accountable for the delivery of quality system designs to various project teams. The position will need to interface with multiple research projects and business units to prioritize work and to allocate people's time to multiple simultaneous project efforts. The position needs to have a strong background in planning research, designing workflows, coordinating infrastructure, developing project plans, creating infrastructure policies and creating research budgets.

Position Description

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

Human Resource / Business Management 

• Conduct annual performance management duties: setting SMART goals, monitoring progress, and annual performance review for individual team members.
• Provide direct supervision of the team members, both University employees and contractors, to ensure work is being delivered in a manner that meets expectations for quality and timeliness.
• Maintain current job profiles for all team members; responsible for on-boarding and off-boarding staff. For contract staff, this includes the creation of Statements of Work, monitoring hours worked, approving billable hours, and working with recruiters for hiring purposes.
• Approve vacation and time off requests for team members; ensure team members are adhering to the U of C Vacation Policy by monitoring vacation balances. Monitor and report on staff absences and ensure team members are enrolled in the Attendance Support Program as appropriate. Ensure accurate timesheets are submitted and approved in accordance with Human Resource deadlines.
• Ensure team members are aware of emerging technology trends by engaging with external vendors for seminars, presentations, demonstrations, and formal training. Develop comprehensive training plan for team members to address skill gaps.
• Develop and manage quarterly budgets for the computational component of research projects supported by the Research Dataflow Services team.
• Develop, submit, and manage the annual budget for the Research Dataflow Services team.
• Work closely with Supply Chain Management to ensure proper procurement practices are being adhered to; products and services are being obtained which provide the best value to the University; proper purchase agreements and/or preferred supplier arrangements are in place.

Research / Project Management 

• Plan the research and development of workflow technologies that can support existing and future research projects at the University of Calgary.
• Write presentations, technical papers, and grant applications to articulate the long-term strategy of the Research Dataflow Services team.
• Create workflow research timelines and budgets based on balancing long-term development with near-term support for ongoing client research project.
• Support staff members in sharing their work with the computational research community locally, nationally, and internationally.
• Allocate staff members to technology development subprojects based on upcoming client research project needs. 

Technical / Project Management 

• Plan the operation and function of the Research Dataflow Services Team to ensure it is delivering comprehensive design documents, infrastructure templates, and workflow specifications to the client research teams as well as meeting other assigned goals.
• Create client research project timelines and budgets.
• Create and document workflow design standards for the team and ensure all members are aware of the standards and expectations they are expecting to adhere to; consistently review the documentation and strive for constant service improvement.
• Allocate staff members to projects and coordinate with Project Managers to prioritize the incoming work to best meet the demands of the organization.
• Work closely with other teams in Research Computing Services to identify opportunities to automate research workflows and to create policies that support computational research across the University. 
• Work closely with IT Security, Identity Management and Networking teams to develop policies and services for research workflows that are compatible with other aspects of IT operations.

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) in a quantitative discipline with experience in research project design and computational workflows.
• Extensive Experience with High-Performance Computing, Database Design, and Enterprise Infrastructure Design.
• Minimum of two years of recent management experience or in a technical lead role.
• Minimum of ten years of overall experience in information technologies or computational research.
• Ability to raise, facilitate, and resolve business, technical, and personnel issues.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely to diverse audiences, in both oral and written form.
• Capable of managing concurrent projects and conflicting priorities.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

Application Deadline:  January 27, 2023

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.

Additional Information

This position is classified in the Management Career Band, Level M2 of the Management and Professional Staff Career Framework. Management and Professional Staff (MaPS) Positions are currently under review as part of the Alberta Labour Relations Board exclusion review process. Visit the HR website for more information.

To find out more about management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary and all we have to offer, view our Management and Staff Careers website.

The University strongly recommends all faculty and staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

About the University of Calgary

The University of Calgary is Canada’s leading next-generation university – a living, growing and youthful institution that embraces change and opportunity with a can-do attitude. Located in the nation’s most enterprising city, the university is making tremendous progress on its Eyes High journey to be recognized as one of Canada’s top five research universities, grounded in innovative learning and teaching and fully integrated with the community it both serves and leads. The University of Calgary inspires and supports discovery, creativity and innovation across all disciplines. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy in line with the foundational goals of Eyes High, 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 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ([email protected]) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources ([email protected]).

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