Open Science Advisor

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McGill’s ambition is to scale open science across disciplines, making it a foundation of 21st-century research and a driver of innovation. Open data, tools, and publishing will accelerate discovery while enabling entrepreneurs, policymakers, citizens, and communities to contribute to research and apply knowledge in practice.

This role will be responsible for guiding the University’s adoption of Open Science (OS) practices in alignment with its mission and culture. The position involves scoping the institution’s readiness for OS, identifying areas of expertise and potential early adopters, and facilitating consultations with the research community to build broad support. A key responsibility will be to contribute to the development of an institutional OS framework aligned with the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) strategic research plan. Responsibilities include liaising with University units across Faculties, libraries, IT services, and external organizations; and providing university leadership with professional advice and functional guidance to embed OS values into the University’s mission.

Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct scoping studies to evaluate the University’s potential adoption of OS practices, including infrastructure, culture, and regulatory alignment.
• Map and highlight existing pockets of expertise and identify early adopters to serve as champions of OS practices.
• Design and lead consultation processes with faculty, researchers, and students to build community buy-in and co-create OS pathways (including workshops coordination, communication material etc).
• Contribute to the drafting and implementation of an institutional OS framework aligned with the VPRI strategic research plan.
• Analyze OS-related funding sources and maintain a database of deadlines, mandates, and compliance requirements.
• Research, develop, and promote standards and practices required for compliance with FAIR principles and external agency OS regulations.
• Identify tools and opportunities to enable/facilitate/automate, the compiling and tracking of (open) research outputs, for future open science-aligned implementation
• Liaise with internal stakeholders, affiliated hospitals, libraries, IT services, and external regulatory and governmental agencies.
• Organize and/or attend meetings, conferences, and special events related to OS; represent the unit at internal and external forums.
• Participate in the implementation of new OS initiatives by keeping abreast of international trends, external agency regulations, and emerging best practices. Undertake special projects to advance OS culture, infrastructure, and policy development, and any other special projects assigned by the supervisor.

Other Qualifying Skills or Abilities

• Proven capacity to engage diverse academic and professional stakeholder groups (faculty, trainees, librarians, IT, research administration, ethics offices, leadership) through consultations, interviews, and workshops.
• Strong relationship-building skills to foster trust, encourage dialogue, and create a sense of shared ownership around Open Science initiatives.
• Demonstrated understanding of change management principles in complex institutional environments.
• Demonstrated ability to assess organizational readiness for systemic change, including policies, infrastructure, incentives, and cultural practices related to Open Science.
• Ability to articulate the value proposition of Open Science in ways that resonate with different audiences, addressing both perceived benefits and barriers.
• Solid understanding of Open Science principles (open access, open data, research transparency, reproducibility, responsible research assessment).
• Awareness of disciplinary diversity and the need for flexible, context-sensitive approaches to Open Science adoption.
• Must be able to meet tight deadlines and demonstrate a high level of professionalism in working with a team of people to achieve specific outcomes.
• Bilingual in both written and spoken English and French.

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 level #4 (qualifier) on a scale of 0-4.

For a definition of our language proficiency levels, please click here.

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