Manager, Research Contracts

Position: Manager, Research Contracts

Status: Regular, Full-time (1.0 FTE)

Start Date: May 1, 2025

Supervisor: Megan Stewart, Director Research Operations and Business Development

Program: Bloorview Research Institute

Join us in building a world of possibility for children with neurodevelopmental differences and disabilities!

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is Canada’s largest pediatric rehabilitation hospital and is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. It has ranked amongst Canada’s top 40 research hospitals for more than a decade. Holland Bloorview has won numerous awards including Greater Toronto's Top Employers, Canada's Top Employers for Young People and Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures. We offer an inspiring, inclusive, innovative, and collaborative work environment with competitive compensation and benefit packages and programs that support ongoing learning and professional growth.

The Bloorview Research Institute (BRI), embedded within the hospital, is the only university-affiliated research institute in Canada dedicated to pediatric disability, and one of very few around the world. BRI’s vision is to be a global leader in transformative, equity-driven research dedicated to enabling personalized versions of a good life across the lifespan, for all individuals with childhood onset disabilities, acquired injuries and developmental differences, their families and communities.

DESCRIPTION:

Reporting to the Director, Research Operations & Business Development, the Manager, Research Contracts position oversees the contract team to support faculty and staff within the Bloorview Research Institute.

The research contracts team receives and drafts approximately 140 agreements a year. Many of these agreements are coming from out of country pharmaceutical companies or other academic institutions. The Manger, Research Contracts is responsible for the day-to-day guidance and training of the research contracts team; the development and implementation of processes; review and negotiation of high-risk agreements including Clinical Trial Agreements that support BRI researchers.

This role requires 3 days a week on-site.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Overseeing contracts staff

• Engages staff through individual/team meetings, coaching, communicating effectively, etc.
• Monitors and evaluates staff performance, as per established guidelines, providing constructive feedback to facilitate staff development
• Ensures ongoing training and development of staff, involving identifying staff training needs, supporting staff development opportunities, ensuring staff complete required SMH training, etc.

Developing policies and procedures

• Develop templates to streamline the negotiations and contract terms with external companies
• Develops and implements appropriate system and business controls to ensure the smooth functioning of the department and the optimal provision of services provided by the department with a focus on customer service
• Monitors the effectiveness of existing policies, guidelines and procedures; recommends improvements which are consistent with recruitment trends and BRI objectives
• Identifies areas where improvements can be made to facilitate optimal delivery of services that will benefit research staff

Conducting contract review and finalization

• Manages the delivery of guaranteed turnaround times for clinical study agreements
• Negotiates and finalizes the most contentious and difficult clinical study agreements within the office
• Manages the flow of contracts to include triaging important deadlines and delivering final documents within tight timings
• Review and apply appropriate overhead rates and standard research administration charges on contracts from external sponsors

Ensuring risk is reduced for research completed at Holland Bloorview through the negotiation of the best possible terms in contracts

• Counsel Director, Research Operations and Business Development on overall risk levels and insurance limits
• Responsible for staying up to date on legislative and regulatory changes that impact contract review and informing the team of changes to policy
• Responsible for ensuring the accuracy and proper review of all contracts to include service provider agreements, clinical study agreements, material transfer agreements, confidentiality disclosures, privacy agreements and award agreements
• Responsible for determining the flow of review that needs to be escalated
• Ensures the record keeping and document retention of all pertinent agreements and executed contract documents
• Minimizes risk to the institute by ensuring the negotiation and acceptance of best possible terms around indemnification and liability

Leading the development and constant improvement of contract review services and contracts flow

• Scans landscape to incorporate contract flow improvements and processes from other institutions and organizations
• Facilitate the development, implementation and evaluation of service goals, procedures and objectives by evaluating and constantly improving standards of practice
• Benchmark Holland Bloorview’s contract review metrics against all available external metrics and information

Providing education to researchers and staff

QUALIFICATIONS:

• University degree in Law and/or Business Administration and/or Healthcare related field
• Supervisory experience with direct reports, minimum of 5 years
• Experience in the negotiation and review of research contracts, including clinical trial agreements required, minimum of 5 years (ideally in a hospital or university setting)
• Excellent negotiating skills and conflict management skills
• Excellent project management skills
• Excellent training and guidance skills as well as experience with developing templates and providing guidance/training
• Proficient in the use of the computer for word processing, preparing budget/spreadsheet, etc., required
• Excellent analytical/problem solving skills with the ability to resolve complex issues/recommend solutions required
• Excellent interpersonal, communications and customer service skills to work effectively with varying level of staff required
• Ability to foster cooperation and work collaboratively within and across departments with a broad range of interests in a highly diverse work environment required
• Ability to effectively analyze and synthetize information required
• Ability to facilitate effective teamwork among staff required