Job Description

Job Type:

Employee

Duration in Months

(for fixed-term jobs):


N/A

Job Family:

Risk Management

# of Open Positions:

1

Faculty/Service - Department:

Environmental Management

Campus:

Main Campus

Union Affiliation:

SSUO

Date Posted:

May 22, 2025

Applications must be received

BEFORE

:

June 02, 2025

Hours per week:

35

Salary Grade:

SSUO Grade 11

Salary Range:

$90,987.00 - $114,932.00
About the Office of the Chief Risk Officer:

The Office of the Chief Risk Officer offers a rewarding journey where your skills and passion for risk management will play a key role in shaping the future of the University of Ottawa. Our Office oversees Operational and Enterprise Risk Management, Insurance, Internal Audit, Protection Services, Emergency Management, and Health, Safety and Environmental Management. Our team is dedicated to ensuring the resilience and continuity of our operations. With a commitment to excellence, you'll have the opportunity to contribute significantly to promoting risk culture within our institution. We strive to be a valued partner and key player in advising and supporting University leadership, faculties, and staff, helping to foster a culture of informed decision-making. Join us in building a resilient future for the University of Ottawa and become part of our collaborative and forward-thinking team.

Position Purpose

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Environment, Biosafety and Radiation, the Senior Specialist oversees the development and implementation of strategic and operational risk management at uOttawa in alignment with the strategic objectives of the University. The position oversees implementation of risk management programs in their respective field of expertise, policies impacting the University's facilities, properties, academic programs, and research enterprise, as well as assures compliance with federal, provincial, municipal and international standards, guidelines and statutes by employees and students through proactive / reactive programs and to resolve issues if/when they occur.


The Senior Specialist is responsible for keeping abreast of the external regulatory environment to ensure that the risks and impacts associated with their field of expertise are well communicated to the University community and implemented in a fashion consistent with the strategic and financial objectives of the University.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

Reviews and interprets municipal, provincial, federal and international legislation to understand the implications on the University's strategic objectives and operational activities, and to develop, implement and maintain programs to assure compliance and mitigate risk. Conducts gap analyses between legislation and University programs and best practices to determine level of compliance. Meets with faculties, services, and student groups (as applicable) to communicate requirements, requests input and recommendations to determine roles and responsibilities in developing, implementing, and updating program elements to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and to mitigate risk. Monitors the external environment and plans for opportunities and challenges (e.g., proposed regulatory changes, changes in regulatory agency directions, research funding agency changes, accident and incident trends, increased student enrolment, etc.) Manages regulatory licences, certificates, permits, approvals applicable to their area on behalf of the institution. Ensures conditions are communicated to applicable stakeholders within the University. Liaises and provides timely reports to the respective university committees, government departments, as required. Develops policies, programs, procedures, and guidelines that facilitate compliance in their respective area of expertise. Undertake periodic reviews to ensure they are effective and are being complied with. Recommend actions to increase efficiency and effectiveness of processes in place. Develops and provides training related to their area of expertise. Monitors and assures performance on behalf of the institution. Conducts assessments, inspections, audits, and evaluations to ensure compliance and consistency of specific programs with the broader University management systems. Develops and maintains databases and data management systems to maintain institutional records to demonstrate due diligence and compliance. Reviews renovation, retrofit, and construction projects or plans and provides technical guidance and recommendations to assure compliance with applicable laws, best practices and to reduce risk. Assess engineering controls, administrative controls, personal protective equipment requirements and work practices, recommend changes where appropriate Receives and reviews incident/accident reports related to their mandate, using analytical techniques and critical thinking methods, and conducts interviews, identifies trends, help to resolve compliance issues with the help of faculties and services, and carries out follow-up actions to assure compliance and reduce risk. Provides expert support to the uOttawa emergency response teams based on their area of expertise and provides input on the University's business continuity plans. Implements security controls in accordance with their applicable program, regulator, funding agency, etc. Participates in the budgeting and procurement processes, including the purchases of products/services required to maintain respective program operations, and the selection, evaluation and management of vendors and contractors associated with their program.

What you will bring:

University degree (post-graduate an asset for some positions) with acceptable specialization relevant to the position. Minimum 5 years working experience in risk management, with expertise in area relevant to position. Professional qualification in their field of expertise is highly desired. Knowledge of international, federal, provincial, and municipal legislation, regulations and best practices. Knowledge of legislative requirements for research-based laboratory environments. Knowledge of University and research environments. Experience in assessing policy and regulatory requirements and in the methods and procedures for ensuring compliance. Ability to apply critical thinking to analyze complex problems or situations and develop innovative and risk-based solutions that optimize resources. Superior communication and interpersonal skills to be able to work with management, academic, research, medical and administrative staff, as well as student populations (graduate and undergraduate) Experience in the interpretation of regulations codes and standards, and providing services to both academic and non-academic environments as typically found in a University setting. Experience in conducting risk analysis, inspections and audits including preparing assessment reports. May require a police background check or enhanced security clearance based on the needs of the program. Ability to analyze problems, identify relationships and develop solutions. Ability to plan, organize and prioritize workload. Ability to collaborate, negotiate, develop and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders. Ability to work in a stressful environment. Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. Ability to supervise consultants / contractors as required. Possess superior analysis, resolution and crisis management skills. Participates in office's on-call program, which may include wearing a pager and/or cell phone during both working and off hours. Participates in University Committees as required. Bilingualism (spoken and written) French and English.

#LI-GC1

Key Competencies at uOttawa:

Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa:

Planning:

Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.

Initiative:

Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.

Client Service Orientation:

Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.

Teamwork and Cooperation:

Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.



The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact hrtalentmanagement@uottawa.ca to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position:

The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.



If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.


Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 - Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.