Description
REQUISITION # 00672
POSITION TYPE TERM (May 4, 2026 – March 31, 2030), FULL-TIME
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Red River College Polytechnic is seeking a national Director, Labs4 to lead the transformative national College-University network for entrepreneurship and research commercialization. With $24.1 million in federal funding, this network will drive research-based entrepreneurship and commercialization across Canada, leveraging Canada’s innovation ecosystem and collaboration with 38 co-applicant and collaborating postsecondary institutions. This network will also prioritize driving impactful change in supporting Indigenous entrepreneurship.
The Director, Labs4, oversees the national Lab-to-Market College-University network's cross-Canada program for delivering entrepreneurship training to researchers at all levels through 8 regional administrative and program delivery hubs and 3 Indigenous entrepreneurship hubs, overseeing and maintaining collaborations with 38 post-secondary institutions and dozens of supporting organizations such as regional innovation networks, incubators and accelerators, chambers, and industry associations. The Director, Labs4 is responsible for developing and managing the national budget, ensuring adherence to NSERC funding guidelines and reporting requirements, and ensuring the successful delivery of the program through effective leadership, planning, monitoring, and reporting. This position ensures alignment with the national strategy, working directly with the hubs to deliver decentralized training programs and commercialization supports within a centralized National framework and standardized first in class programming.
The Director, Labs4 is responsible for overseeing a national team of regionally distributed program managers, an operations and administration team, the National program’s key metrics and evaluation frameworks, achieving program impacts, managing budgets, liaising with regional units, and maintaining relationships with Indigenous incubator hubs to ensure culturally relevant and successful programming. This role will also lead the planning of Labs4 Executive committee meetings, create mechanisms for input from Advisory councils, and oversee the team to lead the Annual summit. The Director, Labs4, reports directly to the Executive Director, Research Partnerships and Innovation, who leads and chairs the Labs4Executive Committee.
WHAT YOU WILL BRING
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Innovation, Science, Engineering, or a related field. Combination of education and experience may be considered.
- Experience in program management, particularly in the areas of research commercialization, entrepreneurship, or innovation.
- Proven experience in leading multi-site, national programs with a focus on training, research commercialization, or entrepreneurship.
- Experience working with Indigenous communities and understanding the unique challenges and opportunities in delivering programs tailored to Indigenous students is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated experience in overseeing large-scale, multi-partner, federally funded programs, particularly in the areas of research commercialization, entrepreneurship, or similar fields, or equivalent scale and seniority
- Proven ability to manage decentralized teams, inspire collaboration, and lead diverse, cross-functional teams.
- Strong financial management skills with the ability to oversee large budgets and ensure compliance with funder requirements.
- Expertise in engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including academic institutions, government agencies, industry partners, and Indigenous communities.
- Advanced ability to communicate complex ideas and strategies clearly to diverse audiences, including executive teams, funding bodies, and regional hubs.
- Ability to define, track, and report on program metrics and outcomes, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with strategic goals.
- Expertise in IP, entrepreneurship, and research commercialization.
- Must have the ability to act and represent the College in a professional, collegial, collaborative, and entrepreneurial manner.
- Experience building a respectful workplace culture that promotes diversity, learning and continuous improvement.
NICE TO HAVE
- Master’s or Doctoral degree in a relevant field such as Business, Innovation, Science, Engineering, or other related areas.
Please send a cover letter and a resume to employerrep@abcentre.org.
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