Research Data Management Specialist (Research Technology Analyst)

• Job Title: Research Data Management Specialist (Research Technology Analyst)
• Department: Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship, McMaster University Library
• Employee Group: Temporary
• Hours per Week: 35
• Salary Range: 29.51-37.82
• Contract Start Date: Thursday April 10, 2025
• Contract End Date: Thursday September 11, 2025
• Work Arrangements: Hybrid  
• Applications are being accepted until 5pm EST on February 27, 2025 

Job Summary  

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Digital Research Commons Pilot (DRCP), the Research Data Management (RDM) Specialist supports McMaster’s RDM needs broadly by supporting individual researchers, contributing to campus-wide services, and participating in RDM initiatives within and beyond the university.  

This position requires a strong and collaborative communicator. To be successful in this role, you must be able to work collegially and respectfully as part of a team and with diverse groups of stakeholders and subject matter experts including students, research staff and research support staff, and faculty members. This role requires close work with several units on campus including the McMaster University Libraries, the Office of the Vice-President, Research and its supporting units and offices, Faculties, and various campus IT units.

It also requires a strong technical mindset, including a high level of data literacy across a range of disciplines, strong problem-solving and analytical skills, and an understanding of RDM, digital research infrastructure, data sharing and open scholarship practices, metadata, and data documentation.

In this role, you will:

• Engage broadly with the McMaster research community to promote RDM practices and understand research support needs.
• Deliver RDM training and workshops for researchers including faculty members, administrators, graduate students, and staff.
• Collaborate with members of the RDM Services team, University Library, and RHPCS to conceptualize, develop, and refine services and resources that meet needs.
• Create RDM informational and training materials, including web-based tools and resource pages that clarify and explain data management practices for a variety of audiences.
• In coordination with the RDM Services team, consult with researchers on data management planning, data deposit, archiving, and data sharing.
• Review and curate datasets submitted to institutional data repositories.
• Provide advice in support of data archiving and sharing initiatives in general and domain-specific repositories.
• Promote open scholarship initiatives through participation and engagement with local, national, and international communities.
• Provide guidance on RDM-related aspects of research funding applications.
• Provide guidance and support to research offices and ethics boards on matters relating to RDM.
• Support efforts to integrate McMaster's RDM-related systems to streamline researchers' data management activities.
• Promote and adopt best practices in data stewardship and open scholarship.

Assets:  

• Previous experience conducting research and managing research data in an academic environment.
• Familiarity with university and research environments gained through a research-based graduate degree. Strong ability to create and review documents and metadata, and analyze and synthesize datasets, with careful attention to detail.
• A general understanding of appropriate handling of sensitive data and the ethics review process, especially surrounding the ethical sharing of research data.  
• Experience and skill in supporting, training, and mentoring others, in a variety of formal and informal contexts.

What you can expect working as a Research Data Management Specialist at McMaster University Libraries  

McMaster University Libraries supports the University's research and teaching mission by advancing knowledge and discovery, inspiring creativity and building community. We deliver innovative services, welcoming spaces and exemplary collections to accelerate research, enhance learning and improve the user experience.

In collaboration with campus partners, we enable and empower scholarship at McMaster by improving the efficiency, influence, and visibility of the University’s research. We are committed to increasing transparency, enabling reproducibility, and improving funding outcomes for McMaster researchers, and to addressing the evolving needs of our research community in a spirit of collaboration and innovation through the development, support, and adoption of new research solutions.  

In this role, you would work closely with colleagues in the Library’s Digital Scholarship, Infrastructure and Services Division and the Lewis and Ruth Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship to advance and improve services and resources for scholars within and beyond McMaster. You will also have opportunities to interact with and learn from colleagues across the Libraries' other Divisions.  

This is an exciting opportunity to join a diverse and dynamic team that provides:

• A supportive and collaborative environment  
• Colleagues with a wide variety of experience, expertise, and knowledge
• Exposure to a diversity of systems, technologies, and approaches
• Opportunities to work with researchers and connect them with solutions that meet their needs.

What you can expect from working at McMaster University  

As one of Canada’s most research-intensive universities and home to more than 70 research centres and institutes, working at McMaster University is an opportunity to be involved in a thriving research community comprised of renowned Canada Research Chairs and internationally recognized research institutes. Collaborate with and support top research scientists to produce meaningful outcomes with tangible impacts on the world. Be challenged by engaging with cutting edge research questions and be instrumental in shaping the future of research at the most fundamental levels.

General Description:    

The Research Data Management (RDM) Specialist provides technical support services for research computing, and acts as a technical resource and project lead for moderately complex projects involving the development, implementation and maintenance of technology systems and services for research. The Research Data Management (RDM) Specialist works under general supervision and uses discretion to resolve various problems, including providing system administration and programming support to researchers, assisting with the development of applications for funding and other documents, developing appropriate workflows and processes, and ensuring project implementation is done using appropriate frameworks.

Representative Duties & Responsibilities:    

• Provide technical support for research-related computing and technology.
• Critically evaluate information gathered from multiple sources, reconcile conflicts, decompose high-level information into details, to determine true needs through interviews, document analysis and workflow analysis.
• Ensure that outcomes meet specified functional requirements.
• Lead and manage all phases of projects including, but not limited to design, implementation, integration, user testing and training, post-implementation support, and performance monitoring.
• Assist with the development of funding proposals, estimates and other documentation.
• Serve as the conduit between various stakeholders, service providers, vendors, end users, and project leadership.
• Take ownership of functional issues by identifying underlying problems, analyzing potential solutions and implementing appropriate resolutions.
• Work collaboratively with researchers and other stakeholders.
• Manage budgets, timelines and milestones and liaise with senior management, researchers and other stakeholders as appropriate.
• Manage workflow to accommodate multiple simultaneous initiatives.
• Review systems, processes, and information and provide recommendations to supervisor.
• Communicate issues, and system status to key stakeholders.
• Prepare and review end user and operations documentation, and training materials.
• Create and maintain a variety of documentation.
• Ensure that research community needs are a driving force behind decisions and activities.
• Read and understand complex documentation.
• Remain current with relevant technology, security policies and procedures and work with other IT staff to implement appropriate security measures.  

Supervision:  

Provides functional guidance to others on an ongoing basis

Requirements:  

• Master’s degree in a research-intensive field of study which involved the use of technology.
• Requires 3 years of relevant experience.

Employment Equity Statement

McMaster University is located on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Mississauga Nations and within the lands protected by the “Dish With One Spoon” wampum agreement.

The diversity of our workforce is at the core of our innovation and creativity and strengthens our research and teaching excellence. In keeping with its Statement on Building an Inclusive Community with a Shared Purpose, McMaster University strives to embody the values of respect, collaboration and diversity, and has a strong commitment to employment equity.

The University seeks qualified candidates who share our commitment to equity and inclusion, who will contribute to the diversification of ideas and perspectives, and especially welcomes applications from indigenous (First Nations, Métis or Inuit) peoples, members of racialized communities, persons with disabilities, women, and persons who identify as 2SLGBTQ+.

As part of McMaster’s commitment, all applicants are invited to complete a confidential Applicant Diversity Survey through the online application submission process. The Survey questionnaire requests voluntary self-identification in relation to equity-seeking groups that have historically faced and continue to face barriers in employment. Please refer to the Applicant Diversity Survey - Statement of Collection for additional information.

Job applicants requiring accommodation to participate in the hiring process should contact:

• Human Resources Service Centre at 905-525-9140 ext. 222-HR (22247), or
• Faculty of Health Sciences HR Office at ext. 22207, or
• School of Graduate Studies at ext. 23679

to communicate accommodation needs.

How To Apply

• Please your cover letter & resume as a .pdf:  
  • With the naming convention, ‘Lastname_firstname_RDMtempSpring2025’
  • Angela Di Nello, dinello@mcmaster.ca
  • Subject ‘RDM Specialist position’