Senior Program Officer, Indigenous Innovation Initiative

About this position

Grand Challenges Canada is seeking a Senior Program Officer (SPO) to play a critical role in building, launching, and ensuring sustainability of the Indigenous Innovation Initiative.

The Indigenous Innovation Initiative is an Indigenous innovation platform. The Indigenous Innovation Initiative is delivered in partnership with the McConnell Foundation and Johnson & Johnson. Our goal is to enable Indigenous innovators and communities to identify and solve their own challenges, transform lives and drive inclusive growth and health outcomes. Created and led by Indigenous leaders, the Indigenous Innovation Initiative is built on a foundation of Indigenous ways of knowing and being, and is deeply rooted in Indigenous values. The Indigenous Innovation Initiative is being incubated at Grand Challenges Canada at the request of, and in collaboration with, Indigenous leaders.

Grand Challenges Canada is dedicated to supporting Bold Ideas with Big Impact®. Funded by the Government of Canada and other partners, Grand Challenges Canada funds innovators in low- and middle-income countries and Canada. The bold ideas Grand Challenges Canada supports integrate science and technology, social and business innovation – known as Integrated Innovation®. One of the largest impact-first investors in Canada, Grand Challenges Canada has supported a pipeline of over 1000 innovations in more than 90 countries. Grand Challenges Canada estimates that these innovations have the potential to save up to 1 million lives and improve up to 28 million lives by 2030.

Description of responsibilities: 
Reporting to one of the Co-Chief Executive Officers, the SPO’s responsibilities will include but are not limited to: 
• Build, launch, and refine infrastructure and programs to foster and grow innovative capacity in Indigenous communities in Canada.
• Develop and maintain productive relationships with senior Indigenous leaders and elders, including the Indigenous Innovation Council, and Indigenous communities to ensure the approach remains deeply rooted in Indigenous values.
• Develop and maintain productive relationships with program funding partners and relevant Government of Canada departments and agencies.
• Shape and directly manage a portfolio of seed and transition to scale investments in innovative products, services and implementation models led by Indigenous innovators. 
• Source innovations, conduct due diligence and risk analyses, develop and pitch investment memos, and oversee negotiation of appropriate funding models and partnerships for specific innovations.
• Analyse portfolio progress, results and lessons on a continual basis, and share with key stakeholders. 
• Act as a thought leader for Indigenous innovation, and a brand ambassador for the Indigenous Innovation Initiative, representing its strategic interests and promoting its activities through collaborations and communications with a stakeholders across multiple sectors. 
• Manage other staff working on the Indigenous Innovation Initiative, likely to include a summer student and Program Coordinator.

Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum 10+ years work experience directly relevant to the initiative OR Doctoral or Masters level degree in a discipline relevant to Indigenous innovation (e.g., biomedical or health sciences, public health, public administration, engineering, environmental sciences, innovation, and others) and 5+ years work experience directly relevant to the initiative.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of Indigenous issues and challenges
• Experience working in or with Indigenous communities (rural, urban, on and off-reserve)
• Demonstrated to exercise outstanding judgement
• Proven ability to influence the actions of multiple external actors towards a common vision
• Knowledge and experience in project-level results reporting, data management and analysis
• Highly developed interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to work well independently and within a multidisciplinary team
• Demonstrated problem solving skills
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills
• The ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic and entrepreneurial environment is essential 
• Significant travel within Canada will be required
• Given the primary purpose of the Indigenous Innovation Initiative is to serve the needs of Indigenous people, Indigenous applicants will be preferred.

If you are interested in making your contribution at UHN, please apply on-line HERE. You will be asked to copy and paste as well as attach your resume, covering letter and 3 references. You will also be required to complete some initial screening questions. Applicants must be eligible to work in Canada. Please indicate if you are an Indigenous person. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and candidates selected for an interview may be contacted before the closing date. Please apply early.