Project Coordinator at OICR

About OICR

OICR is Ontario’s cancer research institute. We bring together people from across the province and around the world to improve the lives of everyone affected by cancer. We take on the biggest challenges in cancer research and deliver real-world solutions to find cancer earlier and treat it more effectively. We are committed to helping people living with cancer, as well as future generations, live longer and healthier lives.

Launched in December 2005, OICR is an independent institute funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security.

Job Details

Position: Project Coordinator

Location: MaRS Centre, Toronto

Department: Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH)

Reports To: Project Manager

Salary: Commensurate with level of experience; total compensation includes a competitive benefits plan, plus a defined benefit pension plan (HOOPP)

Hours: 35 hours/week

Job Type: Hybrid

Status: Full-Time, Permanent

Position Summary

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), based at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, is hiring a Project Coordinator to serve as the Partner Engagement Coordinator. The goal of this position is to support GA4GH outreach and engagement activities promoting data standards uptake within the genomics community.

GA4GH is an international alliance formed in 2013 to accelerate progress in human health by unlocking the power of genomic data. Bringing together hundreds of contributors working in healthcare, research, patient advocacy, life science, and information technology, GA4GH develops tools, technical standards, and policy frameworks to enable the responsible, voluntary, and secure sharing of genomic and health-related data. Learn more at www.ga4gh.org.

GA4GH is supported by five international Host Institutions: The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, The Wellcome Sanger Institute, EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute, McGill University’s Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Institute of Genomic Medicine, and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR). Eight technical and policy-framing teams (the GA4GH Work Streams) composed of volunteer contributors develop free, open-source GA4GH products to meet specific real-world needs. The Work Streams collaborate closely with Driver Projects and other genomic data initiatives to pilot product implementations.

GA4GH also hosts a number of Partner Engagement groups that work with the genomics community to identify its needs and encourage GA4GH product uptake. These groups include:

• Communities of Interest (CoIs): Focused on Cancer, Rare Disease, Infectious Disease, Neuroscience, and the Clinical Genomics Laboratory Community
• National Initiatives Forum (NIF): Composed of representatives from national-scale genomics data programs that work to share best practices, avoid incompatibilities, and help advance genomics implementations
• GA4GH Implementation Forum (GIF): A venue for the community to share product implementation experiences and pilot existing GA4GH products in real-world settings

The Partner Engagement Coordinator will provide project coordination support for all existing and emerging Partner Engagement groups at GA4GH. This role will report to the Partner Engagement Manager and the broader Secretariat team to ensure smooth operations of engagement activities and effective communication between GA4GH Work Streams and external communities.

As part of the globally distributed staff of GA4GH, the Partner Engagement Coordinator will work with a set of key stakeholders who are diverse in geography and discipline - including but not limited to clinicians, genomics researchers, and software engineers throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa.

Position Responsibilities

• Act as a liaison between Work Streams and Partner Engagement groups, effectively communicating identified needs and opportunities for collaboration to members of the GA4GH community including leadership, Work Stream contributors, Work Stream Managers, and the GA4GH staff.
• Coordinate Partner Engagement activities, including scheduling meetings, preparing agendas, drafting minutes, and tracking follow-up actions.
• Facilitate collaboration between assigned Partner Engagement groups and Work Streams to ensure harmony across all GA4GH projects.
• Support planning and execution of workshops, webinars, and sessions at GA4GH events (e.g., annual Plenary), with a focus on engagement-related programming.
• Ensure the proper running of the groups through conflict resolution, finding creative solutions to challenges, and understanding the intricacies of working with global, asynchronous teams.
• Track deliverables and milestones for Partner Engagement activities, supporting reporting to GA4GH leadership and funders.
• Deliver high-quality documents presentations, and communications for internal and external audiences.
• Respond to external inquiries regarding GA4GH’s Partner Engagement activities.
• Collaborate with other Secretariat members to ensure coordination across Work Streams, Driver Projects, and Partner Engagement groups.
• Keep abreast of developments in genomics and health data sharing, identifying opportunities to connect them to GA4GH work.

Position Requirements

• Completion of a Bachelor degree in a health-related field (e.g. Life Science, Molecular Biology, Bioethics).
• Experience in project coordination or management.
  
• Excellent written and oral communication skills (English).
• Advanced organisational, problem-solving, and time management skills.
• Self-motivated - able to work both collaboratively and autonomously.
• Experience preparing documents, slides, and spreadsheets.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with an ability to build trust-based relationships.
• Flexibility to work outside of standard hours to accommodate international time zones.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines in a dynamic environment.
• Comfort with virtual meeting tools (e.g., Zoom) and GSuite.

For more information about OICR, please visit the website at www.oicr.on.ca.

To learn more about working at OICR, visit our career page.

POSTED DATE: November 3, 2025
CLOSING DATE: Until Filled

OICR is committed to fostering a climate of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. This commitment is central to, and mutually supportive of, our research excellence mandate. We welcome and respect the diversity of all members of our community and we support an inclusive culture for all. We welcome all applicants, and encourage applications from racialized persons, Indigenous Peoples, women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S persons, and others who may contribute to furthering a diversity of ideas within our community. OICR is committed to fair assessment of a candidate’s abilities, and consideration for diversity of thought, method, and experience. Providing an accessible workplace and recruitment process is important to us, as described in our Accessibility Plan (https://oicr.on.ca/accessibility/). Should you require accommodation during any stage in the recruitment process, please complete the form at the bottom of page https://oicr.on.ca/careers/. Information received related to accommodation will be handled confidentially.

Resume Format: If you elect to apply, please click on the “Apply for this Job” button below. You will be required to enter contact details, and to attach your resume to your application. Please attach your resume as a .pdf or .doc file.

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research thanks all applicants. However, only those under consideration will be contacted.