Director General, Aquatic and Crop Resource Development

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Priority may be given to the following designated employment equity groups: women, Indigenous Peoples* (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), persons with disabilities and racialized persons*.

* The Employment Equity Act, which is under review, uses the terminology Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities.

Candidates are asked to self-declare when applying to this hiring process.

Organizational Unit:Aquatic and Crop Resource Development

Classification:MGT-4

Tenure:Continuing

Work arrangements:

• Due to the nature of the work and operational requirements, this position will require full-time physical presence at the NRC work location identified.
  At the NRC, we recognize that Indigenous candidates may have important connections to their communities and you may be eligible for an exception to this work arrangement. Alternative work arrangements may also be considered to accommodate candidates as required. To learn more about these options, please contact the NRC Hiring team using the contact information below.

The NRC is seeking a senior research executive to fulfil the role of Director General (DG), to lead the Aquatic and Crop Resource Development Research Centre and make up the ranks of its senior management team.

The incoming DG’s goal will be to lead and inspire a diverse multisite and multidisciplinary team to excel in performing advanced scientific research and technology development supporting Canada’s food system productivity, primarily through sustainable transformation of Canadian agricultural and marine bioresources.

ACRD’s largest site is in Saskatoon and it is focused on application of innovative technology and data-driven approaches to design crops that are resilient to environmental stressors and can be cultivated in northern and remote locations. ACRD’s research interests include integrating engineering, intelligent systems, data analytics, and plant biotechnology to optimize crop production in controlled indoor environments. Strategic collaborations with industry, plant breeders and other regional stakeholders, including the provincial government and academic institutions, are critical.

In addition, ACRD is investing in modernizing its R&D infrastructure, including a digital transformation, to fulfil the ambition of being a globally-relevant crop design technology accelerator.

ACRD also contributes to Canada’s blue bioeconomy through applied research that advances marine bioresource valorization, sustainable aquatic production systems, and the scale-up of marine bioproducts, while promoting environmental stewardship and community and stakeholder partnerships. This work is enabled by ACRD’s Marine Research Station in Ketch Harbour, NS, where microalgae, seaweeds, and other marine and freshwater organisms are cultivated, as well as by analytical and bioproduct-development laboratories in Halifax.

Complementing these areas of focus is ACRD’s Atypical Fermentation Facility (AFF), as well as associated analytical and downstream processing capacity in Charlottetown. It anchors an industrial biomanufacturing innovation hub in the burgeoning PEI biotech ecosystem, to support the commercialization of bio‑based products.

Reporting to the Vice‑President, Research (Life Sciences), the Director General, Aquatic and Crop Resource Development (DG, ACRD) provides strategic leadership on matters relating to agricultural and biomarine research across the NRC and works closely with internal and external stakeholders in advancing its research agenda. The DG strategically positions on‑going and new projects while spearheading growth initiatives and research…