Research Agreement Specialist

UHN is Canada’s #1 hospital and the world’s #1 publicly funded hospital. With 10 sites and more than 44,000 TeamUHN members, UHN consists of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education and West Park Healthcare Centre. As Canada's top research hospital, the scope of biomedical research and complexity of cases at UHN have made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. UHN has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in neurosciences, cardiology, transplantation, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. UHN is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto.

UHN’s vision is to build A Healthier World and it’s only because of the talented and dedicated people who work here that we are continually bringing that vision closer to reality.

www.uhn.ca

Union: Non-Union 
Number of vacancies: 1
New or Replacement Position: Replacement 
Site: Hydro Place - 700 University Avenue
Department: Research Legal - Clinical Trial Agreements
Reports to: Manager - Clinical Trial Agreements
Salary Range: $80,928 - $121,392 per annum
Hours: 37.5 hours per week 
Shifts: Day
Status: Permanent Full-time
Closing Date: October 23, 2026

Position Summary

The Clinical Trial Agreements (CTA) Office is a large department situated within Research Legal and falls under the provision of both Corporate Legal and Research at UHN. The CTA Office helps to facilitate over 2,000 contracts a year for research involving human participants. 

Thousands of research studies are undertaken at UHN every year. While some involve UHN researchers and clinicians only, most involve third parties such as pharmaceutical and medical device companies, government or funding agencies, contract research organizations and other research institutions. It is imperative that appropriate legal agreements are in place to govern these relationships as well as to manage and mitigate risk to the UHN and UHN research participants. 

The Research Agreement Specialist is an essential part of preparing and negotiating legal agreements for UHN research studies. You will work on and complete a variety of agreement types including clinical study agreements, confidentiality agreements, sub site/grant and collaboration agreements, material transfer agreements and data sharing agreements. As the Research Agreement Specialist, you will develop agreement strategies and also review and assess study submissions by researchers to determine study complexity and requirements. 

The CTA Office works with an array of partners to facilitate research at UHN and, in your role, you will engage with key internal stakeholders such as the Research Ethics Board, Research Financial Services and senior management for briefing and decision-making. From beginning to end, the Research Agreement Specialist must be able to manage institutional risk and provide effective and efficient service and support to researchers and investigate barriers to study start-up. Duties will also include the development of SOPs and review tools. 

This role supports a hybrid work environment, splitting time between the office and working from home. 

This position has opportunities to be cross-trained in different modalities, leadership, growth and long-term progression within the CTA Office and at UHN. 

Duties

• Negotiate, draft and review agreements e.g. clinical trial agreements, Investigator Initiated study agreements, research collaboration, confidentiality agreements, material/data transfer agreements, sub-site collaboration agreements and related agreements under CTA Office’s for clinical trials.
• Ensure agreements are compliant with UHN policies and external guidelines and requirements, e.g.,CAHO principles, the UofT affiliation agreement and TCPS2 and regulatory requirements, e.g. Health Canada, and privacy legislation (e.g. PHIPA, PIPEDA, foreign applicable laws).
• Resolve issues, facilitate concerns of all parties and escalate at impasses in a timely and effective manner, ensuring appropriate communication at all levels.
• Prioritizing tasks to meet deadlines and manage multiple agreements simultaneously.
• Maintain agreement documentation in UHN’s contract management system.
• Participate in other tasks/projects as required.

• At minimum, completion of a bachelors degree in Law, Business, or Science or recognized equivalent required.
  •  Master’s degree an asset
• Minimum three (3) years of practical and related experience and 1 year on-the-job training required
  • Two (2) years of experience drafting, interpreting and negotiating agreements an asset
  •  Experience with clinical trial agreements, data transfer agreements, confidentiality agreements, etc. is preferred but not required 
• Strong knowledge in contract law and principles of contractual agreements required
• Ability to manage and prioritize projects simultaneously; to efficiently communicate, write, edit, analyze, negotiate and problem solve 
• Familiarity with and/or experience in contracts or in an academic research environment is strongly preferred 
• Proven analytical and problem solving capacity
• Proven capacity to excel in an independent, highly confidential, ever-changing work environment.
• Experience in a Microsoft Office environment preferred 
• Proficient skills in Microsoft Excel or PowerBI would be an asset
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required 
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills required 
• Policy development and decision-making skills would be an asset
• Attention to detail/analytical thinking and excellent organizational abilities required 

Why join UHN?

In addition to working alongside some of the most talented and inspiring healthcare professionals in the world, UHN offers a wide range of benefits, programs and perks. It is the comprehensiveness of these offerings that makes it a differentiating factor, allowing you to find value where it matters most to you, now and throughout your career at UHN.

• Competitive offer packages
• Government organization and a member of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP https://hoopp.com/)
• Close access to Transit and UHN shuttle service
• A flexible work environment
• Opportunities for development and promotions within a large organization
• Additional perks (multiple corporate discounts including: travel, restaurants, parking, phone plans, auto insurance discounts, on-site gyms, etc.)

Current UHN employees must have successfully completed their probationary period, have a good employee record along with satisfactory attendance in accordance with UHN's attendance management program, to be eligible for consideration.

All applications must be submitted before the posting close date.

UHN uses email to communicate with selected candidates.  Please ensure you check your email regularly. At University Health Network (UHN), artificial intelligence technologies may be used to assist in the screening, assessment, and selection of candidates for this position.

Please be advised that a Criminal Record Check may be required of the successful candidate. Should it be determined that any information provided by a candidate be misleading, inaccurate or incorrect, UHN reserves the right to discontinue with the consideration of their application.

UHN is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive recruitment process and workplace. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage of the recruitment process. Applicants need to make their requirements known.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.