Research Officer(s), Life Cycle Inventories (LCIs) for the Built Environment

The NRC Advantage

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The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is the Government of Canada's largest research organization supporting industrial innovation, the advancement of knowledge and technology development. We collaborate with over 70 colleges, universities and hospitals annually, work with 800 companies on their projects, and provide advice or funding to over 8000 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) each year.

We bring together the brightest minds to deliver tangible impacts on the lives of Canadians and people around the world. And now, we want to partner with you.  Let your expertise and inspirations make an impact by joining the NRC.

At the NRC, we know that diversity enables excellence in research and innovation. We are committed to a diverse and representative workforce, a safe and respectful work environment, and contributing to a more inclusive Canadian innovation system.  We welcome all qualified applicants and encourage you to complete the employment equity self-declaration questions during the job application process.

Please let us know of any accommodation measures required to help you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner. Please note that the information you provide will be treated confidentially. 

Your Challenge

Help bring research to life and drive your career forward with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Canada's largest research and technology organization.
 

We are looking for Research Officers, Life Cycle Inventories to support our Construction Research Centre. The Research Officers, Life Cycle Inventories would be someone who shares our core values of Integrity, Excellence, Respect and Creativity.  

The Implementation of an NRC Platform

Federal Budget 2022 proposed that the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) receive $183.2 million over seven years (2022-23 to 2029-30) to transition the Canadian construction sector towards decarbonization and a more resilient built environment. The funding will support the implementation of an NRC Platform to Decarbonize the Construction Sector at Scale consisting of three integrated and synergistic “thrusts” to advance the transformation of Canada’s construction sector and contribute to the emerging low-carbon economy.
 

The thrusts consist of two Challenge Programs that will develop low-carbon and digitalized solutions, as well as a series of deployment solutions thrust that leverages NRC activities (National Model Construction Codes, Canadian Construction Materials Centre, and the National Master Construction Specification) to accelerate the scale and speed of deployments of low-carbon technologies at a pace for the sector to achieve its 2050 greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon reduction targets. These investments will leverage private sector capacity in support of climate change mitigation, spur the growth of Canada’s clean technology sector, and help achieve Canada’s international commitments to reduce GHG emissions.

The primary responsibility of an NRC RO is to support the goals of NRC and the Research Centre through research of international calibre and the development and application of advanced technologies. The RO works in a team environment with researchers and technical experts in world-class facilities. Activities also include the development of proposals for new research initiatives, project management, and providing service to NRC clients.  The RO provides input into the overall direction and research priorities for the program area within the context of the Research Centre strategic plan.

The incumbent will support the Low-Carbon Construction Challenge Program.  This program (approximately $70M over seven years) will drive transformation to low-carbon construction.  The program will enable Canadian industry to develop and produce the materials, products, and services needed for net-zero carbon new and retrofit construction.  
 

Your Challenge (con't)

The program will be specifically designed to harness and focus Canada’s research and innovation capacity in industry, academia and research-based federal departments to address knowledge gaps in the identification, specification, development and procurement of low-carbon materials and products. It will include the development of carbon accounting tools, guidelines, specifications, a national lifecycle inventory database for construction materials, new products and advanced low-carbon solutions to create a level-playing-field upon which industry can innovate and be rewarded for bringing low-carbon materials and solutions to market. 
 

Initially, it will support and enable federal green procurement policy based on lifecycle carbon, but these foundational tools and products also build industry competency and capacity that must be present before lifecycle carbon can be regulated in private and public sector construction projects.  Large-scale demonstration projects with early adopters will showcase the ability of new industry-developed technologies and services to help reduce the lifecycle carbon footprint while reducing the total cost of ownership of the asset.  
 

The LCI incumbent will join a team in the newly created Centre of Excellence for Construction Life-Cycle Assessment to perform research that supports a low-carbon built environment through design, construction, building and infrastructure operation, to the end of life.
 

The LCI incumbent will provide technical leadership that will guide and contribute to research and development activities that provides the technical underpinnings to a large multi-party initiative that aims to produce guidelines, benchmarks, LCI datasets and life cycle assessment (LCA) databases, industry collaborations, and calculation tools.
 

The LCI incumbent will contribute research and development activities to establish a centralized and validated Canadian Construction LCI database for construction materials that also provides interoperability solutions to harmonize with existing LCI datasets. The LCI incumbent will contribute to the development of foundational LCI datasets.
 

The LCI will interact with diverse stakeholders, including representatives of government, industry and academia.  For the next five years the work will focus on the built environment, construction materials and products, buildings, and infrastructure. Work in support of other LCI/LCA opportunities is possible.
 

Screening Criteria

Applicants must demonstrate within the content of their application that they meet the following screening criteria in order to be given further consideration as candidates:

Education

A PhD in engineering with an emphasis on life cycle inventories (LCIs) Preference may be given to candidates who have a multidisciplinary background of materials, chemistry, and/or structural architecture.
 
A PhD in a related field or a Master’s degree in engineering, combined with significant experience of applied research in life cycle inventory development may also be considered.
 
 

For information on certificates and diplomas issued abroad, please see Degree equivalency

Experience

• Experience in LCI, in data collection and database structure, interpretation of results, and ensuring data quality.
• Experience in research proposal development, project execution, documentation, and reporting.
• Experience in both written and oral communication to a broad range of audiences, such as industry, conferences, trade shows, community professionals, review committees.
• Experience in working with diverse stakeholders and/or clients.

 
The following may be considered assets:
 

• Experience in  LCCA of buildings and/or civil engineering infrastructures
• Experience related to climate sustainability and resilience and of the built environment, biogenic carbon and land use change 
• Experience working on guideline development, standard, or code, and leading and developing the documentation for consultative exercises
   

Condition of Employment

 Reliability Status

Language Requirements

English 

Information on language requirements and self-assessment tests

Assessment Criteria

Candidates will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

Technical Competencies

• Solid ability to conduct LCA and LCI analysis, including gathering data, creating models, and interpreting results.
   
• Familiarity with LCI databases and solid ability to develop Life cycle inventory datasets.
   

Behavioural Competencies

Competency Profile(s)

For this position, the NRC will evaluate candidates using the following competency profile(s):  Research

View all competency profiles

Relocation

Relocation assistance will be determined in accordance with the NRC's directives.

Compensation

This position is classified as a Research Officer (RO), a group that is unique to the NRC. Candidates are remunerated based on their expertise, outcomes and impacts of their previous work experience relative to the requirements of the level. The salary scale for this group is vast, from $57,220 to $161,754 per annum, which permits for employees of all levels from new graduates to world renowned experts to be fairly compensated for their contributions.
 

NOTE: Please note that the full RO/RCO salary scale has five levels. Salary determination will be based on a review of the candidate’s expertise, outcomes and impacts of their previous work experience relative to the requirements of the level.  As such, the initial salary could be within another level of the RO/RCO salary scale (i.e. above or below the intended level for this position).
 

NRC employees enjoy a wide-range of competitive benefits including comprehensive health and dental plans, pension and insurance plans, vacation and other leave entitlements.

Notes

• ​A pre-qualified list may be established for similar positions for a one year period.
• Preference will be given to Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada. Please include citizenship information in your application.
• The incumbent must adhere to safe workplace practices at all times.
• We thank all those who apply, however only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.