From finding funding to writing grants to securing patents, countless aspects contribute to a successful research enterprise. The most important among them, though? The people.
At Case Western Reserve, Viktoriia Malysa understands this fact well. She joined the university in May as an employment and recruitment manager, a newly created role in which she’s dedicated to attracting qualified applicants.
Specifically, Malysa works to ensure candidates match with research administration positions that make the best use of their talents—and, as a result, support President Eric W. Kaler’s goals of expanding the university’s research efforts.
“Viktoriia’s can-do approach is vital to our growth and impact goals,” said Michael Oakes, senior vice president of research and technology management. “[Her role’s creation] is an important step toward ensuring the research community is able to attract and retain the talent needed for success while reducing friction throughout the process.”
Oakes joined CWRU in July 2022 to lead research growth at the helm of the Office of Research Administration and Technology Management, the central hub for research support and resources from discovery to commercialization. His team works closely with Malysa and her peers to assess infrastructure needs, standardize job descriptions, and enhance career development and organizational structures.
A personalized approach
As vital as many aspects are to her work, in Maylsa’s view, one core feature is most important: education.
“If you would like to develop, educate and give to future generations, you need to look into universities like Case [Western Reserve],” she said. “Research is how we grow not only intellectually, but as a university.”
And she practices what she preaches. According to Carolyn Gregory, vice president of human resources, Malysa is a quick learner and great listener—qualities that make her particularly successful when navigating a tight labor pool and remaining efficient.
“Especially with specialized positions, you really have to hire and hire quickly because, if not, [applicants] can be on to the next job,” Gregory said. “Viktoriia is an achiever and gets stuff done. When she was working for us as a recruiter in HR, she really understood the job market and the skills needed. We also found that she’s very good at building relationships with the hiring managers and candidates.”
Malysa’s skills navigating relationships evolved as a senior professor of education at the Crimean University of Culture, Arts, and Tourism and at Crimean Engineering-Pedagogical University, a role she held in Ukraine before moving to Northeast Ohio in 2014. While in Ukraine, she also taught aviation English—the specific language used between pilots and air traffic controllers for international flights—at the State Flight Academy of Ukraine.
Before joining CWRU, Malysa worked at Wincom Technologies as an HR assistant and inside sales manager, but always wanted to return to her background in higher education. CWRU was No. 1 on her radar.
“Case Western Reserve is a very noble place to work with a lot of perspectives,” she said. “It is a center of knowledge, beauty, architecture, and diversity.”
Part of a team
For great talent like Malysa’s to be leveraged, there has to be opportunity—and Gregory credits President Kaler creating Malysa’s role to begin with.
“Our great president saw the need and gave us the new full-time position so that we could support our researchers—that was all Eric’s doing,” Gregory said.
Malysa’s position in the Department of Human Resources is the second of its kind. Since October 2021, her colleague Austin Peterson has served as a recruitment manager focused on providing support for the staff research positions within the School of Medicine.
And in the two years since he began, he’s been immensely successful. According to Gregory, Peterson increased the quality and number of applicants while decreasing the time to fill positions—a particularly impressive feat given hurdles imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite their varying focus areas, Malysa and Peterson now share a common goal: attract the best talent to Case Western Reserve University.
Think that’s you? Peruse CWRU’s job openings on the HR website.