Research Ethics Specialist

Summary

The Unity Health Toronto Ethics Board (REB) ensures that research involving humans meets the current scientific and ethical research standards for the protection of those human research participants. The Research Ethics Office (REO) coordinates the activities of the REB.

The REO is looking for a full-time Research Ethics Specialist to join its team. The main responsibility of the Research Ethics Specialist is to manage the review of submissions to the Research Ethics Board, with a focus on high-risk submissions, and to provide advice and guidance to research teams.

This role requires knowledge of and experience applying ethical principles and research best practices, as well as exceptional organizational, time-management, and communication skills.

The REO offices are located near the St. Michael’s Hospital site. In the REO we strive to maintain work-life balance for our employees by offering flexible and remote working arrangements, with a focus on productivity where workload is reviewed regularly. This position comes with vacation accrual (plus 2 additional holidays on top of the regular statutory holidays) as well as summer and holiday hours in December. This position is also eligible to contribute to medical/dental benefits as well as pension (HOOPP).

Duties/Responsibilities

• Manages submissions to the REB through all stages of the review process, with a focus on complex and high-risk submissions
• Reviews submissions to ensure compliance with institutional, REB policies, and provincial, national, and international regulations, guidelines, and policies.
• Screens submissions to REB for reviewability (completeness, accuracy and consistency across documents) by Board members
• Provides advice and consultation to research teams on the ethics review process and submissions
• Acts as the primary liaison on behalf of the REB and REO with research teams, framing and communicating REB questions and decisions
• Creates guides, templates, and other training materials to assist researchers and research staff in navigating the eREB, preparing submissions, and addressing common concerns in advance
• Conducting special projects as assigned.

Qualifications, Knowledge and Skills

• Bachelor of Science degree or equivalent, with a concentration in a health-related discipline

• Experience in a clinical research environment (preferably within a research ethics office), with 3-5 years of experience or a demonstrable equivalent combination of specialized education and experience

• Previous experience using the Clinical Trials Ontario (CTO) platform is an asset

• Knowledge and demonstrated ability to interpret the Tri-Council Policy Statement 2, Good Clinical Practice Guidelines, Personal Health Information Protection Act, Health Canada Regulations, and FDA and Common Rule regulations

• Knowledge and understanding of the ethics review process

• Knowledge of current and emerging developments within the research ethics environment

• Familiarity with the principles, methods and protocols of clinical research and related patient care and treatment

• Familiarity with experimental design as it applies to biomedical research

• Familiarity with biomedical nomenclature

• Excellent critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills

• Skilled in organizing and establishing priorities

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituents

• Outstanding communication skills, both oral and written

• Excellent attention to detail

• Ability to adapt easily to a changing work environment and priorities

• Have conflict resolution skills Ability to work independently as well as within a team environment

Unity Health Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We strive to provide a recruitment process that is barrier-free and in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code. We understand that you may require an accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process. When you are contacted, please inform the Talent Acquisition Specialist and we will work with you to meet your accommodation needs. We want to emphasize that all accommodation requests are handled with the utmost confidentiality, respecting your privacy and dignity.

#LI-SE1