Research Assistant I

The Margins Lab is hiring Researchers with Lived Experience to work on a new community-based research project. The study is called AWLWHIV, which stands for The Health of African Women Living with HIV in Ontario: A Structural Approach. We are looking at what it’s like for African women living with HIV, to get health and social care in Ontario.

We are interested in studying institutions and structures. Institutions are places or organizations, such as clinics and hospitals. Structures are the ways in which different parts are put together. These parts might be people, institutions, or even ideas. Examples of structures include poverty, language fluency, housing stability, and racism.

The goals of the study are to:

1. To learn what institutions and structures make it hard for African women living with HIV to stay healthy. We also want to know how these institutions and structures interact with each other.

2. To learn what helps women stay healthy. We are especially interested in how communities and cultures help women to stay healthy.

3. To use what we learn to recommend changes in how systems work.

To increase knowledge, build research skills, and create new research opportunities for African women and Black scholars.

What You Will Do

You will interview women living with HIV who have permanently moved to Canada from Africa. Some of your work will be in person and some will be online. We will support you throughout the study. We will ask you to be in close contact with the study team.

Your specific tasks will include:

Obtaining consent from women to be interviewed

Interviewing the people in the study, using a guide

Giving surveys to people in the study

Interviewing study participants

Storing the interview data

Taking part in team meetings

Research may take place in a community, or laboratory setting and thus tasks may vary depending on the nature of the research.

Compensation and Hours

You will be paid for your work on the study, including training, data collection, meetings and other activities.

The pay rate is $30 per hour

We estimate that there will be a total of about 100 to 120 hours of work

The work will start in October 2025

Our goal is to finish interviews by March 2026

This is an entry level role with potential for progression to level II and potentially Research Coordination.

Qualifications:

You can apply if all of the following describe you:

• You are living with HIV and are comfortable disclosing this during interviews

You have moved to Canda from Africa

You identify as a woman. You could be a cis women, trans women, non-binary, or genderqueer

You are interested in community-based research

You want to learn interview skills

You live in Ontario

You are comfortable interviewing people in English

You have computer skills, such as using email and the internet

You do not need research experience. We will provide training. You will be paid for your training time.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that people in underrepresented communities are less likely to apply to jobs when they don’t meet every single qualification. We are dedicated to building an inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly, we still welcome you to apply.

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.