Listening Specialist
About the role
Home to seven regional programs and comprehensive health-care services, Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN, pronounced wren) is committed to meeting the current and emerging needs in Waterloo-Wellington and beyond.
WRHN is redefining the health-care experience through collaboration and innovation, addressing barriers to access, advancing care delivery, and setting new standards in compassionate, empowered community-driven health care.
At WRHN, every patient is at the centre of everything we do as we strive to improve lives, inspire healing, and build healthier, stronger communities. By listening to patients and partners, we strive to connect communities to the right care, at the right place, and at the right time.
This role is being advertised to fill an existing vacancy.
Position Vacancy: People (s) Culture and Experience
Position: Listening Specialist; Temporary Full Time
Duration of Contract: approximately 18 months from start date; Subject to change with two weeks notice
Location: WRHN @ Midtown (formerly Grand River Hospital, KW Campus)
Hours of work: Monday to Friday; Hybrid with flexibility
Position Summary :
Reporting to the Manager, People Experience, the Employee Listening Specialist is accountable for supporting WRHN’s employee and patient voice ecosystem by designing, executing, and continuously improving enterprise listening mechanisms (annual engagement survey, pulse surveys, life cycle surveys and targeted qualitative listening).
The role translates feedback into clear, actionable insights that enable leaders to improve engagement, culture, and trust in the feedback-to-action cycle. By co-leading the design and governance of enterprise-wide listening mechanisms, the role transforms raw feedback into high-impact narratives that empower leaders to build a culture of transparency and accountability.
This position exists to build WRHN’s internal capability in employee listening and data storytelling by ensuring employee insights measurably inform priorities tied to patient/staff experience, safety, and system transformation. This role will ensure that the voice of our workforce serves as a critical lever for system transformation, directly accelerating goals related to staff well-being, patient safety, and organizational excellence.
Key Responsibilities:
- Listening Roadmap & Delivery – Coordinate execution of WRHN listening activities (annual engagement survey, pulse checks, life cycle and targeted surveys), including timelines, stakeholder coordination, communications enablement, and readiness planning.
- Insight Generation & Storytelling – Analyze quantitative and qualitative data to identify themes, risks, and opportunities. Create leader ready outputs such as dashboards, summaries, heatmaps, and insight packs.
- Leader Action Enablement – Support leaders in interpreting results, prioritizing actions, and closing the feedback loops by developing toolkits, talking points, and enablement materials.
- Measurement & Reporting – Translate workforce data into strategic insights, including correlations with patient experience and safety. Identify early warning indicators for burnout or turnover.
- Ecosystem & Tool Optimization – Maintain and improve listening processes, templates, and governance. Support Qualtrics XM Platform administration and champion data ethics, confidentiality, and anonymity.
What You Will Bring:
- A passion for elevating employee voice and building trust.
- Strong project coordination and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to translate complex data into clear, compelling narratives.
- Commitment to confidentiality, data ethics, and high quality listening practices.
Position Requirements:
- 3–6+ years experience in employee engagement, employee experience, organizational development, people analytics, research/insights, or consulting-style roles.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating surveys and/or feedback mechanisms end-to-end and translating findings into leader-ready insights.
- Strong capability in quantitative/qualitative analysis, synthesis, and executive-ready storytelling (PowerPoint and dashboards).
- Experience in complex, multi-site environments (healthcare or broader public sector is an asset).
Preferred Requirements:
- Training/certification in analytics, research methods, change management, or survey design
- Experience with employee listening platforms (e.g., Qualtrics XM or equivalent)
- CHRP/CHRL (asset)
Application Instructions:
EMPLOYEES OF LEGACY GRAND RIVER HOSPITAL ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION ELECTRONICALLY USING THE EMPATH SYSTEM.
Where applicable, as per the collective agreement, the internal recruitment process will be completed prior to the consideration of external applications.
WRHN is committed to fair and equitable employment and in our recruitment and selection practices. We strongly believe in inclusion and diversity within our organization, and welcome all applicants including, but not limited to racialized communities, all religions and ethnicities, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, Indigenous people, and all others who may contribute to the further diversification of our Hospital community. We are committed to providing and fostering a respectful workplace for all employees, free from violence and harassment.
Accommodations are available during all stages of the recruitment process in accordance with the Human Rights Code. WRHN is committed to complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) to provide an inclusive, barrier free workplace. We will accommodate the accessibility needs of individuals with disabilities to support participation in all aspects of the recruitment process. Should you require this accommodation, please contact Human Resources.
If you are seeking employment on a temporary work or study permit we recommend reviewing work permit restrictions as it applies to healthcare organizations in Canada. Individuals holding a work or study permit seeking employment in the healthcare sector may be required to complete additional steps in the process. This may also apply to current employees seeking renewal of their work permits. It is the accountability of the applicant and/or employee to ensure they are adhering to their specific work permit restrictions.
About St. Mary’s General Hospital
St. Mary's General Hospital is one of Ontario’s top performing hospitals, nationally recognized for providing innovative, best practice adult acute care. Located in the heart of Kitchener – Waterloo Ontario, St. Mary’s serves as the Regional Cardiac Centre, caring for a population base of more than 750,000 people that extends from Waterloo Region to Wellington County, Grey Bruce and beyond.
Our people are at the heart of what we do. More than 1,200 staff and 800 physicians (supported by 400+ volunteers) passionately pursue our Vision to be the safest and most effective hospital in Canada, characterized by innovation, compassion and respect.
As a member of the St. Mary’s team, we offer our staff the unique opportunity to become involved in Mission work in developing countries, as part of the St. Joseph’s Health System International Outreach Program. Most recently, our staff and physicians have been involved in rebuilding lives and hope in Haiti.
We are looking for dedicated professionals who share our vision for excellence and commitment to providing compassionate care with dignity and respect. If your personal philosophy puts patients and their family at the centre of everything you do, St. Mary’s is where you want to practice.
Listening Specialist
About the role
Home to seven regional programs and comprehensive health-care services, Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN, pronounced wren) is committed to meeting the current and emerging needs in Waterloo-Wellington and beyond.
WRHN is redefining the health-care experience through collaboration and innovation, addressing barriers to access, advancing care delivery, and setting new standards in compassionate, empowered community-driven health care.
At WRHN, every patient is at the centre of everything we do as we strive to improve lives, inspire healing, and build healthier, stronger communities. By listening to patients and partners, we strive to connect communities to the right care, at the right place, and at the right time.
This role is being advertised to fill an existing vacancy.
Position Vacancy: People (s) Culture and Experience
Position: Listening Specialist; Temporary Full Time
Duration of Contract: approximately 18 months from start date; Subject to change with two weeks notice
Location: WRHN @ Midtown (formerly Grand River Hospital, KW Campus)
Hours of work: Monday to Friday; Hybrid with flexibility
Position Summary :
Reporting to the Manager, People Experience, the Employee Listening Specialist is accountable for supporting WRHN’s employee and patient voice ecosystem by designing, executing, and continuously improving enterprise listening mechanisms (annual engagement survey, pulse surveys, life cycle surveys and targeted qualitative listening).
The role translates feedback into clear, actionable insights that enable leaders to improve engagement, culture, and trust in the feedback-to-action cycle. By co-leading the design and governance of enterprise-wide listening mechanisms, the role transforms raw feedback into high-impact narratives that empower leaders to build a culture of transparency and accountability.
This position exists to build WRHN’s internal capability in employee listening and data storytelling by ensuring employee insights measurably inform priorities tied to patient/staff experience, safety, and system transformation. This role will ensure that the voice of our workforce serves as a critical lever for system transformation, directly accelerating goals related to staff well-being, patient safety, and organizational excellence.
Key Responsibilities:
- Listening Roadmap & Delivery – Coordinate execution of WRHN listening activities (annual engagement survey, pulse checks, life cycle and targeted surveys), including timelines, stakeholder coordination, communications enablement, and readiness planning.
- Insight Generation & Storytelling – Analyze quantitative and qualitative data to identify themes, risks, and opportunities. Create leader ready outputs such as dashboards, summaries, heatmaps, and insight packs.
- Leader Action Enablement – Support leaders in interpreting results, prioritizing actions, and closing the feedback loops by developing toolkits, talking points, and enablement materials.
- Measurement & Reporting – Translate workforce data into strategic insights, including correlations with patient experience and safety. Identify early warning indicators for burnout or turnover.
- Ecosystem & Tool Optimization – Maintain and improve listening processes, templates, and governance. Support Qualtrics XM Platform administration and champion data ethics, confidentiality, and anonymity.
What You Will Bring:
- A passion for elevating employee voice and building trust.
- Strong project coordination and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to translate complex data into clear, compelling narratives.
- Commitment to confidentiality, data ethics, and high quality listening practices.
Position Requirements:
- 3–6+ years experience in employee engagement, employee experience, organizational development, people analytics, research/insights, or consulting-style roles.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating surveys and/or feedback mechanisms end-to-end and translating findings into leader-ready insights.
- Strong capability in quantitative/qualitative analysis, synthesis, and executive-ready storytelling (PowerPoint and dashboards).
- Experience in complex, multi-site environments (healthcare or broader public sector is an asset).
Preferred Requirements:
- Training/certification in analytics, research methods, change management, or survey design
- Experience with employee listening platforms (e.g., Qualtrics XM or equivalent)
- CHRP/CHRL (asset)
Application Instructions:
EMPLOYEES OF LEGACY GRAND RIVER HOSPITAL ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION ELECTRONICALLY USING THE EMPATH SYSTEM.
Where applicable, as per the collective agreement, the internal recruitment process will be completed prior to the consideration of external applications.
WRHN is committed to fair and equitable employment and in our recruitment and selection practices. We strongly believe in inclusion and diversity within our organization, and welcome all applicants including, but not limited to racialized communities, all religions and ethnicities, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, Indigenous people, and all others who may contribute to the further diversification of our Hospital community. We are committed to providing and fostering a respectful workplace for all employees, free from violence and harassment.
Accommodations are available during all stages of the recruitment process in accordance with the Human Rights Code. WRHN is committed to complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) to provide an inclusive, barrier free workplace. We will accommodate the accessibility needs of individuals with disabilities to support participation in all aspects of the recruitment process. Should you require this accommodation, please contact Human Resources.
If you are seeking employment on a temporary work or study permit we recommend reviewing work permit restrictions as it applies to healthcare organizations in Canada. Individuals holding a work or study permit seeking employment in the healthcare sector may be required to complete additional steps in the process. This may also apply to current employees seeking renewal of their work permits. It is the accountability of the applicant and/or employee to ensure they are adhering to their specific work permit restrictions.
About St. Mary’s General Hospital
St. Mary's General Hospital is one of Ontario’s top performing hospitals, nationally recognized for providing innovative, best practice adult acute care. Located in the heart of Kitchener – Waterloo Ontario, St. Mary’s serves as the Regional Cardiac Centre, caring for a population base of more than 750,000 people that extends from Waterloo Region to Wellington County, Grey Bruce and beyond.
Our people are at the heart of what we do. More than 1,200 staff and 800 physicians (supported by 400+ volunteers) passionately pursue our Vision to be the safest and most effective hospital in Canada, characterized by innovation, compassion and respect.
As a member of the St. Mary’s team, we offer our staff the unique opportunity to become involved in Mission work in developing countries, as part of the St. Joseph’s Health System International Outreach Program. Most recently, our staff and physicians have been involved in rebuilding lives and hope in Haiti.
We are looking for dedicated professionals who share our vision for excellence and commitment to providing compassionate care with dignity and respect. If your personal philosophy puts patients and their family at the centre of everything you do, St. Mary’s is where you want to practice.