Well Living House at St. Michael’s Hospital is focused on advancing generative health services for Indigenous Peoples in three priority areas: Indigenous population health assessment and response; interrupting anti-Indigenous racism in health services; and facilitating the application of Indigenous approaches, knowledges, and practices to wellbeing.

The centre is built from a foundation of more than two decades of collaborative work between Indigenous health researchers, Indigenous service providers and Indigenous community Grandparents. Well Living House is committed to using and protecting Indigenous knowledges, languages and ways of working in all that we do.

Well Living House’s quantitative population health research program stream is known as Our Health Counts. In this research program we apply Indigenous health service partnerships, Indigenist (by Indigenous peoples, for Indigenous peoples) methodologies, population health data generation methods (such as comprehensive health assessment survey, respondent driven sampling, and data linkages), and Indigenous community driven processes to create otherwise unavailable, comprehensive health information that addresses gaps in knowledge about First Nations, Inuit, and Metis (FNIM) health and wellbeing in urban and related homelands across Canada. Our goal is to address pressing data gaps and to advance and apply Indigenous models, standards, tools, and capacities for health service planning, delivery, and quality improvement of health services for FNIM in urban areas.

The Our Health Counts Principal Investigator is seeking an Indigenist Epidemiology Manager and Scientific Lead. The Indigenist Epidemiology Manager and Scientific Lead will be responsible for providing epidemiological and methodological expertise and leadership in the planning, community-controlled governance, gathering/production, management, analyses, and translation to practice of population based FNIM health information and datasets. This includes, but is not limited to: developing and implementing rigorous and culturally relevant data analyses in response to Indigenous community partner priorities; upholding and advancing Indigenous data governance and linked protocols in all Well Living House data and analytic activities; implementation of Indigenous community-controlled data linkages to health care utilization platforms; sharing of results through production of Indigenous community relevant health information products. All Well Living House projects apply an Indigenist (by Indigenous, for Indigenous) community partnered research approach which prioritizes and applies Indigenous worldviews, principles, and protocols in our scientific work.

• Weekly hours: Full-Time (37.5 hours per week)
• Hourly rate: $60.58 – $75.72 per hour
• Start Date: ASAP
• Location: Well Living House, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto ON *potential for some remote work

Duties/Responsibilities

Performing Scientific Research and Leading Quantitative Analyses (50%)

• Co-lead scientific methodology and analysis for research projects, including grants and proposals:

• contribute methodological expertise on addressing Indigenous community generated research questions and data requests;

• develop and implement data analysis plans

• track and review project implementation and progress;

• identify barriers and propose alternate solutions to meet community reporting and publication goals;

• stay current on new analytic and statistical models and recent publications in knowledge domain;

• actively contribute to high-quality grant submissions, community reports, and publications.

• Responsible for day-to-day management, planning and maintenance of the Our Health Counts program’s research activities.

• Lead data file linkages, including projects utilizing Institute of Clinical Evaluative sciences (ICES) and GEMINI (hospital data research network) data holdings

• Manage and maintain security and confidentiality of data files and records in accordance with standards of ethics and the Indigenous data sovereignty principles and protocols

• Ensure quality control by setting standards, and instituting appropriate steps for data cleaning and consistency checks prior to analysis.

• Conduct and interpret statistical analyses including descriptive, inferential, and advanced modelling including respondent driven sampling methods

• Identifies challenges and finds solutions to methodological and analytical problems that are aligned with Indigenist approaches and Our Health Counts protocols

• Lead the writing and submission of grant applications, project proposals, project reports, and manuscripts in close collaboration with the PI

• Lead and prepare study protocols and research ethics board submissions

• Prepare data visualizations for analysis, reporting, and presentations

• Lead and contribute to academic manuscripts, research reports, and additional knowledge translation products that are both scientifically rigorous and grounded in Indigenist paradigms, epistemologies, knowledges, practices, experiences, and priorities.

• Co-facilitates respectful, meaningful, and structured engagement with Indigenous organizational and community research partners through regular face to face and virtual meetings

Scientific Research Management Responsibilities and Maintaining Accountability for the Research Program (40%)

• Co-leads and develops strategic operations and business planning as they relate to the Our Health Counts programmatic research goals and objectives including advancing novel Indigenist scientific methodologies, meeting Indigenous community dissemination and publication targets, and cultivating Indigenous and allied research partnerships.
• Maintains overall responsibility for the Our Health Counts program’s research activities including ensuring accurate and Indigenous community grounded interpretation of data, identifying barriers and developing solutions to drive research projects forward, translating highly complex methodologies into simpler terms for a non-statistical Indigenous and allied audiences.
• Co-leads and coordinates all individual Our Health Counts research projects and activities to establish and maintain productive workflow for the Our Health Counts research stream. Ensures Well Living House and Our Health Counts datasets are managed in accordance with our Indigenous community data-sharing and date-governance protocols.
• Co-develops and actively maintains strategic alliances with Indigenous and allied research partners, collaborators and scientific colleagues.
• Leads and provides direction and oversight on complex Indigenous health information projects with multiple team members that include Indigenous organizational partners and external collaborators from multiple academic and research institutions.
• Makes recommendations and provides feedback to the PI and Indigenous community partners to optimize achievement of research program deliverables.
• Communicates on-going updates of research activities to OHC scientific and community leadership, team, and external partners.
• Provides direction, support, and guidance to team including technical staff, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows on project goals, research objectives and Our Health Counts research protocols.
• Co-leads initiation of new research projects, including development of proposals and protocols.
• Manages direction and oversight of Our Health Counts research projects, ensuring timelines are met and outcomes are scientifically robust and relevant to Indigenous community partners
• Integrates with the team to develop multi-disciplinary Indigenist analytic approaches and assist in advancing wise practices in by Indigenous community, for Indigenous community process development.
• Supports a culture of Indigenous cultural safety, Indigenous reconciliation in research, professional development, scientific curiosity, and excellence.
• Represents Our Health Counts at committees, scientific meetings, advisory boards, workshops.
• Demonstrates a commitment to improvement and professional development, which may at times involve travel, in order to develop, maintain, and apply skills relevant to new technologies, changing regulation or work environment.
• Identifies and develops opportunities to strengthen and enhance the Our Health Counts research program.
• Monitors and reviews Our Health Counts program scope and success applying Indigenous evaluation metrics
• Responsible for undertaking any other duties as deemed appropriate by the PI

Performs Human Resources and Financial Management Responsibilities (10%)

• Maintains responsibility and oversight for recruiting/hiring new staff, on behalf of PI including training, onboarding and continued professional growth development.
• Performs associated scheduling functions to ensure staffing levels are maintained at efficient and optimal levels (including daily, vacation, and sick time coverage).
• Ensures that research activities are completed within allocated budget.
• Ensures that budget component of grant submissions are reflective of workload.
• Responsible for Signing authority and authorization on ShopIT requests and purchases.
• Builds an effective team by engaging staff through team meetings, coaching, etc.
• Develops, mentors, trains and evaluates all direct reports.
• Promotes a teamwork environment where Indigenous and allied staff from diverse First Nations, Metis, Inuit, multilingual and multicultural backgrounds can interact productively and efficiently in a culturally safe environment that prioritizes the assertion and integrity of Indigenous paradigms, methodologies, protocols, and lived experience in health research
• Coordinates and delegates project tasks.
• Ensures a safe and inclusive working environment for staff following Unity Health Toronto guidelines and policies.

Qualifications, Knowledge and Skills

• PhD in epidemiology, public health, health informatics, data sciences or other quantitative health or social science discipline OR demonstrable equivalent combination of specialized education and experience.
• Experience with Indigenous community-partnered research or community engaged/partnered data/research work with equity deserving populations
• 5+ years relevant research experience, including successful leadership in the design, analysis, implementation, and reporting on quantitative epidemiologic, population health or applied public health research projects;
• Advanced knowledge and experience in design and analysis of multivariable models; health administrative database linkage; and academic and knowledge user data reporting (preparation of dashboards, fact sheets and manuscripts)
• Knowledge and experience with statistical software such as R and/or SAS
• Knowledge of and experience with the application of critical social theory to health sciences research
• Advanced knowledge of key health information data sources and systems health sciences/population health study designs, methodologies, and relevant statistical methods (including but not limited to survey design, longitudinal studies, RCTs)
• Ability to contribute to a culturally safe work environment that is actively advancing Indigenous reconciliation and Indigenous data sovereignty
• Aptitude for and commitment to training the next generation of Indigenous epidemiologists and data scientists
• Experience supervising data analysts and liaising with biostatisticians
• Strong organizational and planning skills to manage multiple projects in a timely manner
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Demonstrated resourcefulness and problem-solving abilities
• Effective time and self-management
• Ability to adapt to change as required
• High attention to detail

Please submit your cover letter and resume to Genevieve Blais at Genevieve. Blais@unityhealth.to

Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

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.