CRHESI’s objectives are to:
- Provide support to individual and organizational community partners, and to Western University professors and students, to conduct innovative research and evaluation related to health equity and social inclusion that optimize participation of and outcomes for people who experience vulnerability or marginalization.
- Facilitate a research context that optimizes engagement with community organizations and individuals with lived and living experience who both participate in and utilize data and knowledge related to health equity and social inclusion.
- Enhance the mobilization and utilization of knowledge related to health equity and social inclusion for evidence-informed decision-making in health and public policy, as well as service delivery.
- Create relationships of trust between and among funders, policy makers, service providers, service users, individuals with lived/living experience and researchers to address emergent needs in our community related to health equity and social inclusion, creating pathways for effecting positive, evidence-informed change in our communities.
- Enhance the profile of Western University faculty and students, and community partners, as leaders in research related to health equity and social inclusion in Ontario and beyond, which will not only contribute to the university’s social responsibility mandate, but will also optimize outcomes in obtaining research funding.
Responsibilities
The Program Evaluator / Research Coordinator supports CRHESI’s involvement in multiple research projects, develops new research opportunities, and supports research and evaluation activities among community partner organizations. Given the number of projects within the CRHESI eco-system, the Evaluator / Coordinator ensures that project agreements are developed congruent with CRHESI’s desired role on the project, that CRHESI is appropriately engaged in projects that include full partnership, and that CRHESI facilitates initiation of, and is involved with, newly developing projects. The overall role of the Evaluator/Coordinator is to develop relationships/create linkages between partners and support them in their research and evaluation efforts, and to coordinate CRHESI’s role and that of its members in achieving key outcomes, including both community-relevant and academic outputs.
The Research Coordinator will contribute to research competitiveness by seeking innovative approaches and new funding opportunities, as well as facilitating grant application processes. The Research Coordinator will oversee the acquisition of funding, develop research budgets and monitor expenditures to ensure compliance with the research plan and funding agency guidelines. The Research Coordinator will facilitate collaborations with investigators and community partners to ensure the successful attainment of research objectives, and manage and facilitate the analysis, compilation and dissemination of research results.
The Evaluator/Coordinator works closely with the Knowledge Exchange Coordinator. Together, the individuals in both of these roles will support the administrative functions of CRHESI. The Evaluator / Coordinator reports mutually to the Academic Director and the Community Director. The CRHESI Executive Committee provides guidance on CRHESI activities supported by the Evaluator/Coordinator.
Note: The incumbent will have working space primarily at the CRHESI workspace at Innovation Works, downtown London.
Qualifications Education:
- Master’s degree in an equity-related field of study, such as health equity, public/population health, social determinants of health, and/or marginalized populations
- PhD degree preferred
Experience:
- Experience with program evaluation, including process and outcome evaluation using qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method research designs
- A record of successful research grant or scholarship applications
- A record of successful scholarly publication
- Experience in preparing ethics submissions
- Experience in project administration is preferred
- Experience in initiating and sustaining relationships with community-based non-profit organizations, persons with lived/living experience, and/or government
- Experience managing research projects in an academic environment; experience managing and monitoring research budgets
- Experience preparing knowledge mobilization plans, in consultation with producers and users of research-based and other relevant knowledge is preferred
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
- Familiarity with techniques for planning, managing and coordinating research projects and with techniques for updating, managing and extracting data from a research database
- Demonstrated ability to initiate, sustain, and maximize relationships among diverse groups of people, especially in the context of health and social service organizations
- Project management skills to facilitate progress on multiple projects simultaneously from conception to completion within tightly prescribed timelines and in collaboration with academic and community stakeholders
- In-depth knowledge of the regulations and guidelines governing research in an academic environment and of best practices for reviewing and writing grant proposals
- Knowledge of regulations and guidelines governing research ethics in academic and community environments
- Ability to effectively engage in internal and external collaboration to identify common objectives, and implement an action plan to improve outcomes, and support collective work
- Proven ability to develop relationships by interacting with people in a professional, respectful and diplomatic manner
- Familiarity with financial principles and budgeting with the ability to ensure expenditures and resources are within allotments, and to make appropriate modifications when required
- Communication skills with the ability to converse with, complete detailed analytics and reports for, and deliver presentations to all levels of the organization
- Ability to ensure confidentiality and privacy is maintained through the appropriate retention and destruction of information
- Attention to detail with an ability to retrieve, analyze and synthesize sizable amounts of data, while ensuring that information is accurate and comprehensive
- A desire to grow and advance skills, which is demonstrated by attending conferences and other professional development opportunities
- Ability to work within a flexible schedule to accommodate the University’s events and activities
- Ability to delegate work and provide team members with clear direction and support in meeting their objectives
- Ability to investigate defined issues, solicit input, and suggest remedies and alternative approaches that meet the needs of the situation
- Ability to research new avenues of funding from federal granting agencies, industry and other funding sources
- Intermediate computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite and relevant qualitative and quantitative data management/analysis tools (e.g., SPSS, NVivo)
- Ability to work independently and effectively as a member of the team to achieve department goals
