Research Assistant

at  Western University

ABOUT WESTERN

With an international reputation for success, Western ranks as one of Canada’s top research-intensive universities. Our research excellence expands knowledge and drives discovery with real-world application. Western also provides an exceptional employment experience, offering competitive salaries, a wide range of employment opportunities and one of Canada’s most beautiful campuses.

ABOUT US

The Department of Psychiatry is a diverse city-wide clinical academic department at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. The department encompasses the University, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), St. Joseph’s Health Care, London (SJHC), London and St. Thomas, and the Child and Parent Resources Institute (CPRI).
The vision for the Department of Psychiatry is to be the acknowledged Centre of Excellence for psychiatric care and discovery in South Western Ontario with a mission to translate clinical research into treatment and provide regional consultation within interdisciplinary models of care. The Department of Psychiatry is comprised of approximately 80 Clinical Academics, 7 Basic Research Scientists, 36 trainees and 12 administrative staff including the Manager, Administration & Finance.

Education:

• An advanced degree (Masters-level preferred) in international development, global health, or mental healt

Experience:

• At minimum 2 years of experience leading global health project

Skills, Abilities & Expertise:

• Experience with mixed methods research (including data collection and analysis)
• Experience with projects that focus on curriculum development, provision of psychosocial support, and catalyzing young people as agents of positive change
• Excellent communication skills in English, and a willingness to learn Spanish
• Strong interpersonal skills
• A capacity to work under pressure, while still being highly organised
• A passion for humanitarian/development work
• Ability to work independently and effectively as a member of the team to achieve department goals
• Verbal and written communication skills with the ability to document technical informatio

The Research Assistant will support the coordination and management of research initiatives, and related needs, for the El Salvador Mindful Social Innovation (MSI) Lab program focused on catalyzing young people/practitioners as champions for mental well-being and reconciliation. The MSI Lab includes an in-person 14 day lab (on sensemaking, ideating, and prototyping), with 1-year virtual support (on implementation and evaluation), 3-day convening (to discuss evaluation and scale-up strategies).

The Research Assistant will primarily be responsible for the following:

• Day-today duties required for the program, including organising meetings and capturing meeting minutes
• Data collection, entry, and processing
• Contributing to writing ethics submissions, grant applications and journal articles and publications
• Assist in the dissemination of research results arising from these projects

The Research Associate will also contribute in the following manner:

• Curriculum Development:
• MSI curriculum adaptation and train-the-trainers model development, with close collaboration with key community stakeholders
• Use previously captured information to feed into the development of the curriculum and model; and/or conduct a rapid needs assessment, interviews, and/or focus groups to understand needs, barriers, and opportunities (including related to gender, inclusivity, and conflict sensitivity indicators)
• Monitoring & Evaluation:
• Developing monitoring & evaluation protocols and systems
• Reviewing data from monitoring & evaluation systems to track the quality of the program and design improvement measures
• Knowledge Translation/Dissemination
• Developing knowledge products to contribute to global evidence on what works
• Support other projects as needed:
• Contextualization of the Mindfulness Staff Training initiative
• Creation of participatory video and handbook aimed at understanding the link with historical memory and mental health

Qualifications

Education:

• An advanced degree (Masters-level preferred) in international development, global health, or mental health

Experience:

• At minimum 2 years of experience leading global health projects

Skills, Abilities & Expertise:

• Experience with mixed methods research (including data collection and analysis)
• Experience with projects that focus on curriculum development, provision of psychosocial support, and catalyzing young people as agents of positive change
• Excellent communication skills in English, and a willingness to learn Spanish
• Strong interpersonal skills
• A capacity to work under pressure, while still being highly organised
• A passion for humanitarian/development work
• Ability to work independently and effectively as a member of the team to achieve department goals
• Verbal and written communication skills with the ability to document technical information