Research Coordinator - Institute for Mental Health Policy Research

at  Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Job Description
The Institute for Mental Health Policy Research (IMHPR) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is home to leading scientific experts dedicated to informing policy and practice on mental illness and substance use disorders. IMHPR scientists conduct collaborative research on communities, populations, health systems and global health, and develop and evaluate prevention and intervention initiatives to reduce mental health and substance use challenges. IMHPR is committed to equity, informed by the social determinants of health.
IMHPR is seeking a Research Coordinator for a full-time, contract (12 month) position to support two major research initiatives being conducted that require a strong background in qualitative research. The first project, funded by womenmind, a community of philanthropists that supports research in women’s mental health, is studying the experiences of women serving in complex international deployments to generate new knowledge on gendered mental health impacts of military service, including encounters with children and moral injury. This project will involve coordinating qualitative interviews with diverse Canadian women to understand the nature of their international deployment experiences and participatory action research to engage women in identifying recommendations to better prevent and address the mental health impacts of deployment experiences from a gender-responsive lens. The second project is supported by the philanthropically funded Rangerman Public Health Practice and Innovation in Addictions (RAPID) Lab fund which aims to promote fast-tracked, innovative and action-oriented work in research and clinical programs at CAMH to address the opioid crisis. This project is using graphic facilitation and in-depth interviews with addiction clients to uncover people’s transitions between different substances and pathways to addictions.

This position will assist with coordinating both projects with a focus on qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews with people with lived and living experiences, participatory action research (PAR), and graphic facilitation. More specifically, the Research Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating the following research activities:

• developing and submitting research protocols to CAMH’s Research Ethics Board
• recruiting study participants, organizing and carrying out PAR activities
• conducting in-depth qualitative one-to-one interviews using graphic facilitation
• obtaining informed consent from participants
• compiling and organizing and analyzing large volumes of qualitative data
• writing up study results for publications and reports (e.g., draft academic manuscripts)
• engaging in knowledge translation activities (e.g., creating presentations, infographics, etc.)
• engaging in collaboration activities among researchers, policy makers, service providers, and people with lived experience with drug use
• organizing and participating in meetings with stakeholders and research working groups
• ensuring close adherence to strict protocols for the protection of data privacy and confidentiality

This is a full-time 12 month position with the possibility of extension.
Job Requirements
The successful candidate will have a Master’s degree in health or social sciences or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and 2 years relevant research/work experience. Knowledge related to mental health, substance use, or addictions is considered an asset as well as experience interacting with individuals in research, academic, and/or service agency settings. The successful candidate will have demonstrated research and project coordination experience, strong knowledge of qualitative research design and methods, and experience with qualitative data collection techniques and ability to manage and analyze qualitative data. The successful candidate will also have excellent writing skills, as demonstrated through authoring papers, academic publications and/or reports. Knowledge of qualitative software tool such as NVivo is required. Must have experience with EndNote or similar reference management tool. Candidates must be proficient in using Microsoft Office programs and must be conscientious, reliable, mature, enthusiastic, and motivated. Experience conducting Participatory Action research, conducting research with people with lived and living experiences as well as research involving military populations and/or people with mental health and/or substance use challenges are all considered assets for this position. Candidates must possess strong organizational skills and be extremely detail-oriented. This position requires the ability to work both independently and collaboratively while closely following detailed instructions. Candidates require the ability to work effectively in a wide range of settings with individuals from diverse backgrounds. You will be required to attend a two and one-half day CAMH orientation session.

• developing and submitting research protocols to CAMH’s Research Ethics Board
• recruiting study participants, organizing and carrying out PAR activities
• conducting in-depth qualitative one-to-one interviews using graphic facilitation
• obtaining informed consent from participants
• compiling and organizing and analyzing large volumes of qualitative data
• writing up study results for publications and reports (e.g., draft academic manuscripts)
• engaging in knowledge translation activities (e.g., creating presentations, infographics, etc.)
• engaging in collaboration activities among researchers, policy makers, service providers, and people with lived experience with drug use
• organizing and participating in meetings with stakeholders and research working groups
• ensuring close adherence to strict protocols for the protection of data privacy and confidentialit