Careers at Niagara Health

Job Details

Job Title:

RESEARCH SCIENTIST LEVEL 1, TFT

Posted Date:

2025-08-29

Closing Date:

2025-09-04

Functional Discipline:

NIAGARA HEALTH KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTE

Job Description

VACANCY DETAILS

VACANCY NUMBER: 0000041439EF

JOB TITLE: RESEARCH SCIENTIST LEVEL 1, TFT
STATUS: TEMPORARY FULL TIME
DEPARTMENT: NIAGARA HEALTH KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTE
LOCATION: MAROTTA FAMILY HOSPITAL, ST. CATHARINES (HYBRID)
HOURS OF WORK: 75 HOURS PER PAY PERIOD

POSTING DATE: 29 August 2025
CLOSING DATE: 4 September 2025

UNION: NON UNION
WAGE RANGE: $59.949 - $70.515 per hour

POSITION OBJECTIVE:

The Niagara Health Knowledge Institute (NHKI) was established in May 2023 as a one-of-a-kind Knowledge Institute affiliated with Niagara Health, a community hospital in Canada, integrating a strong applied health research and education hub with impactful clinical programs. The NHKI is led by Dr. Jennifer Tsang, the Executive Director and Chief Scientist.

The purpose of the NHKI is to improve patient care and experience by embedding research into clinical practice and the vision is to transform healthcare through leading community hospital-based research. To this end, we are seeking to fill the position of a Research Scientist with a researcher who has experience in the field of health systems research and can contribute scientific inquiry aligned to one of the strategic initiatives of the NHKI: research capacity building, and/or patient experience and engagement, and/or care of older persons, and/or the learning health system. The successful candidate will have an established record of research related to the theory, design and/or implementation of interventions in one of these areas as demonstrated by publications in peer-reviewed journals, peer-reviewed funded research, conference presentations, and proficiency in applying health research methods to advance care in health services, health systems and population health research initiatives. An established record of collaboration is also a prerequisite for this position.

The NHKI also has a strategic focus on research training and mentorship and therefore the successful candidate will be a regular and engaged contributor to the Health Research Methodology Graduate Program or other educational programs at McMaster University. This includes, but is not limited to, course delivery, supervision of undergraduate and graduate students, and participation in other educational and knowledge translation activities. The successful candidate is expected to seek salary support and research grants from competitive research funding agencies including but not limited to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The successful candidate will be accountable to the Executive Director and Chief Scientist of the NHKI and work collaboratively with other NHKI staff and Niagara Health employees engaged in the NHKI activities.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

o Applies advanced knowledge of research methodologies and hypotheses in the development/initiation of research studies - sets research goals and objectives
o Leads and directs the writing and submission of grant applications in close collaboration with clinicians and research teams (minimum of 2 grant submissions per year)
o Implements and interprets study protocols
o Ensures adequate quality control by setting standards, monitoring results and instituting appropriate steps in the research processes
o Independently collects, tabulates and analyzes study-related data
o Analyzes/interprets results - draw conclusions for review and incorporates into reports/presentations
o Prepares and submits applications for peer-reviewed, competitive research grants and salary awards to secure external funding and advance the NHKI
o Leads authorship and/or co-authorship of journal articles; responsible for academic output of research studies with an expectation of a minimum of 4 peer-reviewed manuscript submissions per year
o Presents study results at in-person local, provincial, national and international conferences with an expectation of a minimum of one in-person conference presentation per year
o Attends in-person local, provincial, national and international meetings to promote the NHKI with an expectation of a minimum of one in-person meeting per year
o Creates, develops and delivers educational opportunities (workshops, webinars, online courses) to facilitate the uptake of evidence-based practice into practice settings
o Assists with recruiting, hiring, supervising and performance review of research staff and trainees including but not limited to undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and medical students
o Contributes to the Health Research Methodology Graduate Program or other educational programs at McMaster University
o Other responsibilities as assigned by the Executive Director and Chief Scientist, NHKI

The responsibilities described above are representative and are not to be construed as all-inclusive.

QUALIFICATIONS:

o PhD in health research methodology, health services research, health systems research or a related field
o Track record in the theory, design and/or implementation of interventions in one of the following fields: research capacity building, and/or patient experience and engagement, and/or care of older persons, and/or the learning health system, demonstrated by publications in peer-reviewed journals, peer-reviewed funded research and conference presentations
o Proficiency in applying health research methods to advance care in health services, health systems, and population health research initiatives
o High proficiency in qualitative (e.g., Dedoose, NVivo) and quantitative (e.g., SPSS, SAS, R) research software
o Experience with a broad range of research methodologies including quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods
o Experience with grant proposal and manuscript writing
o Track record of publications (as first author or senior author)
o Ability to work independently as well as part of a multi-disciplinary team
o Strong communication skills (oral and written) applied in both technical and lay-language communications
o Excellent organizational, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills
o Ability to multi-task and prioritize tasks, and work accurately and effectively with deadlines (including tight deadlines)
o Ability to work flexible hours including after hours, weekends and holidays to meet tight deadlines
o Highly motivated and willing to independently-learn new methods
o Experience working with and knowledge of local health system partners
o Experience working with integrated knowledge mobilization research
o Skills in innovative teaching and learning pedagogy (in-person and online) in postsecondary institution
o Demonstrates leadership in executing plans in partnership with various interested and affected parties

Questions, quoting the job posting number, may be directed to hrrecruit@niagarahealth.on.ca

At Niagara Health, we value diversity, equity and inclusion, and welcome applications from all people. We are especially interested in hearing from you if you are excited about being part of a respectful and hard-working team in the beautiful Niagara Region, have a passion for service and excellence in healthcare, have a background or related expertise in the healthcare environment, supporting patient care and providing extraordinary customer-service.

In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the Ontario Human Rights Code, Niagara Health will provide accommodations through the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. If selected to participate in the recruitment and selection process, please inform Human Resources of the nature of any accommodation(s) that you may require in respect of any materials or processes used to ensure your equal participation.

At Niagara Health, we are committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. As a part of this work, we collect information on Ontario Human Rights Code grounds and non-Code grounds in order to: hire and retain diverse talent, prevent and/or address systemic barriers to access and opportunity, improve service delivery and programs and advance diversity and inclusion overall. All identification questions are optional and include a "prefer not to answer" option.

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