Mixed Methods Research Associate

The SickKids Centre for Global Child Health provides a dedicated hub for global child health-focused activities and connects researchers and health-care professionals around the world. The Centre is dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families in resource-poor environments through collaboration in ground-breaking research, sustainable capacity building through education, and the active communication of results through knowledge translation, networks and advocacy.

Position Description

Reporting to the Principal Investigator via the Senior Program Manager, the Research Associate will serve as the technical lead on one or more projects focusing on the health of women and children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). With training and expertise in both qualitative and quantitative health-related research methods, the selected candidate will manage a collaborative team of junior researchers and work closely with other senior research staff (e.g., biostatisticians, other research associates) and the PI to plan, execute and report on all project activities. S/he will be required to coordinate and ensure the quality of all research activities; maintain strong working relationships with external project stakeholders, including in-country academic partners, funders, and government representatives; draft reports, manuscripts and other project outputs; and manage a large volume of email traffic and online meetings.

Examples of current projects in the principal investigator’s research portfolio include mixed methods case studies to examine progress in reducing the burden of malnutrition among women and children in selected countries, progress in improving women’s health and well-being, progress in integrating and implementing activities to achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, and country readiness to expand and scale-up facility-based newborn care.

Here’s What You’ll Get to Do:

• Oversee all project components, which may include conceptual framework development, systematic reviews, quantitative analyses of household survey and other data, qualitative data collection and analyses, and policy, financing, and health systems analyses
• Lead a team of junior researchers while collaborating with other senior-level colleagues
• Work closely with in-country academic partners and other key project stakeholders, including funders
• Organize and lead regular internal and external team meetings
• Work with a range of relevant data sources available in the public domain
• Generate and review text, tables, and figures for inclusion in project reports, presentations, and other outputs such as manuscripts
• Present findings at dissemination meetings, workshops, and/or conferences
• Attend Centre-related research rounds to increase knowledge and skills
• Assist with other research-related activities within the principal investigator’s portfolio, including providing technical support to other projects where appropriate and grant writing.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• PhD and minimum 3 years of relevant experience.
• PhD in a public health-related field strongly preferred
• Experience managing and mentoring people and teams
• Exceptional organizational and communication skills
• Cultural competency and the ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders
• Advanced knowledge of health research methodology and study design
• Formal training in qualitative methods
• Experience in conducting focus groups and/or in-depth key informant interviews, and analyzing qualitative data
• Advanced knowledge of descriptive and advanced quantitative data analysis in a health-related field; experience with household survey data (e.g., DHS) would be an asset
• Experience conducting systematic literature reviews would be an asset
• Experience with policy/program and health systems analyses would be an asset
• Demonstrated ability to:
• Multi-task
• Work independently, and collaboratively within a team
• Be self-motivated and self-directed
• Utilize critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Pay close attention to detail while maintaining view of the larger scope
• Demonstrated interest in and/or work experience related to:
• the health and nutrition of women, children, and/or adolescents
• health/nutrition research in low- and middle-income countries

Employment Type: Full-time (35 hours/week), 1-year contract with possibility of renewal.

Our team is currently operating in a hybrid environment, with time shared between remote and in-office work.