Change The Game Research Assistant (8-Month Contract)

Company Description

At Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Partnership (MLSE), we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that is representative of our community and where all employees feel they belong and can reach their full potential. We are Canada’s preeminent leader in delivering top quality sport and entertainment experiences and one of North America’s leading providers of exceptional fan experiences. We are the parent company of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs, the National Basketball Association’s Toronto Raptors, Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC, the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts and development teams with the Toronto Marlies (American Hockey League), Raptors 905 (NBA G League), Toronto FC II (MLS NEXT Pro League) and Raptors Uprising Gaming Club, the Toronto Raptors Esports franchise in the NBA 2K League.

MLSE owns and/or operates all the venues our teams play and train in, including Scotiabank Arena, BMO Field, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Ford Performance Centre, BMO Training Ground, and OVO Athletic Centre. We also provide fans in Toronto with incredible live music and entertainment events, as well as exceptional culinary experiences through our restaurants (e11even and RS) and clubs (Hot Stove Club, ScotiaClub and Platinum Club). Through MLSE Foundation, we have invested more than $45 million into Ontario communities since 2009 and with MLSE LaunchPad, we provide a place where youth facing barriers use sport to recognize and reach their potential.

We achieve all of this through our Common Purpose - to unite and empower our employees to create extraordinary moments for our fans and each other. Come be a part of the team.

You will be working on an energetic and dynamic Research & Evaluation team to engage youth and organizations serving youth, advance recruitment, and outreach goals, and support the organization, collection, mixed methods analysis, and dissemination of data of from a variety of sources including surveys, focus groups and key informant interviews. This team prides itself on conducting timely, efficient, and impactful research in the youth sport sector, and puts our ‘youth first, always’ value at the core of its work.

As a Change the Game Research Assistant, you will get the opportunity to engage an intersectionally diverse cross section of youth voices in research about sport access, engagement, and equity, while supporting the transition of a survey-based research program to one which also includes rich qualitative depth and solutions-focused participatory methods. With support from Canada’s Abuse-Free Sport research grant award program, you will further collaborate with organizations representing multiple types and levels of sport, as well as the University of Toronto Center for Sport Policy Studies in the development, piloting and evaluation of evidence-informed practices and approaches for improving the safety of sport cultures and environments for youth.

Lastly, you will have the opportunity to support the execution of a robust knowledge mobilization strategy that includes report writing, public dashboard creation, events and the development of audience-specific awareness and discussions on key themes emerging from the research.

If you are a driven, curious self-starter who can build relationships with youth, parents and staff of organizations who work with youth, find insights in data from quantitative, qualitative, and participatory methods, and function effectively in a community-based youth environment, you may be a strong fit for this Research Assistant role.

What you’ll be doing:

• Communicate effectively with youth, parents, researchers, staff, and volunteers of organizations who work with youth.
• Some local travel required within the Greater Toronto Area
• Coordinate the implementation of community-based research activities and processes.
• Prepare data visualizations for key knowledge mobilization outputs emerging from the research including for reports, an interactive results dashboard, infographics, and social media content.
• Other duties as required.
• Assist in the preparation and delivery of presentations for internal and external stakeholders.
• Recruit, engage and coach youth in the administration of data collection procedures such as through the co-facilitation of focus groups and participatory methods.
• Act as a data custodian for physical and electronic data in adherence to privacy policies and ethical standards.
• Implement a data collection and analysis schedule in adherence with timelines outlined in the research grant and related ethics guidelines.
• Create, edit and collate research-related documents, including outreach materials, reports, one-pagers, engagement toolkits and slide decks.

Qualifications

Note: Before reviewing the qualifications listed below, we want you to know that we understand you may not meet all the qualifications described and have other relevant expertise and experience. We invite you to please share this with us in the "Message to the Hiring Manager" section of our online application.

• You are an authentic communicator.
• You create systems and processes that enable you to effectively project manage your work, adhere to project timelines, anticipate challenges proactively, and produce impactful and quality work. You are confident using tools like Microsoft Office, data analysis programs like R, Python, and NVivo, data visualization software like Tableau, and/or are comfortable efficiently learning new types of software and application as needed.
• You have the knowledge to conduct or support research and evaluate data collection, analysis, and visualization. You enjoy being curious, finding insights and opportunities in data from a variety of sources, and sharing knowledge in transparent and accessible ways.
• You have experience in both statistical and qualitative research methods.
• You work well in a highly collaborative environment, accept, and share constructive feedback, and are ready to both lead and pitch in depending on what the team and situation requires.
• You are collaborative.
• You bring forward exciting ideas and insightful input to the work you do. You ask questions and apply your creativity toward developing new and effective practices for engaging youth in the research process.
• You are a creative thinker.
• You have good understanding of the communities we serve and aspire to create equitable opportunities and strengths-based environments for youth in sport. You have familiarity with applying anti-oppressive, anti-racist, inclusive principles to your work and engage in continued learning in these areas.
• You communicate thoughtfully in both verbal and written mediums. You are able to build effective relationships with both youth and staff of organizations inside and outside of sport and are comfortable working independently and as part of a diverse team of individuals from varying ages, cultural backgrounds and lived experiences.
• You are well organized.
• You are community minded.

Extras that can support your application:

• You can speak and write in both English and French.
• You are familiar with safe sport issues and challenges in Canada.
• You have lived experience as Indigenous, Black, racialized, having a disability and/or as a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
• You can quickly learn and orient others to new software and digital applications.

Additional Information

Apply by: July 3, 2023

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

At MLSE, we are committed to building an equitable, diverse and inclusive organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. MLSE will provide reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities in the job application process. If you have difficulty using our online application system and you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email [email protected]. Please note this email is only for accommodation requests. Resumes sent to this email address will not be considered.