Research Coordinator, Community Involvement In Healthcare Planning

Staff - Non Union
Job Category
M&P - AAPS
Job Profile
AAPS Salaried - Research and Facilitation, Level A
Job Title
Research Coordinator, Community Involvement in Healthcare Planning
Department
Centre for Rural Health Research | Department of Family Practice | Faculty of Medicine
Compensation Range
$4,688.67 - $6,754.00 CAD Monthly
The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.
Posting End Date
May 4, 2023
Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.
Job End Date
Jan 10, 2024
Initial end date of June 30, 2023 until grant ethics are completed, after which the position will be extended to Jan. 10, 2024.
At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.
Job Summary
The Research Coordinator will support the Principal Investigator (Dr. Jude Kornelsen) to conduct a gap analysis to understand and document the gap between outputs of rural community voices into policy and decision-making and its uptake in health planning at regional and provincial levels.
Specifically, this project will seek to understand and address the gap between outputs of rural community-oriented voice into policy and decision-making and its uptake in health planning at regional and provincial levels. Specific objectives include:
Understanding what culture change needs to occur to increase receptivity of the output of community-oriented voice into policy and decision making; Understanding the role of community voice in policy formation at a regional (RHA) and provincial (MoH) level from the perspective of those creating policy; Understanding the implications of blended public-private models of health and social organization at a rural community level and the efficacy of these models in conveying community voice in health planning; Understanding how community input is weighed alongside other policy influences such as resources at hand, political values and the electoral cycle, cultural beliefs, experience, expertise, research and advocates; Understanding the level of priority given to diversity of voice and how diversity and inclusion is facilitated and Understanding gaps in resources needed to actualize the inclusion of community voices in health care transformation.
This work is based on evidence of the importance of pluralistic health planning in identifying local priorities and needs; this is particularly relevant across rural communities that often suffer the consequences of centralized, urban-based decision-making. It is further underscored by the role of community voice in promoting equity and increasing engagement and trust in health services, whether they be embedded in the health and social system or in private models of care, and the assumed relationship between equity and trust in improved health outcomes. The long term goals of the project are to improve health outcomes, equity and access in rural BC, through decisions and policies that respond to community-identified needs and health services priorities.
Organizational Status
The Research Coordinator will be housed at the Centre for Rural Health Research (CRHR), within UBC’s Department of Family Practice. CRHR is a clearing-house for academic and community-based researchers, policy makers, administrators and other key stakeholders working together to generate evidence to inform policy to ultimately, sustain rural health care. CRHR programs are currently funded by CIHR, the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues, the Shared Care Committee and the Specialists Services Committee, among others. The Rural Evidence Review project is funded by the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPRAC).
Work Performed
The Research Coordinator will action and/or support all aspects of the Gap Analysis project. This includes:

• Coordinating engagement with and the activities with key stakeholders;
• Designing and implementing data collection instruments (i.e., interview guide);
• Managing ethical approval for the study;
• Preparing reports (activity and financial) to funders;
• Supervising FLEX and Work Learn student involvement in the project as appropriate.
• Supporting data analysis and writing activities;
• Arranging project meetings, including preparing meeting agendas and ensuring follow-up on actionable tasks;

Day-to-day operations include:

• Overseeing and supporting student staff, including establishing work plans and providing ongoing feedback;
• Contributing to ongoing priorities, work plans and timelines within the context, responsibilities and deliverables of the project;
• Preparing and managing applications to Research Ethics Boards;
• Relationship-building with local, regional and provincial stakeholders;
• Contributing to knowledge translation activities including community-facing, policy-facing and academic reports, publications and other outputs.
• Scheduling and preparing for meetings between Dr. Kornelsen and project key stakeholders;
• Engaging in all aspects of the study, including data collection, analysis and writing activities;
• Contributing to meetings to define project strategy, objectives and directions;

Scientific Responsibilities, Knowledge Sharing & Knowledge Translation:

• Supporting ongoing interactions with project key stakeholders;
• Identifying and investigating knowledge translation opportunities and providing direction for related activities;
• Preparing manuscripts, reports and presentations to share progress, milestones and findings as required;
• Representing the research projects in public and academic presentations.

Consequence of Error/Judgement
The Research Coordinator is responsible for coordinating and actualizing the Gap Analysis project, in collaboration with the Principal Investigators, other members of the research team, and key project stakeholders. This position requires working effectively within an organizational structure and involves a high degree of self-direction, the ability to work to tight timelines, and strong interpersonal skills. Poor decisions and errors in judgment could result in delayed completion of the project and/or inappropriate planning, and could damage the reputation of the Centre for Rural Health Research, the Faculty of Medicine, and the University of British Columbia. In addition, should an error occur, the impact could be misinterpretation or misrepresentation of results in information disseminated to decision-makers, the public, and academic audiences. This, in turn, could lead to inappropriate policy and decision-making related to rural health care services.
The Research Coordinator is expected to communicate with internal senior administration, research investigators, staff, external agencies and rural community stakeholders. The Research Coordinator must exercise good will, tact, judgment, and discretion in working with internal and external project key stakeholders. Errors in decision-making may compromise the reputations of the project and/or the Principal Investigator.
Supervision Received
The Research Coordinator is expected to work independently, but to communicate regularly with the Principal Investigator and project key stakeholders.
Supervision Given
The Research Coordinator is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the research project, including supervising student staff.
Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Minimum of two years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to exercise sound judgment;
• Strong ability to compose correspondence, reports, presentations, and other written and oral materials to diverse audiences, including citizens-patients, providers, decision-makers and academics;
• Ability to work in a fast-paced team environment.
• Ability to exercise tact and discretion;
• Proven ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders or clients;
• Ability to use MS Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel;
• Experience supervising staff and managing teams.
• Ability to anticipate challenges and issues and to plan ahead;
• Ability to review, critique, and synthesize literature and information from multiple, diverse sources;
• Proven skills in project management;
• Proven ability to plan, prioritize and work effectively under pressure to meet deadlines;
• Experience building and supporting collaborative working environments;
• Familiarity with rural health services in British Columbia and understanding of the provincial health care and political system;
• Expertise in qualitative research methods, including thematic analysis and reporting;
• Ability to use NVivo at an intermediate level;
• Experience with literature review, including building search strategies, using literature databases, and synthesizing literature from diverse sources;
• Ability to work independently and to demonstrate a high level of initiative and self-directedness;
• Extensive knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods;
• Excellent command of the English language with the ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing;
• High level of thoroughness, accuracy, and attention to detail;
• Ability to effectively manage multiple tasks and competing priorities;
• Experience in health services research and health policy;
• Ability to analyze and interpret quantitative and qualitative data, and provide recommendations for policy action;