Director, Interdisciplinary Research

UBC Health

UBC Health enables and enhances interprofessional and collaborative health education and interdisciplinary research to train people, develop knowledge, and shape policy — seeking to address inequities and improve the systems that produce health. UBC Health facilitates cross-sectoral collaborations fundamental to translational research and the application of knowledge, supports the development and delivery of collaborative health education, and convenes university and health sector partners to build connections and capacity for collaborations that address the complex and intersecting health challenges facing society.

UBC Health reports to the Office of the Vice-President, Health and serves as a resource to all health disciplines at UBC. It is responsible for driving the vision of the Vice-President, Health portfolio by promoting an integrated approach to collaboration among all health programs at UBC and with external partners in the health sector, including patients and community organizations. UBC Health is committed to better coordination with UBC health communities – across both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses – while encouraging creativity and remaining true to the disciplines it encompasses.

By facilitating closer linkages and collaborations across disciplines and with health sector partners, UBC Health aims to strengthen the university’s impact and capacity for excellence in health education and research and its ability to contribute to health systems transformation.

Job Summary

The Director, Interdisciplinary Research, alongside the Associate Vice-President, Health and the UBC Health Senior Leadership Team, develops strategies and initiatives that catalyze interdisciplinary health research collaborations, support implementation science, and contribute to a learning health system. Responsibilities include building partnerships with researchers, other university units, and health sector and community partners to advance efforts to support research that responds to the pressing health challenges facing society. This role supports efforts that extend beyond healthcare by taking a holistic and intersectoral approach to health, complementing existing UBC strengths in health research, and working synergistically with offices and staff across both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.

This position reports to the Associate Vice-President, Health and is part of the Senior Leadership Team. The Director, Interdisciplinary Research, will work closely and collaboratively with the Directors, Collaborative Health Education and Health Systems, and be supported by the Research Manager. The expected time commitment is 0.3 FTE, for an appointment term of three years.

All UBC Health team members are required to exercise professional judgment and initiative while undertaking all responsibilities and developing relationships. The work involves building and maintaining equitable relationships with internal and external partners, including actively seeking and valuing collaboration with Indigenous partners, and patient and community organizations. It requires attention to real and perceived barriers to meaningful participation, including tokenism, power dynamics, stereotyping, systemic racism, exploitation, and other inequities. The incumbent must understand and exercise the principles of confidentiality and best practices for Indigenous, patient and community engagement, including continuous learning and adapting these practices to ensure they are respectful, inclusive, and equitable.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the implementation of the UBC Health Strategic Plan and strategize ways to enhance the impact of the unit
• Contribute to the development of the next strategic plan, ensuring continued alignment with evolving health research, education, and systems priorities
• Build and maintain partnerships to advance initiatives that support interdisciplinary research collaborations in strategic priority areas, such as addressing systemic racism and inequities in BC and enabling meaningful involvement by all populations
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships and partnerships with UBC and external research partners to enable knowledge exchange and ensure inclusion and active participation in collaborative initiatives aligned with the UBC Health Strategic Plan
• Oversee the ongoing development of a community of health research practice and mentorship, supporting and connecting health scholars and students
• Strategize approaches and conceptualize initiatives that catalyze interdisciplinary research, support implementation science, and contribute to learning health systems
• Initiate efforts that help identify priority areas that benefit from interdisciplinary research collaborations and collaborations between university researchers and health sector partners
• Initiate and support collaborations among academic and clinical faculty, health system partners, patients and community members, decision-makers and other partners on relevant translational health research issues
• Conceptualize initiatives to help optimize the application of knowledge to inform health system and societal change to improve policy, equity, and health outcomes
• Engage with UBC’s academic leaders, key staff and associates of the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, Associate Deans of Research, Office of the Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation (Okanagan campus) and, as appropriate, health authority and government partners, in aligning use of health data in translational research and in the application of knowledge to health systems, to achieve maximal synergy of effort
• Chair the UBC Health Research Advisory Committee, guiding its role in providing strategic advice on and supporting efforts related to the initiation, advancement and evaluation of interdisciplinary health research collaborations across UBC, complementing faculty-specific and university-wide initiatives, and making recommendations to advance UBC Health’s strategic research goals
• Work collaboratively with the Director, Health Systems to develop and implement a strategic approach to health systems research emphasizing implementation science and learning health systems principles, determine appropriate metrics and evaluation processes to assess its effectiveness and impact, and provide evidence-informed support for UBC Health’s role in contributing to health systems change (e.g. Gateway to Team-Based Care, TBC @ UBC)  
• Work collaboratively with the Director, Collaborative Health Education to enhance the linkages between undergraduate, professional, graduate, and post-graduate health-related education programs to promote and facilitate interdisciplinary research, and provide evidence-informed support for the development and evaluation of collaborative health education activities
• Provide leadership and functional direction to staff within the interdisciplinary research portfolio
• Perform other duties as requested by the Associate Vice-President, Health

Qualifications

• Current UBC academic faculty member with experience in providing leadership and management in an academic research environment
• Demonstrated evidence of ability and understanding in health research and in the development and execution of interdisciplinary health research programs and initiatives
• Experience with patient-engaged research and/or community-based research an asset
• Demonstrated evidence of research excellence and impact
• An understanding of the health sector, with established relationships across the university and the health sector locally, provincially, and nationally
• A keen understanding of community engagement and partnership building
• A keen understanding of current trends in health research, including patient-oriented research, the self-determination of Indigenous peoples in health research, and a more inclusive concept of research excellence that recognizes patients, the public, providers, decision-makers, equity-denied groups, and other users of research outputs as active collaborators in health research
• Proven ability to synthesize and structure ideas and information and translate strategic concepts into actionable plans
• Demonstrated skill in consensus-building, negotiation, conflict management, and change management
• Experience in strategic planning, implementation and evaluation
• Highly effective communication skills and ability to build effective working relationships with a wide variety of stakeholder groups
• Experience with and understanding of undergraduate, professional, graduate, and post-graduate education, research, and health systems
• Respect for others; ability to inspire trust; capacity to build and work with teams in a collegial environment; ability to listen, especially to those whose experience or point of view is different
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
• Demonstrated commitment to enhancing one’s awareness, knowledge, and skills related to Truth and Reconciliation and equity, diversity, and inclusion

Application Process

This position will remain open until filled. However, the UBC Health Search Committee will be meeting in July 2024 to begin shortlisting the applications that have been received. Applications must be submitted by June 21, 2024 to be considered for this initial assessment.

Applications must contain:

• A cover letter that includes:
  • A statement of health research interest and accomplishments, and how they align with UBC Health’s strategic priorities
  • A statement of accomplishments, commitments and/or interests related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
• A curriculum vitae

Please submit applications directly to avphealth.execassist@ubc.ca. Any inquiries about this search may also be sent to this email address.