One of Canada's Top 10 Research Hospitals, Sunnybrook Research Institute is developing innovations in care for the more than 1.3 million patients the hospital cares for annually.
Sunnybrook Research Institute is the research enterprise of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. Research spans three Toronto-based campuses, eight programs and three scientific platforms. Our main aims are to understand and prevent disease, and to develop treatments that enhance and extend life. Our vision is to invent the future of health care. Each year, we conduct about $100 million in research across 500,000 square feet, including in the world’s first Centre for Research in Image-Guided Therapeutics.
Family Navigation Project
The Family Navigation Project (FNP) at Sunnybrook is a non-profit program designed to provide expert navigation of the mental health and addiction service system for youth and their families residing in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). FNP is a free service offered through phone and email that uses a combination of clinical and lived experience to support youth and their families on their care pathway. FNP is strongly committed to equitable hiring practices and building a team that reflects the full spectrum of diverse communities we partner with. Sunnybrook Research Institute is strongly committed to inclusion and diversity within our community, and we welcome and encourage applications from Black, Indigenous and people of colour, 2SLGBTQIA+ persons, people with disabilities, and those who live at the intersection of equity-deserving communities.
Role Summary:
Sunnybrook Research Institute is seeking an enthusiastic and experienced Postdoctoral Fellow to contribute to an innovative program of research focused on improving equitable access to youth mental health and addictions system navigation.
Working closely with the scientist and Family Navigation Project leadership, the Postdoctoral Fellow will play a central role in designing, implementing, and evaluating applied health services research that informs and strengthens FNP's Equity-Deserving Communities (EDC) initiatives. Research activities span multiple phases and methodologies, including community-engaged and participatory research, implementation science, qualitative and quantitative evaluation, co-design, knowledge mobilization, and continuous program evaluation and quality improvement.
The successful candidate will work collaboratively with researchers, clinicians, community organizations, youth and families with lived experience, and operational staff to generate evidence that improves access to mental health and addictions services for youth and families across the Greater Toronto Area. This is an excellent opportunity for an emerging researcher interested in translating rigorous research into meaningful system and community impact.
Summary of Duties:
The Postdoctoral Fellow will conduct key tasks including, but not limited to:
- Collaborate with the Principal Investigator and project team to design, implement, and evaluate applied mental health services research projects.
- Liaise with research collaborators, community partners, research staff, Research Ethics Board personnel, funding agencies, and regulatory bodies.
- Prepare and submit research documentation, including REB applications, study protocols, consent forms, interview guides, surveys, and other research materials.
- Plan and coordinate research activities, ensuring project milestones, timelines, and deliverables are achieved.
- Apply community-engaged, participatory, implementation science, and equity-informed research approaches throughout all stages of the research process.
- Develop and facilitate community engagement activities, workshops, consultations, and co-design sessions that strengthen partnerships and support meaningful collaboration with equity-deserving communities.
- Engage youth, families, and individuals with lived experience as active partners in research design, implementation, interpretation, and knowledge mobilization.
- Conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses using appropriate analytical methods and software.
- Contribute to literature reviews, environmental scans, implementation evaluations, and mixed-methods research activities.
- Mentor and support research coordinators, research assistants, students, and trainees involved in project activities.
- Coordinate participant recruitment, data collection, study documentation, and secure data management processes.
- Assist in developing grant applications, manuscripts, conference presentations, reports, and knowledge mobilization products.
- Develop accessible knowledge translation and community share-back materials tailored to academic, clinical, and community audiences.
- Monitor research budgets and assist with project reporting.
- Support additional research and evaluation initiatives within the Family Navigation Project, as required.
- Support other program initiatives as necessary
Qualifications/Skills:
- PhD in health, rehabilitation, life science, or other relevant discipline, completed within the last 5 years
- Strong qualitative research skills (e.g., grounded theory, phenomenology, ethnography)
- Strong quantitative research skills (e.g., randomized controlled trials, experimental designs)
- Existing knowledge and experience in family and/or youth mental health/addictions health services research is an asset
- Knowledge and experience in partnering with equity-deserving communities, e.g., Black, Indigenous, and people of colour, 2SLGBTQI+, communities living in poverty, people with disabilities, etc., and those living at various intersections of these and other identities, are essential to this role
- Ability to work independently with a high level of initiative and self-direction, yet collaboratively with multiple stakeholders
- Cultural responsiveness and the ability to connect with diverse populations
- Strong organizational and time-management abilities
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Strong data management and analytical skills; competency using analytic software (experience with SPSS, R, NVivo, MAXQDA or related applications is an asset)
- MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access) proficiency
- Knowledge and experience in research involving one or more of the following is also an asset:
- Community-based participatory approaches
- Implementation science
- Equity, diversity, and inclusion principles and frameworks
Qualified applicants please submit a Cover Letter along with your Resume/CV.
We thank all candidates for their interest but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Sunnybrook Research Institute is committed to providing accessible employment practices that are in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require accommodation for disability during any stage of the recruitment process, please indicate this in your cover letter.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is strongly committed to inclusion and diversity within its community and welcomes all applicants including but not limited to: visible minorities, all religions and ethnicities, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ persons, and all others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.
