Senior Research Associate

The Partner Violence Implementation Science program of research is based out of MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital and is focused on innovative, real world solutions to the issue of partner violence affecting one in three women worldwide. Working with our Safe at Home Hamilton (SAHH) team, we are seeking a Senior Research Associate for 0.6 FTE for one year to conduct a cost analysis with an implementation focus.

The SAHH program is run by Mission Services of Hamilton. SAHH is a women-centered intersectoral initiative accomplished by pulling together resources across local and provincial government and non-government agencies. These include support from the municipality, the legal, policing, health and housing sectors to implement and provide wrap-around service to women. This program is gender transformative, which means it reveals gaps in our understanding and areas that require attention in the design of solutions and that it redistributes the resources to account for the unique needs of women. More information can be found here: https://safeathomehamilton.ca/

The Senior Research Associate trained in conducting cost analysis and economic evaluations will specifically be engaged to lead work on the economic evaluation of the implementation of the SAHH program. The economic evaluation will support the organization decision-makers to choose between implementation approaches, understand the feasibility of investing in evidence-based interventions across contexts, differing circumstances, and overtime, and allows the expected downstream gains (e.g., cost-savings, improved health outcomes) to be made explicit and accounted for in the early planning process.

This position is to be performed in Canada. It is hybrid and will require travel to Toronto MAP office and in Hamilton as needed is expected.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead prospective implementation-focused costing data collection for installation and initial implementation phases of an intervention.
• Develop structured costing templates and data collection tools for partner agencies.
• Examine how system actors access, coordinate, and experience implementation supports and resources.
• Identify structural, organizational, and inter-agency conditions shaping resource needs.
• Coordinate quantitative and qualitative data collection with multi-sector partners.
• Conduct financial data abstraction, key informant interviews, and documentation of implementation processes.
• Maintain high-quality, secure, and ethically compliant datasets.
• Develop and refine the implementation cost model.
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses including interviews, surveys, and document reviews.
• Develop clear, policy-relevant data visuals.
• Prepare synthesis products for community, policy, and academic audiences.
• Contribute to Steering Committee meeting presentations and partner briefings.
• Co-lead development of 1–2 peer-reviewed manuscripts.
• Contribute to abstracts, conference presentations, and knowledge mobilization outputs.
• Work closely with evaluation, academic and community and systems partners.
• Participate in team meetings and cross-sector coordination activities.
• Support co-production of knowledge with partners.

Qualifications

• Education: Master degree or PhD (completed or near completion) in: Health Economics, Health Services Research, Implementation Science, Public Health, Social Policy / Social Work (with strong quantitative methods) or related field.
• Previous experience conducting a cost analysis.
• TCPS CORE 2 and GCP certificate completed within first 2 weeks of hire.
• Technical & Methodological Expertise:
• Experience conducting cost analyses or economic evaluations of health or social interventions.
• Familiarity with implementation costing approaches (e.g., COINS or similar frameworks). Experience studying organizational and system-level determinants of implementation.
• Strong qualitative skills (interviews, thematic analysis) and the ability to integrate qualitative and quantitative findings.
• Understanding of complex service systems (e.g., housing, social services, justice, health) Experience working across sectors or with community-based organizations are desirable but not mandatory.
• Experience with qualitative analysis software (e.g., NVivo, ATLAS.ti, Dedoose); data visualization skills.
• Proven experience managing multi-source datasets, including administrative data.

Knowledge Areas (Strong Assets):

Knowledge of gender-based violence (GBV) / intimate partner violence; Housing and systems for unhoused populations; Trauma-informed and survivor-centred service models; policy-relevant or practice-embedded research is strongly desirable.

Professional Skills

• Ability to work in collaborative, community-engaged research environments
• Strong writing skills for academic and non-academic audiences.
• Capacity to translate complex findings into actionable insights; project management and coordination skills; sensitivity to ethical issues in GBV research.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that people in underrepresented communities are less likely to apply to jobs when they don’t meet every single qualification. We are dedicated to building an inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly, we still welcome you to apply.

Unity Health Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We strive to provide a recruitment process that is barrier-free and in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code. We understand that you may require an accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process. When you are contacted, please inform the Talent Acquisition Specialist and we will work with you to meet your accommodation needs. We want to emphasize that all accommodation requests are handled with the utmost confidentiality, respecting your privacy and dignity.