Scientific Director, Provincial Addiction and Mental Health

Description

Description:

The Scientific Director (SD) will report to the Vice President, Provincial Clinical Excellence (VP-PCE); work collaboratively with the Chief Program Officer and Associate Chief Medical Officer of the Strategic Clinical Networks, and also be a key member of the Provincial Addiction and Mental Health (PAMH) Scientific Office leadership team. The SD will work collaboratively with the Director of the PAMH Knowledge, Evidence and Innovation team, and the embedded Applied Research Program Lead, and is responsible for:

• Championing and facilitating a research agenda that addresses the needs of addiction and mental health clients in Alberta and focuses on improving the quality, safety, and sustainability of Alberta's health system
• Leading scientific office activity related to academic engagement and grant submissions
• Developing, implementing, and evaluating a research and knowledge translation strategy that supports PAMH's mandate and objectives
• Supporting individual researchers to advance PAMH research priorities
• Facilitating the creation of an efficient AMH research network in Alberta
• Publishing results of PAMH research

Responsibilities / Accountabilities:

Leadership

• Lead and promote PAMH research excellence through collaboration and engagement with a variety of academic partners, health researchers, front-line staff and knowledge users (e.g., patients, clinicians, policy makers, community leaders, industry, and others).
• Work with the PAMH-CHS PSMD and AMH KEI to identify research opportunities and priorities that support PAMH's strategic plans and motivate academic researchers to work on projects that align with these priorities.
• Identify key stakeholders, skills and inputs necessary for PAMH to ensure that projects are executed in a scientifically rigorous fashion.
• Support the success and methodological rigor of PAMH projects by providing robust input on research priorities and evaluation methods.
• Participate in peer review and provide technical feedback, support and recommendations to researchers.

Stakeholder Communication

• Seek opportunities to exchange ideas and communicate research priorities, strategies and outcomes with various research communities, universities, hospitals, governments, non-governmental organizations, health charities, industry, and the public.
• Seek input from patients and front-line clinicians on PAMH research priorities and incorporate their feedback.
• Work with the PSMD and KEI to develop strategies to enhance communication across the network. Engage key stakeholders (both within PAMH and among SCNs) and build trust, consensus, and positive relationships with all partners and health disciplines.

Critical Analysis and Decision-Making

• Work with the PSMD and KEI to identify appropriate indicators and interpret results and support the scientific rigor of the outcome tracing and system performance completed by the Knowledge, Evidence, and Innovation team.
• Critically evaluate data quality and, where appropriate, use measurement data, research outcomes, and feedback from stakeholders and stakeholder committees to inform PAMH priorities, actions and decision making.

Partnerships and Collaboration

• Work closely with PAMH KEI team and the various AMH program areas to identify priority areas of focus for research.
• Work with research communities and academic partners to build positive relationships and promote research excellence in all pillars of research within PAMH.
• Align the needs and research priorities of PAMH with other provincial health research strategies, including the Alberta Health Research and Innovation Strategy (AHRIS), the AHS Strategy for Clinical Health Research, Innovation and Analytics (CHRIA), and the AHS Health Plan and Business Plan . Work with academic and funding partners (including Alberta Innovates) to build on Alberta's existing research capabilities and expand PAMH research capacity over time.
• Foster and nurture strong partnerships and alliances with the SDs, Assistant Scientific Directors (ASDs), and SMDs of all integrated provincial teams and SCNs. Collaborate on matters of common interest and seek opportunities to bring interdisciplinary research communities together to address pan-SCN priorities in health research and knowledge translation.
• Establish and strengthen relationships with national and international partners and stakeholders through consultation and participation in a variety of meetings.

Knowledge Translation and Capacity Building

• Support effective knowledge translation within PAMH, including (but not limited to) publication of new knowledge and effective clinical engagement, as required.
• Incorporate knowledge translation and evaluation into PAMH research and innovation projects, and work with the AMH Program Lead for Applied Research, KEI, and PAMH team to achieve research and knowledge translation goals.
• Plan, direct and manage research-related funding and human resources within PAMH.
• Work collaboratively with the KEI Director and the Applied Research Program Lead, to attract provincial, national, and international funding partners in a coordinated way.
• Facilitate potential commercialization opportunities, where feasible, by identifying successful innovations and helping to evaluate their commercial viability.
• Collaborate with the SDs and ASDs of all integrated provincial programs and SCNs to build research and knowledge translation capacity through education and training. Seek opportunities to launch pilot projects or studentships that support SCN research.
• Provide support to trainees with research projects embedded within PAMH.

As a senior provincial research leader for PAMH and the wider SCN group, and with expertise in clinical, health systems, and/or population health research areas aligned with the PAMH mandate, the SD will be a key member of the PAMH core strategy and leadership group.

The SD will champion a broad provincial health research agenda that addresses the health needs of Albertans with mental health and/or addiction needs with a focus on generating and applying research evidence to achieve PAMH priorities. All health research is in scope for this role, including building bridges back to discovery research for a better understanding of diseases, new diagnostics, and new therapeutics of interest. It is expected that the PAMH SD will collaborate and help to promote all innovative research in AHS. The SD will make a particular effort to facilitate research that improves quality/safety and cost effectiveness/sustainability in the addiction and mental health and broader health systems.

Most importantly, the SD will enable the success of both individual researchers and groups of researchers within the PAMH network to facilitate the creation of an efficient and effective research network in the province; one that successfully attracts national peer reviewed funding as well as funding from other local, provincial, and national sources. In addition, the SD will be accountable for the PAMH SO production and publication of new knowledge and, wherever possible, enabling new knowledge to be translated into action in Alberta.

Qualifications

Qualifications:

The SD may be a Master's prepared (Science or Public Health) physician or PhD heath science researcher and must be a nationally or internationally recognized health services research leader within the scope of PAMH. The applicant must have leadership experience and a proven record of nurturing partnerships; effectively engaging a variety of stakeholders, and facilitating the success of others. An academic appointment with a relevant Alberta post-secondary educational institution is required.

The SD will obtain and maintain an AHS Medical Staff Appointment as a Physician or Scientist Leader if applicable.

Candidates will need to provide a letter of support from their institution's Department Head to confirm they supportive of their application for this role.