Research Assistant

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Job Profile

Job Title

Department

Compensation Range

Posting End Date

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

This position is expected to be filled by promotion/reassignment and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University.

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

This is a 0.60 FTE for 8 months term appointment with the possibility for an extension depending on availability of future funding. The Research Assistant is an integral member of the Partnership for Work, Health and Safety (The Partnership). The Partnership is seeking a Research Assistant to work within its research team and multidisciplinary, collaborative research teams on various mixed-methods studies that critically assess workers health and safety experiences/ trajectories in various industries and under different circumstances in Canada informing policy changes.

The Research Assistant will undertake a variety of basic research-related activities with PWHS. Research activities will include routine tasks in data collection and preparation, as well as assisting in the evaluation of health and safety management program research studies. Typical research activities will also include basic literature researches and policy scans, such as, searching for articles on-line or in the library.

Organizational Status

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

This is a 0.60 FTE for 8 months term appointment with the possibility for an extension depending on availability of future funding. The Research Assistant is an integral member of the Partnership for Work, Health and Safety (The Partnership). The Partnership is seeking a Research Assistant to work within its research team and multidisciplinary, collaborative research teams on various mixed-methods studies that critically assess workers health and safety experiences/ trajectories in various industries and under different circumstances in Canada informing policy changes.

The Research Assistant will undertake a variety of basic research-related activities with PWHS. Research activities will include routine tasks in data collection and preparation, as well as assisting in the evaluation of health and safety management program research studies. Typical research activities will also include basic literature researches and policy scans, such as, searching for articles on-line or in the library.

Organizational Status

The Research Assistant will be located at the University of British Columbia. A shared workstation equipped with telephone, computer and furniture will be provided in PWHS research space.

The Partnership for Work, Health and Safety (The Partnership), is a research program within the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH), Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. This innovative research program conducted in partnership with WorkSafeBC (the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia) brings together policymakers, researchers and data resources from both organizations as well as external partners to address current and emerging issues of work-related health and workers' compensation. The Partnership uses mixed methods, both qualitative and quantitative, to evaluate the effectiveness of occupational health and workers' compensation programs and policies. The Partnership takes the lead in work-related health research in BC and Canada by developing and promoting the use of routinely collected health and compensation data from multiple sources via our data partner, Population Data BC. Our research results inform the design of evidence-based policies and prevention programs to create safer and more secure workplaces, and help improve opportunities for recovery after injuries occur.

The Research Assistant will work in a team environment with research coordinators, statisticians, analysts, programmers, researchers and faculty at SPPH, Population Data BC, and with external data providers and other key stakeholders. This position will be hybrid and while on site, will work on the 3rd floor of the SPPH building, within the space of the Partnership for Work, Health and Safety. There are no known environmental hazards in the space.

Housed within the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) is an innovative unit that encompasses many of the health-related groupings at UBC as a collaborative venture. The School is structured around four divisions: Occupational and Environmental Health; Health Services and Policy; Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health Practice; and Health in Populations. The resulting mix of professions and disciplines is seen as a means of connecting individuals and learners to galvanize the relationship between health research, public health and health services and to enhance learning.

Work Performed

The Research Assistant will perform the following duties:

• Assist with routine tasks in data collection and preparation.

• Assist in the development of materials for recruitment and data documentation.

• Provide general assistance on field trips and off-site participant engagement.

• Perform literature searches, policy/legislative scans, and assists with the synthesis of literature and grey information.

• Support the preparation of reports, policy briefs, publications and presentations.

• Participate in team meetings.

• Ensure timely notification to Principal Investigator and Director of Privacy and Operations of issues or problems.

• Performing other related research duties as assigned/or required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Errors made could influence the timely completion of work and compromise the results of research projects, impacting the credibility of the research team and future funding. Any procedures or data recorded as part of a study must be accurate. Strict confidentiality of all study participants must be adhered to. All activities involving participants are accountable to the Principal Investigator, the Department Head, and the candidate's governing professional organization.

Employees always work under strict confidentiality because of the nature of the data use in the Partnership's projects. Core activities such as data documentation, literature searches and research and support for both internal and external researchers are all critically dependent on the security and privacy of information systems that have been developed and are maintained. Any privacy breach in data security or errors in judgment could lead to serious errors in data systems, affecting the reputation of SPPH, the Partnership and other data partners. Any breach in confidentiality or data security would place the future of the organization at risk. The Research Assistant must be able to exercise judgment regarding the validity of the analytic data, checking the quality of the data against expected values. Care must be exercised in designing and performing tasks to avoid inappropriate assumptions.

Accuracy and Accountability: Errors in judgement may have significant negative impacts to the Partnership, the investigators of the projects, the project budget and the quality of reports.

Supervision Received
The Research Assistant will be primely under the direction of Director of Privacy and Operations and will also receive direction from the Principal Investigators of relevant studies.

Supervision Given
None

Minimum Qualifications
High school graduation and a minimum one year 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