Providence Health Care's Mental Health Program is now accepting applications for a part-time (0.5 FTE) Director of Mental Health Clinical Research. This is a rare opportunity to help shape the future of mental health research within a leading healthcare organization. At PHC, we are building something new—transforming a strong foundation of clinical excellence into a coordinated, high-impact research program across our Mental Health services.

In this role, you won’t just lead studies—you’ll build the infrastructure, partnerships, and culture that enable research to thrive. Working alongside clinical leaders, academic partners, and frontline teams, you’ll champion evidence-based care, elevate research capacity, and ensure innovation directly improves outcomes for patients across the continuum of mental health care.

If you’re driven by both system-level impact and mentorship, this is a chance to leave a lasting imprint on how mental health care is studied, delivered, and improved across British Columbia.

Your responsibilities will include:

Reporting to the Program Director, Mental Health, and Physician Program Director, Mental Health, the Director, Mental Health Clinical Research is responsible for providing strategic, operational and educational leadership for all aspects of research and innovation, evaluation, data mobilization, and other initiatives including monitoring and quality improvement activities within the Mental Health Program.

This position plays an integral part, through research and clinical care, in defining the quality of care processes and creating quality practice environments and participates in the overall mentorship of the clinical staff by providing recommendations on evidence-based approaches to clinical and research issues, resource planning and professional development needs.

The position liaises, influences, collaborates and consults with various internal and external stakeholders including the Director, Health Services & Clinical Research and Knowledge Translation, professional associations, academic institutions, regulatory funding bodies, and regional, national and international agencies to promote and advance mental health research, create partnerships and to raise the profile of mental health research at PHC and in the wider health care community.

• Build and lead a growing mental health research program: Develop the strategy, infrastructure, and partnerships needed to expand research capacity—supporting clinicians and teams to actively participate in and lead research initiatives.
• Champion knowledge translation and system impact: Turn research into action by ensuring findings are shared, understood, and integrated into clinical practice, policy, and program design across the Mental Health Program.
• Lead research, evaluation, and quality improvement initiatives: Oversee study design, ethics, data analysis, and program evaluation while identifying gaps in care and driving evidence-informed improvements at a system level.
• Mentor teams and foster a culture of inquiry: Guide clinicians, researchers, and trainees—building skills, supporting publications and funding efforts, and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration across PHC and external partners.

Education

• A level of education, training and experience equivalent to a PhD in research-related science or social science discipline.
• Seven (7) to ten (10) years recent, related experience including extensive involvement in conducting or managing clinical research projects and facilitating and managing consultation processes with a wide range of stakeholder groups, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
• Five years clinical experience and expertise in the area of specialty (mental health/psychiatry).
• Current licensure or registration with appropriate licensing body if required.
• Eligible to hold a faculty, adjunct of clinical appointment at an academic institution.

Skills and Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of clinical practice, education and standards and application to acute, residential and community environments.
• Comprehensive knowledge of research policies, procedures, processes, methodologies and funding mechanisms.
• Demonstrated ability to apply clinical decision making and leadership to solve complex patient/practice issues.
• Demonstrated knowledge of health research methodology, principles and procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as a champion for research and research activities.
• Demonstrated ability in developing, managing and conducting evaluations at an organizational, community and systems level.
• Demonstrated ability to lead system initiatives, including project planning and management methodologies.
• Knowledge of health care and systems/service delivery models, government processes and health authority structures and responsibilities.
• Knowledge of provincial government and government ministry decision-making processes.
• Ability to work with all Microsoft Office software, competency in a variety of data analysis and survey design software platforms (e.g. R, SPSS, NVivo, Qualtrics).
• Ability to work with large data sets, and generating reports and materials that communicate findings to various audiences in an effective written, visual, and spoken manner.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including facilitation and negotiation skills.
• Excellent writing and verbal communication abilities and independent problem-solving and decision making skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage complex multi-disciplinary teams comprised of internal and external resources.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, critical thinking and effective decision-making.
• Ability to provide leadership, guidance and direction to staff and the leadership team.
• Ability to effectively manage budget and staff resources.

• Competitive salary: $60.75 - $87.33 CAD per hour, depending on experience 
• Growth opportunities: We welcome individuals at all stages of their career, offering opportunities for professional development and growth. 
• State-of-the-art facilities: The new St. Paul’s Hospital and health campus will be the most innovative approach to the delivery of integrated care in B.C. and Canada, designed to appropriately address the future health needs of patients, families, and our communities. From hospital care to primary and community health solutions, the new St. Paul’s Hospital and health campus will continue to lead innovations in care, research, and teaching. The new St. Paul’s Hospital is expected to open in 2027. 
• Inclusive culture: We respect the diversity, dignity and interdependence of all persons. We value the cultural richness that our diverse workforce brings to the care of our equally diverse population of patients and residents. 
• Meaningful impact: You will have the opportunity to work for an organization that is deeply committed to safeguarding of our surrounding environment by contributing to high quality care while promoting sustainable practices in your everyday work.
• A comprehensive health benefits package including dental, vision, and life insurance as well as pension. 

Who we are: 

Providence Health Care is one of the largest faith-based health care organizations in Canada. For the people at Providence, living our Mission, Vision and Values means providing British Columbians with compassionate, socially just, exceptional and innovative care every day.

From our humble roots 129 years ago, Providence Health Care has grown into a globally recognized leader in research, teaching, and care. As individuals within a mission-driven organization, we choose to be part of PHC because we value its long-standing dedication to social justice and compassionate care, its active efforts to advance environmental sustainability and planetary health, and its meaningful engagement in the process of Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. 

PHC's Mental Health Program is a global leader in the treatment of complex mental health disorders, and the largest integrated mental health program in British Columbia. Here, you’ll be part of a united, multidisciplinary team driven by one shared belief: people living with mental illness deserve better.

Despite extraordinary advances in mental health care, the best available treatments are sometimes not enough—they’re not accessible, personalized, or transformative enough. We come to work every day to change that. 

By listening closely to our clients and their families, creating and championing innovative care pathways, and advancing clinical research, we’re pushing the boundaries of what mental health care can be.

Our flagship site is St. Paul’s Hospital, with care extending far beyond its walls. Our clinical and research expertise spans:

• Reproductive psychiatry
• Eating disorders
• Neuropsychiatry
• Geriatric psychiatry
• Inner‑city and youth mental health

Join us to work alongside passionate professionals from diverse disciplines who value collaboration, continuous learning, and compassionate care.

Curious about working at PHC and the culture of our teams? Check out the video below to learn more and meet some of the members of the team you'd be joining:

Your Day to Day:

• Provides leadership in the development and implementation of an infrastructure for conducting research including: collaborating with the Program Director/Physician Program Director in developing a research strategy and facilitating interdisciplinary collaborative research; fosters the planning and implementation of research activities; develops systems and programs designed to monitor, evaluate and improve the quality of research services provided and enable information for accreditation purposes.

• Provides leadership in the development of a knowledge translation (KT) strategy that will facilitate ongoing relationships between evidence and practice transformation for Mental Health/Psychiatry; oversees the translation and synthesis of research and evaluation data and outcomes for effective knowledge transfer to Mental Health/Psychiatry service providers and policy makers by engaging with stakeholders, disseminating research results to the public and policy makers to inform changes to clinical care and practice systems design. Supports interdisciplinary research and promotes knowledge translation including conducting research by self, or with others, and disseminating findings in presentation or publication.

• Advances Mental Health/Psychiatry by supporting/coordinating manuscript submissions to peer reviewed journals and attendance and presentations at local, national and international conferences.

• Recruits staff and/or clinical research team members through methods such as identifying needs, processing required paperwork, interviewing applicants.

• Supervises assigned staff and clinical research teams including research assistants through methods such as reviewing workload assignments and adjusting schedules according to workload to ensure that levels meet operational requirements; evaluates performance. Establishes priorities and provides guidance and clinical advice through methods such as facilitating resolutions to work issues and monitoring operations/clinical activities to ensure clinical standards are met and safety procedures are followed.

• Coordinates the evaluation of patient/resident care outcomes, identifies populations at risk, and proposes solutions through activities such as: using and/or developing evidence-based innovations to improve the quality of health care; acts as a clinical expert/resource to establish, maintain and improve practice and patient outcomes.

• Develops and supports the implementation of quality improvement initiatives by identifying gaps in care through data analysis and in consultation with Mental Health/Psychiatry leaders. Supports QI projects to support program goals and improve patient care.

• Coordinates all aspects of research including research design, methods, ethics applications and publications and directs related research and knowledge translation initiatives within Mental Health/Psychiatry through collaboration with Clinical Directors, Physician Leaders and Service Directors. Provides leadership and direction to individuals (e.g. nursing/allied health staff, contract researchers, students and administrative support) in the conduct of research. Oversees the reporting of Mental Health research occurring at Providence Health Care.

• Develops research networks with government, academic institutions and other health authorities via meetings, conferences, workshops, and joint research collaborations that result in sharing of knowledge, monitoring of trends, identification of opportunities to promote collaborative research and innovation and ensures consistent conduct of quality research throughout the Mental Health/Psychiatry Department.

• In collaboration with the Program Director and Physician Program Director, develops a research agenda that focuses on incorporating best practices based on evidence into care delivery, fosters development and implementation of initiatives designed to create new knowledge and increase the amount of research conducted in the Mental Health/Psychiatry Department. Oversees initiatives that promote the voice of lived experience in the research oversight process, ensuring that Mental Health research at PHC is aligned with patient and community driven research priorities.

• Reviews literature, monitors evolving trends and practices and identifies opportunities to promote innovation and exploration of new initiatives and technology in Mental Health/Psychiatry research and KT in collaboration with internal/external institutions.

• Initiates and manages projects, secures funds and develops business cases and funding proposals. Conducts impact analysis for Mental Health Program /Psychiatry, contributes to program planning, expansion and implementation as required and partners with stakeholders for other areas on multi-disciplinary projects.

• Participates in short and long-term planning for the Mental Health/Psychiatry Research Program through methods such as evaluating research activities, identifying opportunities for change and formulating recommendations for quality improvement to ensure optimal outcomes are met.

• Provides a variety of administrative duties in support of the overall operating budget for the Research area by performing duties such as seeking research funding and reviewing, planning and administering expenditures within the Research area against approved budgets to ensure adherence to projections.

• Provides research supervision to Residents, Post-Doctoral Fellows and other applicable students (e.g., nursing) by performing duties such as planning and organizing area assignment, monitoring research skill development, and providing evaluations to appropriate individuals to facilitate a conducive learning environment and professional expertise.

• Identifying research opportunities and administers the research projects performing duties including writing research proposal, developing and designing budget parameters, sourcing funding from internal and external partners, hiring/firing research staff, monitoring funds/expenditures and providing detailed reports to senior staff.

• Participation in or directing clinical practice, consultation, collaboration, leadership, education, research and program evaluation for Mental Health/Psychiatry.

• Participating in provincial/national/local groups related to advancing Mental Health/Psychiatry clinical practice, research and health services.

• Provides consultation members of the interdisciplinary team, through activities such as: assisting the members of the interdisciplinary team with clinical decision-making and with planning, implementing, and evaluating patient/resident care; participating in the development of patient/resident care programs as required; providing leadership in the development, implementation, and evaluation of standards of practice within Mental Health/Psychiatry.

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

We acknowledge that Providence Health Care & the new St. Paul’s Hospital site is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations