Scientific Advisor, Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)

CADTH is an independent, not-for-profit organization responsible for providing Canada’s health care decision-makers with objective evidence to help make informed decisions about the optimal use of drugs and medical devices in our health care system.

Position: Scientific Advisor ― One-Year Term
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Job Closing Date: April 27, 2015
Click here for French

Under the direction of the Assistant Chief Scientist, the Scientific Advisor supports CADTH research staff by defining methodologies, quality standards, policies, procedures, and guidelines. The Advisor also supports the monitoring of finalized projects of CADTH products and services to ensure compliance and the timely publication of scientifically sound, high-quality reports.

Responsibilities include:

• Conducting internal reviews of CADTH reports (e.g., formulary reviews, therapeutic reviews, and Health Technology Assessments) including assessing against and ensuring compliance with all established internal processes, methodologies, and quality standards
• Providing guidance in the interpretation of statistical analyses
• Providing leadership in the development and maintenance of CADTH methods including:
  • establishing and aligning policies, processes, methods, and quality standards with current best practices in other health technology assessment agencies
  • ensuring that work is conducted in accordance with prescribed CADTH processes and quality standards (e.g., through participation in team meetings, reviewing of draft documents and final reviews)
  • providing advice to research staff on methods including protocol development, data analysis, and statistical analysis
  • having overall responsibility for the methods employed in external scientific reviews and peer reviews, and for the qualification of external experts employed for those purposes
  • providing direction to researchers to ensure they access the most appropriate external resources for research advice
• Developing and delivering technical education and training for internal staff and external clients
• Liaising with experts and representatives of academia, external organizations or agencies (local, provincial, and national), industry, and with CADTH panels and committees to promote and align CADTH’s methods, processes, approaches, and tools with current best practices to ensure scientific credibility and continuous quality improvement, and to reduce duplication
• Developing and delivering key strategic initiative papers or special projects for CADTH related to scientific and technical methods, processes, etc.; this could include developing “white paper” briefs that are the foundation of future CADTH activities with CADTH stakeholders and partners in Canada and internationally
• Preparing CADTH methodology reports and peer-reviewed manuscripts, as required.

Qualifications:

The minimum level of knowledge is normally acquired through the completion of a doctoral degree (PhD preferred) in a health-related discipline, plus at least six (6) to eight (8) years of relevant health sector experience. Consideration will be given to those currently working toward their doctoral degree.

Core requirements include:

• A broad knowledge of and experience in research methods used in the development and application of health technology assessments (e.g., quality assessment of clinical trials), combined with experience in the peer review process used for scientific reports
• The ability to support staff in their development of protocols, application of research methods (e.g., data analysis, statistics), and in the writing of CADTH reports to ensure all efforts are scientifically sound and meet quality standards
• Exceptional analytical skills, with the ability to independently problem solve and determine the best course of action using research, logic, and evaluative judgment
• Strong communication, writing, and presentation skills, along with the ability to communicate effectively with a large and diverse group of stakeholders; this includes the ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with a variety of internal and external audiences
• The ability to listen, consult, and implement decisions to ensure the timely delivery of CADTH products
• Effective diplomatic qualities and the ability to persuade others in a facilitative, respectful, and non-prescriptive manner
• Self-motivated capabilities and a proactive attitude, with the ability to manage multiple, competing tasks and to work toward tight deadlines.

To apply for this opportunity, please visit the Careers section of our website at www.cadth.ca/careers and submit your application by the end of the business day Monday, April 27, 2015.