Job Description

Status:

Full time, indefinite

Location:

Ottawa, Ontario, or Toronto, Ontario (hybrid)

Closing date:

July 11, 2025

Salary range:

$128,520 to $161,160 per year



Canada's Drug Agency is a pan-Canadian health organization. We are an independent, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Ottawa, with a satellite office in Toronto. Created and funded by Canada's federal, provincial, and territorial governments, we drive better coordination, alignment, and public value within Canada's drug and health technology landscape. We provide Canada's health system leaders with independent evidence and advice so they can make informed drug, health technology, and health system decisions, and we collaborate with national and international partners to enhance our collective impact.



We are proud to be a 2025 National Capital Region Top Employer. Canada's Drug Agency was named one of the National Capital Region's top employers for the second year in a row. This recognition celebrates our dedication to fostering a work environment that nurtures growth; innovation; and inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA). It reaffirms our ongoing efforts to create an outstanding workplace where our employees thrive and feel valued.

Most of our employees participate in a hybrid workspace arrangement that allows for flexibility and enhanced work-life balance. We believe in the positive impact of in-person collaboration and the importance of team building. Added consideration is given to qualified candidates who live near our offices and can participate in a hybrid arrangement. Those applying must be located in Ontario, except in rare circumstances where the employment position is remote.



Primary Focus

Reporting to the Chief Scientist and Vice-President of Evidence, the Director, Research Information Services (RIS) is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and is responsible for overseeing the distribution of products and services to customers through leadership of the RIS program. The Director, Research Information Services (RIS) builds strong collaborations across agency programs and with national and international partners, to share best practices and advance expertise in research information science. They are also accountable for ensuring the availability and quality of information science resources, to uphold the agency's high standards.



What do the daily responsibilities look like?

On any given day, the Director, Research Information Services (RIS) will:



lead and oversee the RIS program to deliver high-quality information about our products and services contribute to the organization's strategic, business, and operational planning, including change initiatives identify future opportunities and guide the strategic development of RIS activities establish and optimize RIS processes, policies, and procedures monitor and mitigate any changes associated with evidence sources introduce innovative methods and tools for information retrieval (e.g., AI search tools, Clinical Expert Identification [CEI] searches, citation analysis, Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies [PRESS], or grey literature methods) examine and evaluate the organization's processes, ensuring efficiency set a long-term strategic agenda for the team and the organization provide leadership through coaching, guidance, and resource management to a multidisciplinary team collaborate with People and Culture on staffing plans, hiring, job descriptions, and employee relations matters foster collaboration across agency programs and with national and international partners to share best practices in health information services align RIS work with other teams (e.g., bibliometrics and clinical expert identification) and support cross-team initiatives (e.g., Systematic Review Software Evaluation Working Group) promote continuous learning through training, educational opportunities, and knowledge sharing in research information science inform the agency of impactful RIS initiatives (e.g., EndNote upgrade, AMA Manual of Style subscription) monitor developments in the information landscape, including copyright law and retrieval technologies provide guidance and leadership on infrastructure related to information services (e.g., records management, project management tools, and Customer Relationship Management [CRM] systems) manage and monitor the budget for the RIS program to ensure alignment with departmental goals and objectives prepare briefing notes, information materials, and other documents to support executive and CEO decision-making establish new information retrieval processes (e.g., CEI searches and AI search tools), ensuring adherence to organizational security standards.

Is this the right role for you?

The Director, Research Information Services (RIS) will likely have:

a graduate degree in library science or library and information studies from a Canadian Library Association accredited university with a minimum of 5-10 years of relevant experience in leadership knowledge of principles, methods, related legislation, and best practices in information science broad knowledge of research methods for systematic reviews, health technology assessments, and economic evaluations broad knowledge of international best practices demonstrated leadership and coaching capabilities to develop, engage, and empower employees interpersonal skills to communicate effectively at all levels with demonstrated ability to influence and build consensus and to deal with sensitive and confidential information consulting skills and the ability to solve problems or issues using highly practical approaches conceptual thinking to develop new or evolve current programs based on continuous improvement reviews and/or changing customer needs and priorities systems and strategic thinking capability to contribute to the development of strategic and operational plans as well as to identify, design, and implement RIS programs in alignment with Canada's Drug Agency priorities, values, and concurrent organizational initiatives sound reasoning skills, good judgment, along with the ability to manage and facilitate change proven ability to work in a cross-functional environment and to establish credibility, trust, and collaborative working relationships internally and externally.

What will set you apart?

The following are considered asset qualifications:

bilingualism (French and English) a second graduate degree in science or health sciences.

What's in it for you?

At Canada's Drug Agency, you will find:

a team-focused, supportive, and inclusive work environment a competitive compensation package, including participation in the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) -- 1 of Canada's largest and most successful defined benefit pension plans a comprehensive benefits package for employees and dependents, including health, dental, life, and travel insurance; a health spending account; and an employee assistance program paid time off (including a minimum of 4 weeks of vacation leave as well as sick leave and life leave, a December holiday closure, and other leave options) opportunities to work with and learn from highly specialized professionals personal growth through professional development opportunities, corporate training, and support for continuing education a friendly culture that supports community engagement the opportunity to make a difference for people living in Canada and effect positive change.

To apply for this position, visit the Careers section of our website. Your resume must clearly identify how your skills and experience relate to the requirements of this role. Applications for this opportunity may be used for future staffing vacancies. We thank you for your interest; however, only those candidates selected for further consideration will be contacted. Please visit our website regularly for new opportunities.



At Canada's Drug Agency, we actively celebrate, support, and flourish through our differences. Our employees are people with different strengths, experiences, and backgrounds, who share a passion for building the future of health care. We demonstrate a commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) through continuous training, modelling inclusive behaviours, and proactively managing biases. We highly encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including people of all places of origin and religions, people with disabilities, people who are neurodivergent, people who are Black or racialized, Indigenous people, women, and people from the 2SLGBTQ+ community. We also provide accommodations during all phases of the recruitment process. If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please let the Talent Acquisition team know when they contact you. We will work with you to meet your needs.



Please note that, as a condition of employment, successful candidates will be required to complete a confidential pre-employment background check, including criminal, employment, and educational verifications.



Candidates must be legally eligible to work in Canada. We regret that we are unable to sponsor employment visas at this time.



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