Sexual Health Evaluation Project Lead

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Posting End Date

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

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Please note, this is a 10-month contract at 0.6 FTE (equivalent to 3 days/ week).

This position will be remote/ hybrid, with some onsite days at Options for Sexual Health + travel to other Options Clinics across BC

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

Equitable sexual health care access for youth (ages 15-25 years) remains a pressing issue in BC. Rates of STIs, sexual violence, unplanned pregnancies and early age parenting remain alarmingly high and often intersect with social and structural inequities that vary substantially by geography. Options for Sexual Health, Canada's largest sexual health provider (formerly Planned Parenthood), currently operates over 30 sexual health clinics across BC (and 22 affiliate clinics). These clinics offer full spectrum of sexual health services, including STI screening and treatment, promotion of sexual diversity and identities, access to contraceptives, and sexual health counselling, education and support. Importantly, recognizing the heterogeneity of social, geographic, and cultural contexts unique to each community, Options clinics has worked with communities to develop different models of service provision for youth; ranging from drop-in clinics and school-based programs to sexual health care services embedded within primary care or youth mental health. With COVID-19 pandemic, many services also shifted to telehealth and/or virtual appointment-based (rather than drop-in). As of early 2025, and with lack of increase in funding over the last decade, Options for Sexual Health is currently undergoing strategic planning review to assess the best way forward for sexual health service delivery in BC.

The Sexual Health Evaluation Project Lead will bring high level of expertise in youth sexual and reproductive health, health service delivery, and community-engaged and qualitative research methods. The Project Lead will undertake research to document user (youth) and service provider perspectives on sexual health care and barriers and facilitators to equitable sexual health for diverse youth in BC; and evaluate how users (youth) experience and interact with different sexual health service provision models (e.g. youth only vs adult all ages drop-in clinics; embedded within primary care; co-located with youth mental health or schools); and inform youth and provider perspectives on ideal models for youth-centred sexual health care in BC.

Organizational Status

Working with general administrative direction from the UBC co-lead/ PI of the Sexual and Reproductive Health, Policy & Social Justice Lab and health provider co-lead/ Executive Director of Options for Sexual Health and collaboratively with team members at UBC, Options, and external partners across BC.

Work Performed

The Sexual Health Evaluation Project Lead will be responsible for overseeing and organizing all aspects of the research project, including partnership building; facilitating interviews with service providers and users (youth) across BC; supporting patient user (youth) engagement, and organizing research and preparing all written research and report materials.

The Sexual Health Project Evaluation Lead role includes the following:

• Leads a rapid-response, community-engaged evaluation of service delivery in BC, applying established and participatory research methods to inform program direction and policy recommendations.
• Provides technical consultant advise in youth sexual health service collaborative design to co-leads and health service provider partner organization, Options for Sexual Health
• Designs, modifies, and synthesizes training and research tools (survey, in-depth interviews, asset-based mapping tools)
• Prepare, write, submit, and revise materials (consents, survey, interview guide) for research ethics approval
• Oversees day-to-day research evaluation project
• Develops workplans and timelines
• Reports regularly (bi-weekly) on progress
• Develops and maintain standard operation procedures and ensure quality control
• Oversees organization and security of all research data and materials
• Creates a process for collaborative user (youth) and provider research engagement (e.g. mechanisms for input in research evaluation questions, participation in research)
• Prepares interview questions and all written materials for the research, including any documents for ethics applications to UBC and report materials
• Plans, designs and facilitates interviews with range of sexual health service providers (including nurses, NPs, physicians, pharmacists) and users (youth) across BC (both within and external to Options)
• Oversees training, mentorship and support of youth co-researchers in facilitating recruitment and interviews with youth across BC
• Prepares, write, submit, and revise materials for research ethics approval
• Fosters excellent professional relationships with project partners, collaborators (including service providers, youth programs, BC ministry, etc)
• Create electronic surveys using survey tools (e.g. Qualtrics), as needed
• Work collaboratively with members of the project team, collaborators, students
• Oversee recruitment and participant enrolment by youth co-researchers
• Lead data collection and management of data (survey, in-depth interviews, mapping) with partners, youth co-researchers
• Provides capacity bridging support and mentorship to graduate students, research assistants who support the project
• Works closely with multidisciplinary team on written and oral communication of results to diverse partners as well as creation of knowledge mobilization materials through a range of channels (e.g. socials, presentations)
• Some travel to meet with communities and partners will be required within BC (travel budget provided)

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Wide latitude for exercising independent initiative and judgment in the performance of specialized duties and responsibilities. This position works with a high degree of independence and responsibility and exercises a considerable amount of judgement. The Project Lead is required to conduct all research activities in an ethical manner and with adherence to the Tri-Council Policy Statement concerning Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS-2) and in alignment with Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation. Any procedures or data recorded as part of this research must be accurate and must accurately reflect the work performed. Strict confidentiality of all study participants must be adhered to.

Supervision Received

Works independently with broad administrative direction from the UBC co-lead/PI of the Sexual and Reproductive Health, Policy & Social Justice Research Lab and the health provider co-lead/ Executive Director of Options for Sexual Health.

Supervision Given

May have some supervisory responsibilities for youth co-researchers or research assistants. There may be an opportunity to distribute work and provide mentorship and training to undergraduate students, medical students, or research assistants.

Minimum Qualifications
University degree in relevant discipline or completion of a technical program and a minimum five years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Some positions may require a graduate degree.

- 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

Preferred Qualifications

A post-graduate degree and related experience in sexual and reproductive health strongly preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Otherwise, an undergraduate degree in a relevant health or social science discipline is required with a minimum of five years of related experience in youth sexual and reproductive health, qualitative and community-engaged research, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Successful applicants will have excellent organization, time management, analytic, and communication skills (written and oral). Experience and familiarity with qualitative research, analyses and writing, including use of qualitative data software (e.g Nvivo). They will be familiar with and committed to equitable youth sexual and reproductive health, trauma-informed and community partnered research, and be able to work independently, and have excellent interpersonal skills that support teamwork and professional interactions with community partners. Ability to effectively use office software at an intermediate level (e.g., Outlook, MS Word, MS Excel, Zoom) required. Experience with Canva (design platform), UBC Survey Tool (Qualtrics) an asset.