Scientific Director, Children’s Hospital Research Institute

London Health Sciences Centre; London; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading academic health sciences centre in Ontario is seeking a Scientific Director for the Children’s Health Research Institute. The role involves overseeing child health research and advancing initiatives with a focus on mentorship, collaboration, and leadership. Candidates must have a Ph.D. and/or M.D. with a strong record in research and a commitment to equity and inclusion. This position can be structured as full-time or part-time based on the applicant's existing responsibilities. The centre champions innovation and research excellence.

Qualifications

• Must possess a clear understanding of the future landscape of research.
• Demonstrated track record of research accomplishments at national and international levels.
• Ability to build partnerships and networks effectively.

Responsibilities

• Oversee executive direction and leadership for children’s health research.
• Foster partnerships amongst researchers and knowledge users.
• Support capacity development of trainees and early- and mid-career investigators.

Skills

Research leadership

Mentorship skills

Strategic vision

Effective communication

Teamwork

Education

PhD and/or MD

Job description

Overview

Scientific Director, Children’s Health Research Institute

London Health Sciences Centre

5-year term once renewable

Posting Period: September 3 – October 15, 2025

Who We Are

London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is a world-class academic health sciences centre located in the southwestern Ontario city of London. Just two hours from Toronto and two hours from Detroit, London features a beautiful and walkable downtown core located on the Thames River, a vibrant culinary scene and scores of activities that highlight local arts, culture and music. As one of Canada’s largest acute-care teaching hospitals, LHSC is a world-class innovator in clinical care, research and teaching, delivering both local and regional services, including the Children’s Hospital, within a large geographic area. LHSC has a workforce of close to 15,000, dedicated to delivering the highest quality patient care while working together to shape the future of health.

Children’s Health Research Institute, a program of London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI), is one of Ontario’s only hospital-based maternal and children’s health research institutes. Our laboratory-based, clinical and population-based researchers focus on preventing and treating diseases affecting pregnant women, fetuses and newborns, children and youth, helping them lead happy, healthy lives.

The Role

Reporting directly to the Vice President of Research and LHSCRI Scientific Director the Scientific Director of CHRI will be guided by the CHRI Strategic Advisory Committee (membership below), and will provide overall executive direction and scientific leadership for children’s health research, inclusive of all hospital-based research efforts aligned with Children’s Hospital at LHSC. The overall goal will be to champion and support health research, knowledge mobilization, and capacity development at the highest level of scientific excellence.

The ideal candidate for this role is a visionary leader, a respected researcher, and a masterful change agent. They must possess a clear understanding of the future landscape of research and innovation in various forms. Their role extends beyond the confines of the institute, playing a significant leadership part both within the organization, partner organizations, and on the global stage, engaging with partners, collaborators, and funders in Canada and internationally.

The ideal candidate will have a distinguished record in research leadership and scholarship, including peer-reviewed publications and research activities with practitioners and policymakers at various levels, and sustained competitive research grant funding. They will hold an academic appointment at Western University and hold an MD and / or Ph.D. The role demands an exceptional relationship developer, an inclusive and visionary leader committed to research excellence and capable of leading a team to integrate research, teaching, and clinical activities at LHSC.

We are seeking a visionary and results-oriented Scientific Director for CHRI to lead and advance CHRI’s research initiatives. The candidate should embody and promote values such as teamwork, compassion, curiosity, and accountability.

They must be capable of challenging conventional methods, driving change, building bridges, and effectively mobilizing sizable research enterprises to achieve significant outcomes and impacts.

The role may be structured as either part-time or full-time, contingent upon the applicant’s existing clinical and / or research responsibilities.

As Scientific Director of CHRI, the incumbent will

• support research across all health research areas (e.g., biomedical; clinical; health services; social, cultural, environmental and population health);
• manage the maternal and children’s health research team, including but not limited to: working in partnership with hospital and university partners to develop human resources plans, support recruitment activities, develop annual goals and conduct annual performance evaluations; maintain an active presence, scientific standing, and engagement in / with the health research community through attendance at, and contributions to, workshops, conferences, scientific fora, and other related activities, at the provincial, national and international level;
• support capacity development of trainees, early- and mid-career investigators, and in emerging areas of expertise to build health research capacity in CHRI mandate areas;
• foster partnerships amongst researchers, knowledge users, clinicians, community-based organizations, decision makers, and other funders as well as other Research Institutes to sustain inter-professional and inter-sectoral research initiatives and explore opportunities to develop new ones;
• prioritize the dissemination and implementation of new and existing knowledge to inform health practices and policies; and
• through both direct and indirect actions, foster and promote a culturally safe and inclusive environment; maintain awareness of evolving best practices of equity, diversity and inclusion, accessibility, anti-ableism, and anti-racism.

Other Roles and Responsibilities

As a member of LHSC’s and Children’s Hospital leadership, the Scientific Director, in collaboration with colleagues from other research programs and hospital executive leaders, will :

• provide analysis and advice on Canada’s research needs, gaps, and opportunities;
• contribute to the elaboration of hospital-based science policies and research strategies;
• advise on the development of, and investment in, cross-cutting strategic initiatives;
• act as an ambassador for CHRI and a spokesperson for health research on national and international scenes;
• participate (optional) in clinical activities relevant to experience, if applicable;
• have an appointment and cross appointments to appropriate faculty within Western University

The Core Budget Funding for CHRI is supported by the Children’s Health Foundation (CHF). The Scientific Director will be expected to maintain a strong, responsive relationship with the CHF leadership and be accountable to the CHF Board for its base financial activities. Assuring the CHF has visibility into the CHRI successes and activities will be essential for the CHRI Scientific Director.

Who You Are

• You are self-aware of own assumptions, values, principles, strengths and limitations
• You manage and develop self while modeling qualities such as honesty, integrity, resilience, and confidence
• You engage and support others to foster development, personal goals and encourage a healthy organization
• You achieve results by strategically aligning direction, decisions, actions and evaluation with the vision, values and evidence
• You facilitate an environment of collaboration and cooperation
• You create connections, build partnerships and networks
• You demonstrate commitment to CHRI’s organizational vision, mission, values and service excellence
• You are a transformational thinker that encourages and supports innovation
• You have exceptional analytical skills that contribute to effective decision-making
• You are self-directed, courageous, and highly motivated with excellent interpersonal and effective communication skills

What You Will Bring

The successful candidate will have :

• A PhD and / or MD degree or equivalent advanced degree in a discipline relevant to CHRI mandates
• Demonstrated track record of research accomplishments at both the national and international level in the field of children’s health and related research
• Extensive experience monitoring diverse trainees and students, possess effective mentorship skills including the ability to stimulate and foster the development of trainees and early-and mid-career investigators to support capacity building
• Demonstrated track record of integration of best practices in EDI, accessibility, equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism into all aspects of the work environment
• Understand the complexity and evolving nature of the research landscape and work to ensure all areas and their constituent communities are properly represented
• Demonstrate a clear scientific and strategic vision, including continuity for the CHRI within the larger LHSC context, and an in-depth understanding of the relative strengths, gaps, and opportunities in fields related to CHRI’s mandate
• Be able to undertake planning and prioritization processes including strategic visioning
• Be an excellent and culturally competent communicator, facilitator, and convener, able to listen and build relationships with broad and diverse stakeholders
• Be a strong advocate for health research across biomedical, clinical, health services, and social, cultural, environmental, and population health research pillars
• Be familiar with donor and foundation relations
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the value of engaging with partners and key stakeholders in sex, gender, and health research
• Demonstrate an understanding of human and financial resources management, including fostering an inclusive and culturally safe work environment

How to Apply

Apply through London Health Sciences Centre’s career website at ,

Job ID # 106776

Other Information

London Health Sciences Centre fosters a culture of patient and staff safety whereby all employees are guided by LHSC’s Mission, Vision, Values and Code of Conduct.

LHSC is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, visible minorities, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. We are committed to providing persons with disabilities equal opportunities and standards of goods and services and are also fully compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005), as applicable.