Humber River Health. Lighting New Ways In Healthcare.

Since opening our doors in 2015 as North America’s first fully digital hospital, we remain unwavering in our belief that we can change the hospital where we work, the community where we live, and the world of healthcare beyond our borders. Serving a community of 850,000 residents in North West Toronto, Equity Inclusivity and active participation in the North West Toronto Ontario Health Team are key initiatives important to our Team.  At Humber River Health, we use a custom combination of technology and clinical expertise to rebuild elements of care. We make technology work for staff and physicians; giving them more time to spend with patients, to eliminate inefficiencies, and to reduce the chance of errors. Humber River Health is formally affiliated with both the University of Toronto and Queen’s University and committed to becoming a community academic hospital. Clinical Excellence, Optimizing Care through Technology and Community Connection frame our Research Strategy.

At Humber River Health, we’re not hoping for a renaissance, we are making it happen. As part of our dynamic team, you can lead the way, as we continue our journey towards high reliability care!

Manager, Research Ethics Board

Employment Status: Permanent Full Time
Hours of Work: Day shifts from Monday to Friday (some evening and weekend hours may be required based on operational needs) - subject to change as per Management Rights

Location:  Humber River Health, Wilson Site
Employee Group: Management
Reporting Relationship: Vice President, Research & Innovation

OVERVIEW OF ROLE

The Research Ethics Board (REB) is responsible for the ethical assessment and approval of all research involving human subjects at Humber River Health (HRH) with a mandate to approve, reject, propose modifications to, or terminate proposed or ongoing research in accordance with hospital policies, national guidance documents and legal requirements.  This role will manage research ethics at HRH through the Research Ethics Office.

RESPONSIBILITIES

REB Operations & Administration:

• Manage and assess research proposal submissions through all stages of the approval process
• Maintain compliance with the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS2), Health Canada Division 5, ICH-GCP, and relevant provincial and institutional guidelines.
• Manage REB meetings: schedule, set agendas, ensure quorum, prepare minutes, and communicate decisions.
• Assess submitted proposals to determine required review process (delegated vs full board).
• Review delegated proposal submissions in consultation with the Chair of Research Ethics and identify issues and revisions to be made.
• Administer appeals process for rejected proposals via the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) REB Appeals Process.
• Develop and lead the implementation of structural and operational changes to increase efficiencies and adapt to constantly evolving standards to augment governance best practices, oversight, and compliance.
• Develop collaborations with other REBs to increase efficiencies and streamline research ethics review for multi-site studies.
• Administer and maintain the Online Research Ethics Review System (HRH eREB system), ensuring smooth operation and timely escalation of issues as needed.
• Act as a resource and provide guidance for research ethics policies and procedures and regulatory guidelines (U.S. and Canadian) for Research Ethics Board members, researchers, clinician-scientists, research support staff, administrative staff, clinical leadership teams, and external stakeholders (e.g., pharmaceutical representatives, external physician investigators).
• Provide general administrative support to the Chair of Research Ethics and the REB. 
• Recruit, orient, and train REB members and staff, including community representatives and experts.
• Organize REB meetings and ensure quorum, documentation, and efficient decision-making.
• Support Research strategic initiatives as needed.

Policies, Ethics & Regulatory Compliance:

• Interpret and apply evolving national and international research ethics and regulatory policies.
• Ensure REB decisions are well documented and issued in a timely, transparent, and consistent manner.
• Prepare the REB for audits or inspections by Health Canada, the institution, or affiliated academic bodies.
• Develop, implement, and update institutional REB policies and SOPs.
• Monitor and interpret changes to relevant laws, guidelines, and standards.
• Ensure compliance with TCPS2, Health Canada, FDA (if applicable) and institutional policies.

Education & Support:

• Serve as the primary point of contact for investigators and research staff on ethics-related matters.
• Provide guidance on REB submissions, informed consent, and protocol development.
• Develop training materials and workshops to promote ethical research conduct.
• Promote awareness of ethical issues in research.
• Provide continuing education on ethics and regulatory updates to REB Members.
• Act as an advisory to the research community internally and externally.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences, Public Health, Bioethics and/or related discipline required. Graduate degree in Health Science, Ethics or related discipline preferred
• Member of Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards (CAREB-ACCER) preferred
• 5 years of experience in research ethics required, preferably experience in managing or supporting REBs within a healthcare or academic setting
• MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) proficiency, required
• Knowledge and applied experience in research best practices, Canadian healthcare system and healthcare funding landscape, and experience in executing research studies in hospital settings
• Collaborative, interpersonal, creative, committed to research integrity, leadership, diplomacy behavioural style
• Relationship building with participants, principal investigators, all levels of management and leadership staff, physician and all stakeholders involved in the research process.
• Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training, preferred
• Research methods training (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, research design, etc.) and knowledge on pharmaceutical research regulations and guidelines, preferred

Why choose Humber River Health?

At Humber River Health, our staff, physicians, and volunteers are lighting new ways in healthcare. We are proud to be recognized as a part of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc. We support employees by providing evidence-based leadership and cultivating a culture that consistently wows with our unwavering commitment to Staff, Physician and Volunteer engagement. We are a member of the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) and are deeply involved in research and academic collaboration. We are dedicated to high-quality patient care and demonstrate our values of compassion, professionalism, and respect.

Attracting and retaining a workforce that represents the diverse communities surrounding Humber River Health, is a priority.  We encourage applicants from all equity-deserving groups, including but not limited to, individuals who identity as Indigenous, racialized, seniors, persons living with disabilities, women, and those who identify as 2SLGBTQ.

Applicants will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, disability, medical condition, or any protected category prohibited by the Ontario Human Rights Code and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Accommodations are available throughout the recruitment process as well as during employment at Humber River Health. Please direct any accommodation requests to our recruitment team.