Scientific Director

The Institute for Work & Health is an independent, not-for-profit research organization. Our mission is to conduct and mobilize research that supports policy-makers, employers and workers in creating healthy, safe and inclusive work environments. The Institute provides practical and relevant findings and evidence-based products on the inter-relationships between work and health from worker, workplace and systems perspectives.

About the position

The Scientific Director of the Institute for Work & Health is the senior scientific leadership position in the organization. The Scientific Director balances the twin goals of stewarding the scientific excellence of IWH through innovative, investigator-driven research, and aligning this research with the mission-driven goals of the Institute, including its research priorities and its commitment to address the research needs of stakeholders. In pursuing these twin goals, the Scientific Director is guided by IWH’s Strategic Plan and Research Plan.

The successful candidate will demonstrate evidence of high-quality scholarly output that shows independent research and impact, including peer-reviewed publications, external grant funding, engagement with a range of academic and non-academic stakeholders, and an ongoing commitment to academic excellence. They will bring a proven ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary environment and foster a collegial, inclusive, and high-performing culture that supports research productivity and innovation, and that strengthens knowledge translation and exchange.

The position of Scientific Director is part of the IWH Executive Team. In this capacity, they advocate for the needs and perspectives of the research themes within the Institute; collaborate with fellow members of the Executive Team in balancing the objectives of each of the core functions of IWH with fiscal circumstances; participate in strengthening IWH’s external relations; and contribute to the security of IWH’s intellectual independence and organization integrity.

Core duties and responsibilities

• The supervision and mentoring of scientific staff, which includes providing advice and guidance on balancing investigator-driven research with mission-driven research goals, and on maintaining scientific staff’s relationships with affiliated academic institutions
• Providing leadership and mentoring to scientific staff in achieving consistent excellence in standards of research ethics, publication quality and grant submissions.
• Providing balanced advocacy across the range of disciplines and research methods at the Institute
• Mentoring and supporting the development of the research priorities represented in IWH’s Strategic and Research Plans
• Providing recommendations to the President, when necessary, concerning the initiation of new projects or the cessation of existing projects
• Recommending to the President the recruitment of scientific staff and research support staff to address strategic priorities of the organization
• Monitoring the progress of research trainees and coordinating the planning and allocation of IWH funding support to research trainees
• Representing IWH’s scientific mission and organizational values in external scientific forums and among IWH’s non-research stakeholders, in particular research collaborators and research funders.
• In collaboration with the Director, Strategic Relations, ensure there is active communication and coordination between IWH’s research priorities and knowledge transfer and exchange activities.

The Scientific Director will normally also balance their director-level responsibilities with research activity consistent with the level of a Senior Scientist at IWH. Senior Scientists demonstrate exemplary standards in scholarship, mentoring and institutional citizenship, and leadership in supporting and or developing national and international collaborations that strengthen the research field of work and health.

Education and experience

• PhD training in a discipline relevant to the work of IWH.
• A demonstrated commitment to the research priorities of IWH, and related evidence of being a well-established researcher and an international leader in at least one of these research areas.
• Demonstrated high level of success in national peer-reviewed grant funding competitions.
• Experience initiating and coordinating multiple research projects in the field of work and health as a principal investigator.
• Effective leadership skills with demonstrated capacity to foster research excellence, support diverse and collaborative teams, and mobilize scientific staff around shared strategic directions.
• Excellent project management, multi-tasking, and time-management skills, with the ability to set priorities and meet deadlines.
• A commitment to the integration of knowledge transfer and exchange activities as part of their research work.
• A record of commitment and accomplishment to the training and mentoring of highly qualified research personnel, including participation on Master’s and PhD thesis committees and supervision of PhD students.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and presentation/speaking skills, strong writing and editing skills, and an ability to work effectively with both external stakeholders and IWH staff
• Experience and familiarity with occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation systems and key work and health issues in Ontario, or a comparable jurisdiction, would be an asset.

Compensation package

This is a permanent position, starting in December 2026. Starting salary will depend on qualifications and experience and will be in the range of $160,000.00 - $200,000.00 plus group benefits, participation in a defined benefit pension plan, and at least four weeks' annual vacation. Suitability for the position will be assessed at six months. Secondment arrangements from other organizations will be considered.

Application details

• Applicants must be able to work a minimum of two days per week at the IWH office in Toronto.
• Applicants must be legally entitled to work on full-time basis for any employer in Canada.
• Please provide a one-page cover letter, a three-page summary outlining your suitability for the position, and an up-to-date curriculum vitae outlining relevant research leadership and research outputs.

If you are interested in this position, please apply with a single MS Word or PDF file and forward to:

Derek Wills
Director, Human Resources & Corporate Services
400 University Avenue, Suite 1800
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1S5
Email: careers@iwh.on.ca

Applications will be accepted until August 24, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. (EST) or until the position is filled. IWH does not use AI to screen applications.

IWH is committed to creating an inclusive workplace that values and promotes diversity. IWH encourages applications from racialized persons/persons of colour, Indigenous people, women, LGBTQ2S+ persons, persons with disabilities, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

Job applicants requiring accommodation to participate in the hiring process should contact Derek Wills at dwills@iwh.on.ca or (416) 927-2027, ext. 2115 to discuss their needs.

We thank all applicants, but only those considered for the position will be contacted.

About IWH

IWH, guided by a Board of Directors and an international Scientific Advisory Committee, conducts research that examines primary prevention and interventions in the workplace; effective and efficient rehabilitation and safe, timely return to work for people with work-related injury and illness; labour market experiences and their health consequences; and disability compensation systems and their behavioural consequences. IWH supports an active knowledge transfer and exchange program, which implements interactive strategies to transfer research findings to key decision-makers. IWH also trains and mentors the next generation of work and health researchers.

IWH is committed to excellent working conditions, a cooperative team environment for its employees, and transparent, diverse and fair recruiting practices of staff and trainees.

IWH operates with the support of the Government of Ontario.