Senior Researcher

Role Responsibilities

Are you an experienced researcher or analyst who is passionate about using data to improve health systems? Are you motivated by complex questions and the opportunity to produce evidence that informs decisions affecting Albertans?

Reporting to the Manager, Health System Planning, the Senior Researcher will play a key role in turning complex health data into clear, credible, and actionable insights. The position will assess the current performance of Alberta’s health system while helping decision-makers understand emerging pressures and longer-term needs.

The Senior Researcher provides advanced analytical, modeling, research, and reporting expertise to support evidence-informed health system planning, performance measurement, and strategic decision-making. Working closely with internal and external stakeholders, the position leads and contributes to the development of analytical products, planning tools, methodologies, and recommendations related to health system utilization, capacity, infrastructure, access, and performance.

This role is well suited to someone who enjoys solving complex problems, working collaboratively, and communicating technical findings to a range of audiences. The successful candidate will have opportunities to lead meaningful analytical work, develop innovative approaches, and translate evidence into practical advice for health system leaders.

See the JOB DESCRIPTION LINK for detailed responsibilities.

Qualifications

A university graduation in a related field (e.g., Epidemiology, Public Health, Biostatistics, Statistics, Data Science, Health Informatics, Economics, Math) plus at least 4 years of progressively responsible related experience; or equivalent as described below.

Equivalencies

Directly related experience or education considered based on one year of education or one year of education for one year of experience.

Preferred Qualifications
•    Advanced knowledge of health administrative, clinical, population health, and related datasets, including the ability to analyze large and complex health data to support evidence-informed planning, performance measurement, monitoring, and decision-making.

•    Advanced knowledge of database, programming, and statistical analysis tools such as Snowflake, Oracle SQL, Python, and R, and data visualization tools such as Power BI, R Shiny, and Tableau.

•    Demonstrated ability to develop, manage, optimize, and automate data workflows and analytic processes to support efficient processing, quality assurance, analysis, and reporting of large health datasets.

•    Strong knowledge of the health system and of health system planning, performance measurement, service utilization analysis, and related analytic and modelling techniques used in healthcare planning.

•    Ability to apply advanced analytic methods, including statistical analysis, data management, forecasting, and other data science techniques, to analyze and interpret health data and support informed decision-making.

•    Strong ability to interpret complex results, identify trends and drivers, and translate technical findings into clear, actionable information for technical and non-technical audiences.

•    Knowledge of Alberta's legislative and policy framework governing health and personal information, including the Health Information Act (HIA) and Alberta's public-sector privacy and access legislation, including the Protection of Privacy Act
     (POPA) and Access to Information Act (ATIA), as well as related regulations, information management practices, and data governance requirements.

•    Knowledge of data quality principles, record linkage, validation methods, privacy, confidentiality, and security requirements applicable to health information and administrative data use.

•    Strong project management, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality work within tight timelines.

•    Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare reports, briefing materials, presentations, and technical documentation for a range of audiences.

•    Strong interpersonal and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across analytic teams, program areas, and external partners.


Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification.

Notes

Hours of Work: Monday to Friday, 36.25 hours per week.
Location: 10333 Southport Road SW, Calgary, AB T2W 3X4 Canada

This competition may be used to fill future vacancies, across the Government of Alberta, at the same or lower classification level.

Additional requirements
•    A cover letter outlining why you are applying to this role and how your experience relates to the qualifications is required.
•    The final candidate for this position will undergo appropriate pre-employment checks including academic credentials check and references checks.

Links and information on what we have to offer:
•    Working for the Alberta Public Service 
•    Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP)  
•    Alberta Public Service Benefit Information 
•    Professional learning and development
•    Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool 
•    Positive workplace culture and work-life balance.