Senior Advocacy Specialist

Job Title: Senior Advocacy Specialist

Vacancies: This posting is for (1) current vacancy

Location: Vancouver, BC | Ottawa, ON | Calgary, AB | Halifax, NS | St John's, NL | Kelowna, BC| Prince George, BC | Montreal, QC | Quebec City (Detailed office location information can be found by visiting this link:

Work Model: Hybrid Work Model

Salary Band: 5 ($56,000 - $64,000 CAD)

(This is a Full-Time Contract opportunity ending in February 2028)

HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF CANCER CARE IN CANADA

Join an exceptional team of advocacy professionals dedicated to transforming the future of cancer, Canada’s leading cause of death. As one of the top health lobbyist organizations in the country, the Canadian Cancer Society has been shaping policy on cancer-related issues for decades. CCS was at the forefront of historic wins like bans on indoor smoking and exposure to asbestos, restrictions on cigarette advertising, and the extension of Canada’s Employment Insurance sickness benefit. We have successfully pushed for more recent changes like improving access to mammograms, expanding access to job-protected medical leave and bringing awareness to the significant out-of-pocket costs of cancer borne by patients and caregivers. In this role, you will help CCS continue to drive progress to save lives and improve the health of all Canadians.

MAKING AN IMPACT

Reporting to the Director of Advocacy (Public Engagement) this role will support the Public Engagement offering in CCS advocacy. Primarily, this position will lead advocacy initiatives along the drug access pathway in Canada . This will involve regular engagement with external stakeholders, including Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA), Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS), the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA), government bodies, cancer charities and patient organizations, clinicians, and people affected by cancer.

In addition, the Senior Advocacy Specialist will support patient and clinician engagement across CCS advocacy priorities. This includes helping to ensure that the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and clinicians are meaningfully reflected in advocacy efforts. The role will contribute to the design and implementation of engagement approaches, support the execution of engagement activities, and identify opportunities to strengthen public and stakeholder input. Through this work, the position will help sustain CCS’s capacity to conduct high-quality engagement.

What You’ll Be Doing

Health Technology Assessment Tasks

• Lead the delivery of the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) program, including coordinating and developing patient submissions to pan-Canadian bodies, under the direction of the Director, Advocacy. This includes contributing to and implementing advocacy priorities aimed at improving access to cancer drugs and diagnostics through system-level engagement with non-elected stakeholders (e.g., CDA, INESSS, pCPA, PMPRB, etc.).
• Monitor all CDA/INESSS open calls for patient feedback on drug reviews relevant to CCS’s mandate
• Conduct research and liaise with internal mission teams and external stakeholders to develop a strong knowledge of the drug under evaluation and its clinical context
• Develop patient surveys and interview questionnaires aligned with the cancer type, indication, and drug under review; work alongside the Strategic Initiatives team to refine these tools and support dissemination of related calls to action
• Evaluate qualitative and quantitative data from surveys and interviews, and synthesize findings into draft patient submissions for review and approval
• Build and maintain relationships with senior staff at patient organizations and health charities to support collaboration and resource sharing.
• Sustain and build relationships with senior patient engagement staff at pharmaceutical companies to generate contacts for clinical trials patients, as well as develop an awareness of similar drugs available on the market and funding status
• Promote the work of CCS in Health Technology Assessments to external partners
• Liaise with CDA/INESSS staff regarding CCS led or partner HTA submissions. Track the outcome of submissions
• Evaluate the success of each submission and the total number of patients engaged to contribute to advocacy key performance indicators. Maintain program data and existing tracking tools related to this program for advocacy performance measurement.
• Develop and submit all patient submissions within a tight and defined timeframe to ensure CDA and INESSS have the information required to inform oncology recommendations

Advocacy Tasks

• Work across the organization to support the establishment of advocacy priorities to non-elected, pan Canadian bodie