Social Action Researcher

**Program**:
Strategy and Innovation

**Contract**:
Permanent, Full-Time; 35 hours per week

**Location**:
128A Sterling Road or from a safe home-based office as required

**Salary**:
$59,083 - $72,947 Grade 8 EX

**Application Deadline**:
July 28, 2025, by 5:00 PM

**File Number**:
SA #26-25 - with cover letter and resume

**E-Mail**:
**Mail**:
HR, 355 Church Street, Toronto ON M5B 0B2

**Web**:
familyservicetoronto.org

**Grow with us**:
Family Service Toronto (FST) helps people face a wide variety of life challenges. For over 100 years, we have worked with individuals and families destabilized by precarious mental health and/or socioeconomic circumstances, to achieve greater resilience and stability in more just and supportive communities. We achieve this through our direct service work of intervention and prevention which includes, case management, counselling, peer support and education; knowledge building; and system-level work including social action, advocacy, community-building and working with partners to strengthen the sector.

We’re proud of our people and culture We are constantly evolving what we do and how we do it. Our work is grounded in the lived experience of the clients and the community. We celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and excellence. We are agile, learning and always willing to try new things.

FST hosts the National and Ontario Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty in Canada, which are broad coalitions of community organizations committed to community engagement, public education, research and policy change to eradicate poverty in Canada.

FST’s Social Action (SA) department focuses on driving system-level change for more just and supportive communities at the local, provincial and national levels. Our community building, research, public education and advocacy work is focused on influencing the systems and institutions that shape the lives of all community members.

**The Opportunity**:
We are looking for a Researcher, Social Action who is experienced in community-based research methods and principles to implement the research activities of Social Action, Strategy and Innovation and Campaign 2000. Working closely with the Social Action team, Campaign 2000’s steering committee members and diverse communities within FST program areas and from across the country, the successful incumbent will be responsible for developing, implementing and coordinating a variety of research activities including, but not limited to: community conversations and focus groups with diverse people living in poverty; literature reviews and statistical data gathering and analysis. The Social Action Researcher will be responsible for using intersectional and gender-based analysis to synthesize data and create a variety of outputs including reports, briefing notes, summaries, recommendations, etc. to advance poverty elimination locally and nationally

This position reports to the Senior Director, Strategy and Innovation/National Director, Campaign 2000. The position will work remotely and on-site as required. Hours of work may be irregular and involve evenings and weekends. Travel will be required.

**What’s in it for you?**:

- Hone your skills and learn from a diverse, highly skilled team
- Thrive in trust-based culture and have fun, working with an amazing, diverse group of driven, talented people.
- Get on-the-job training and development.
- Make a significant impact on our clients and community.
- This full-time permanent position offers flexibility, generous paid leave and comes with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

**Who You are**:
You have strong interpersonal relations and respect, which will enable you to create ‘brave spaces’ when facilitating community conversations and interviews with people directly affected by poverty. Your technical expertise as well as your personal, professional and behavioural integrity will allow you to build rapport and establish yourself as a credible and trustworthy resource to all project stakeholders. You are a creative problem-solver and decision-maker, which allows you to go beyond the conventional. You pay attention to detail and are a strong communicator. You are someone who has a strong sense of justice and a commitment to equity and inclusion, which may have been developed through your own personal lived experience.

**Qualifications**:

- Degree in Public Policy, Social Work, Adult Education, Political Science, Women’s / Gender Studies or a related field. Foreign credentials and relevant experience will be considered.
- Minimum five years of related experiences, with three years of community-based, participatory research experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Strong skills in quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation methodologies.
- Experience coordinating and conducting research activities, including designing research tools, carrying out interviews and focus groups and analysing qualit