Indigenous Engagement and Policy Research Coordinator

Staff - Non Union

Job Category

M&P - AAPS

Job Profile

AAPS Salaried - Research and Facilitation, Level A

Job Title

Indigenous Engagement and Policy Research Coordinator

Department

Wasserman Laboratory | Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics | Faculty of Medicine

Compensation Range

$5,365.42 - $7,709.92 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date

February 12, 2026

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

March 1, 2027

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

Based on the campus of BC Children’s Hospital, the Wasserman laboratory is the lead laboratory for the expansion of the _Indigenous Background Variant Library_. This position presents a unique opportunity to work with Indigenous partners (individuals, communities and organizations) across Canada to improve the existing _Indigenous Background Variant Library,_ by making it more representative of the diversity of Indigenous peoples by continuing a commitment to the development of safe and transparent approaches to inclusion, and to create educational resources that support the _Indigenous Background Variant Library_ and related efforts. The work is conducted under funding from three intersecting grants: _‘Silent Genomes: Building a sustainable path to genetic/genomic care for Indigenous people of Canada and beyond’_, funded by Genome Canada, the CIHR-funded Team Grant: ‘_The Pan-Canadian Genome Library (PCGL)_’_, and the CIHR-funded training grant _‘The Canadian Bioinformatics, Computational Biology and Health Data Sciences Training and Community Platform_’ (now known as the Canadian Bioinformatics Hub. The PCGL aims to provide long-term national infrastructure and resources for maintaining data and access to the output of genome sequencing projects, including the Silent Genomes Project. Funded work under the Canadian Bioinformatics Hub is focused on building Indigenous capacity in data science and bioinformatics.

Occasional travel within Canada is likely.

For more information. Please see the Silent Genomes Project website at:
Organizational Status

Work Performed- Prepare summaries of policy documents related to data handling and data governance, with emphasis on Indigenous data- Draft new policy documents reflecting perspectives obtained from the literature and in-depth discussions with internal and external partners for consideration by project leaders and an Indigenous governance committee- Develop educational resources conveying information about policy and governance within the _Silent Genomes_ project- Facilitate engagement with First Nations, Metis, and Inuit partners to inform the development of genomic education resources for Indigenous communities/research participants- Identify and develop expertise in the various educational tools available, through in-depth literature review and consultation with education experts- Create genomic educational materials, based on input received from Indigenous partners- Provide guidance to peers, undergraduate students and volunteers in the Wasserman lab working on governance, ethics or policy work within Silent_ Genomes_- Engage with community organizations, Indigenous partners and Indigenous individuals to share information about the Silent Genomes project, the PCGL or the Canadian Bioinformatics Hub- Contribute to the writing of study protocols for participant recruitment, enrollment, and DNA collection for expansion of the _Indigenous Background Variant Library_- Contribute to the preparation and submission of academic publications- Give presentations to community members, stakeholders, and healthcare providers to communicate study activities and/or research results- Travel within Canada will be required on occasion

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Lack of careful attention to protocols and regulatory and ethical guidelines could suspend the Investigator and University as a site for further research and/or funding. Performance must strictly conform to research protocols, Tri-Council policy statement, and standard Canadian guidelines for health research involving Indigenous People.

A high level of cultural competency and sensitivity is necessary in this position, as any insensitive actions