Research & Policy Strategy Analyst

Research & Policy Strategy Analyst (Volunteer)

Location: Ontario, Canada (remote, occasional collaboration)

Time Commitment: 7 hours per week

Term: Initial 12-month commitment

Reports to: CEO

About Us

Active Leaders of Love (ALL) is a community leadership and advocacy organization focused on improving access across Ontario — access to information, resources, and opportunities. Through community-informed, project-based initiatives, we work to advance equity, inclusion, and accessibility while strengthening community wellbeing, safety, and participation.

The ALL Project is our strategic initiative model, tackling one equity or accessibility challenge at a time through focused, time-bound projects. We respond quickly to community needs, deliver measurable impact, and create solutions that can be scaled to benefit more communities over time.

About the Role

The Research & Policy Strategy Analyst is a senior, hands-on volunteer role focused on policy research, policy development, and strategic analysis. This role complements the existing Research & Strategy Leads by providing deep policy expertise, analytical rigor, and coordination support to ensure research strategies are feasible, well-framed, and executable.

A key focus of this role is bridging research and action — transforming insights into clear, actionable policy and strategy recommendations that support decision-making and public affairs messaging, including for initiatives like the Light Board Project.

While this role is collaborative, it carries independent responsibility for policy-oriented research, analysis, and deliverables, and helps coordinate the research team to synthesize inputs and set direction, without formal management authority.

Key Responsibilities

Policy Research & Development

• Lead and contribute to policy research, analysis, and drafting, including reviewing existing policies and proposing new policy positions aligned with ALL's mission
• Analyze public-sector, legislative, and regulatory contexts relevant to ALL initiatives
• Develop policy briefs, issue scans, and strategic policy memos

Research Strategy & Analysis

• Collaborate with Research & Strategy Leads to set research priorities, framing, and methodologies
• Ensure proposed research approaches are feasible and executable given team capacity
• Synthesize qualitative and quantitative data into clear, actionable insights

Evidence-to-Policy Translation

• Translate research findings and community insights into clear, actionable policy and strategy recommendations, particularly in support of the Lightboard Project and future ALL initiatives
• Develop evidence-based narratives that connect "what the research shows" to "what decision-makers should do"
• Support the articulation of collective policy or strategic recommendations suitable for adoption by public-sector or institutional decision-makers
• Ensure policy recommendations are grounded in feasibility, equity, and real-world implementation considerations

Coordination & Collaboration

• Coordinate research inputs across the team to support alignment and coherence (without formal people management)
• Collaborate with the Communications & Public Affairs team to align research, policy framing, and public affairs messaging
• Contribute to final reports that reflect executed research strategies, not just drafts or templates

Strategic Support

• Support leadership with evidence-based insights for decision-making
• Contribute to funding cases or grant applications as needed, though this is not a primary responsibility

What You Bring

• 7–10+ years of experience in policy, government, advocacy, or applied research
• Demonstrated experience researching, analyzing, and drafting policy
• Experience translating research into policy or strategic recommendations used by decision-makers
• Strong analytical, synthesis, and writing skills
• Experience working in or with Ontario-based communities or public systems
• Ability to collaborate across functions (research, public affairs, communications)
• Comfort working independently while contributing to a team-based environment
• Alignment with ALL's mission and values around equity, inclusion, and accessibility

Why Volunteer With ALL

• Shape policy-informed community advocacy from the ground up
• Contribute senior expertise to a growing, mission-driven organization
• Influence real-world initiatives through executed research and policy outputs
• Collaborate with experienced professionals across research, communications, and public affairs
• Play a meaningful role in building sustainable, evidence-based impact in Ontario communities

How to Apply

Please submit a brief statement of interest and a resume highlighting your policy and research experience. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.