Lead, Health Economics

Status: Full time, indefinite

Location: Ottawa, Ontario, or Toronto, Ontario (hybrid)

Closing date: November 14, 2025

Salary range: $98,940 to $123,420 per year

Canada's Drug Agency is a pan-Canadian health organization. We are an independent, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Ottawa, with a satellite office in Toronto. Created and funded by Canada's federal, provincial, and territorial governments, we drive better coordination, alignment, and public value within Canada's drug and health technology landscape. We provide Canada's health system leaders with independent evidence and advice so they can make informed drug, health technology, and health system decisions, and we collaborate with national and international partners to enhance our collective impact.

We are proud to be a 2025 National Capital Region Top Employer. Canada's Drug Agency was named one of the National Capital Region's Top Employers for the second year in a row. This recognition celebrates our dedication to fostering a work environment that nurtures growth; innovation; and inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA). It reaffirms our ongoing efforts to create an outstanding workplace where our employees thrive and feel valued.

Most of our employees participate in a hybrid workspace arrangement that allows for flexibility and enhanced work-life balance. We believe in the positive impact of in-person collaboration and the importance of team building. Added consideration is given to qualified candidates who live near our offices and can participate in a hybrid arrangement. Those applying must be located in Ontario, except in rare circumstances where the employment position is remote.

Primary Focus

The Lead, Health Economics is responsible for ensuring the preparation of high-quality economic products, including formulary reviews and technology-related optimal use projects. This is achieved by technical oversight and review of economic products to ensure that project deliverables reflect our methods, processes, and standards to meet the customer's needs.

In support of this, the Lead, Health Economics is responsible for:

• determining the best approach and scope for economic products
• providing technical oversight and comments to economic teams
• performing management reviews and checking overall quality assurance in economic reports
• conducting 10 to 15 reviews and/or 1 to 2 health technology assessment (HTA) projects per year
• executing initiatives relevant to health economics that are aligned with the annual business plan.

What do the daily responsibilities look like?

On any given day, the Lead, Health Economics will:

• lead economic projects with an assigned economic team by ensuring continuous communication with economic team members to maintain clarity of roles, responsibilities, and expectations
• identify and communicate with team members the scope of a project based on an assessment of customer needs and timelines
• determine cases where a more tailored approach may be more appropriate, for example, streamlined economic analyses (if appropriate, the Lead, Health Economics will outline a framework for the tailored approach in consultation with Director, Health Economics and/or Health Economics managers)
• provide oversight for the economic processes for projects by giving guidance on technical or process aspects
• ensure reports are prepared in accordance with our processes and oversee quality of reports at various stages (e.g., drafts, responding to internal and external feedback, final reports), which entails ensuring the technical rigour of the reports and that the content of the report is accurate
• screen sponsor-submitted economic dossiers to ensure they meet pre-existing application requirements
• review responses to manufacturers' comments or address internal and external feedback
• review economic information in our recommendations to ensure it is captured appropriately
• manage responses to specific requests from the expert committee for clarification or additional information on economic products
• lead the development of health economics tools to assist decision-making at local levels
• provide input on lessons learned from each project with a view to continual improvement of processes and approaches
• participate in ongoing knowledge development in health economics, drug therapy, medical technologies, critical appraisal, systematic review methods, and statistics, and commit to a continued process for the improvement of guidelines, policies and procedures, and website information — including review processes and report templates — to maximize the efficiency of processes and the quality of the economic reports
• participate and contribute to health economics group initiatives, such as health economics quality assurance approaches and training workshops.

Is this the right role for you?

The Lead, Health Economics will likely have:

• a completed graduate degree in economics or a health-related discipline, coupled with relevant experience in health services research (ideally related to health economics and/or technology assessments), which is normally attained over a period of 3 years; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered
• an in-depth understanding of microeconomic analysis, including experience in reviewing and conducting economic evaluations, budget impact analyses, and computer-based economic and statistical modelling
• an understanding of the health care system in Canada and knowledge of the decision-making processes in the federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions
• broad knowledge of research methods used in the development and application of HTAs
• an understanding of research principles and evidence-based medicine principles
• sound knowledge of epidemiology and biostatistics
• experience in critical appraisal of clinical studies and network meta-analyses
• excellent communication skills (verbal, written, and presentation) and the ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary staff, advisory committees, and external reviewers
• strong leadership and organizational skills and the ability to work with tight deadlines
• the ability to anticipate project-related obstacles, and to evaluate and decide upon the appropriate course of action to address these potential issues without impacting project deliverables and without compromising methodological quality.

What will set you apart?

The following are considered asset qualifications:

• experience working on a pan-Canadian program
• fluency in French.

What's in it for you?

At Canada's Drug Agency, you will find:

• a team-focused, supportive, and inclusive work environment
• a competitive compensation package, including participation in the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) — 1 of Canada's largest and most successful defined benefit pension plans
• a comprehensive benefits package for employees and dependents, including health, dental, life, and travel insurance; a health spending account; and an employee assistance program
• paid time off (including a minimum of 4 weeks of vacation leave as well as sick leave and life leave, a December holiday closure, and other leave options)
• opportunities to work with and learn from highly specialized professionals
• personal growth through professional development opportunities, corporate training, and support for continuing education
• a friendly culture that supports community engagement
• the opportunity to make a difference for people living in Canada and effect positive change.

To apply for this position, visit the Careers section of our website. Your résumé must clearly identify how your skills and experience relate to the requirements of this role. Applications for this opportunity may be used for future staffing vacancies. We thank you for your interest; however, only those candidates selected for further consideration will be contacted. Please visit our website regularly for new opportunities.

At Canada's Drug Agency, we actively celebrate, support, and flourish through our differences. Our employees are people with different strengths, experiences, and backgrounds, who share a passion for building the future of health care. We demonstrate a commitment to IDEA by encouraging continuous training, modelling inclusive behaviours, and proactively managing biases. We highly encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including people of all places of origin and religions, people with disabilities, people who are neurodivergent, people who are Black or racialized, Indigenous people, women, and people from the 2SLGBTQ+ communities. We also provide accommodations during all phases of the recruitment process. If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please let the Talent Acquisition team know when they contact you. We will work with you to meet your needs.

Please note that, as a condition of employment, successful candidates will be required to complete a confidential pre-employment background check, including criminal, employment, and educational verifications.

Candidates must be legally eligible to work in Canada. We regret that we are unable to sponsor employment visas at this time.

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