Senior Policy Lead

Vancouver Coastal Health • Vancouver, BC

3h • CA$46 - CA$67 • Onsite

About The Position

Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is seeking a Senior Policy Lead to join the Health Promotion & Public Policy team. This role provides regional leadership in policy advocacy, analysis, and monitoring to advance health promotion work across VCH Communities of Care. The Senior Policy Lead will collaborate with Medical Health Officers, Directors, and staff across VCH Public Health to lead the co-creation, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of healthy public policy and health-promoting initiatives. The role involves providing expertise in core public health areas and influencing policy development and adoption within key sectors and settings, including government, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, schools, and other identified environments.

Requirements

• Master’s Degree in Public Policy, Public Health, Public Administration, Law, Planning, Urban Health or another relevant field.
• Five (5) to seven (7) year's recent, related experience including managing large-scale projects (policy research development, advocacy initiative, strategic planning and deployment projects) and facilitating/managing consultation processes with diverse stakeholder groups.
• Current registration with relevant professional College/Association, if applicable.
• Excellent communication skills for complex interdisciplinary environments, including communication with senior government officials (federal, provincial, municipal).
• Computer literacy with word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation, project management, and database applications.
• Demonstrated strong knowledge, skills, and experience in public policy development, applied strategic research methodologies, and affecting social and organizational change.
• Demonstrated broad knowledge of population health, social, environmental, and behavioural determinants of health.
• Demonstrated applied knowledge of social, economic, political, and health trends and statistics.
• Demonstrated knowledge of urban, rural, and regional planning and policymaking processes, urban politics, advocacy, and activism.
• Demonstrated current and up-to-date knowledge of policies, programs, funding streams, capacity building opportunities, community and industry interventions, events, campaigns, and other relevant considerations related to population health.
• Considerable experience leading and coordinating working groups, steering committees, and advisory committees with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct rapid policy reviews, memos, and other internal communication materials.
• Demonstrated ability to lead strategic efforts, manage conflict, and exercise a high degree of judgment and independence.
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge, skills, and experience in project management principles and methodologies, including the ability to set and adapt to changing priorities.
• Demonstrates thorough understanding and experience engaging available resources for projects and relevant stakeholder groups.
• Demonstrated ability to utilize initiative, vision, independent thinking, and creative problem-solving abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to provide strong feedback and detailed analysis on project processes, and make recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to utilize effective facilitation, persuasion, and negotiation abilities.
• Works effectively under time pressure to meet deadlines, balance work priorities, and resolve problems.
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain in-depth knowledge of municipal, regional, and senior government policymaking processes related to population health.
• Monitor policy discourse and key legislative processes relevant to regional districts, school districts, and municipalities.
• Provide guidance and support to Medical Health Officers (MHOs), Directors, and staff on the work of relevant senior government ministries, crown corporations, and agencies.
• Provide strategic briefings to MHOs and/or the Executive Director of Population Health on policy sub-systems, opportunities, network actors, and potential interventions.
• Assist MHOs and other teams in producing reports on community health status in collaboration with the Public Health Surveillance Unit.
• Liaise with legislative and regulatory bodies and maintain relationships with contacts in all levels of government, non-profit, and non-governmental agencies.
• Synthesize and critically appraise research to inform evidence-based decision-making, drawing on resources within VCH Public Health.
• Develop and coordinate research and/or evaluation activities to assess the impacts of policies and programs on population and public health.
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with expert knowledge holders in academia, NGOs, think tanks, and other organizations for partnership-driven research.
• Prepare information, presentations, and reports on determinants of health and other population health issues for senior management, MHOs, and partners.
• Provide and/or coordinate strategic policy research and support for policy development and decision-making.
• Advise senior leaders on international and local best practices and methodologies for addressing complex health issues.
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with relevant policy actors and key contacts in sectors such as local and regional governments, education, non-profit, early childhood environments, private sector, and post-secondary institutions.
• Develop, facilitate, and coordinate opportunities for knowledge exchange and research sharing related to population and public health, focusing on upstream interventions.
• Maintain in-depth understanding of local epidemiology, intervention evidence, and policy opportunities for assigned determinants of health portfolio.
• Create, implement, monitor, and report on the progress of Healthy Public Policy initiatives.
• Lead and facilitate multi-sectoral initiatives and actions with internal and external stakeholders.
• Utilize initiative, vision, leadership, innovative thinking, and creative problem-solving strategies to implement project plans.
• Utilize effective facilitation, persuasion, and negotiation abilities to achieve consensus, resolve conflict, and achieve desired outcomes.
• Maintain ongoing support for initiatives from project sponsors and stakeholders, ensuring effective communication.
• Develop detailed project charters, terms of reference, methodologies, and plans for policy research, development, advocacy, and strategic planning projects.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health benefits package, including MSP, extended health and dental and municipal pension plan
• Employer-paid training and leadership development opportunities
• Wellness supports, including counselling, critical incident and innovative wellness services
• Award-winning recognition programs
• Access to exclusive discount offers and deals for VCH staff

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior