Research Officer, Wildfires Project, NEIHR National Coordinating Centre

Research Officer, Wildfires Project, NEIHR National Coordinating Centre

Please note that a strong internal candidate has been identified.

In March 2020, Canada’s national health research funder, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), announced funding to establish nine Indigenous health research centres across the country under its Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) program. This network of centres is intended to be funded from 2020 to 2035 (15 years; 2 renewal cycles), to create and sustain supportive health research environments driven by and grounded in Indigenous communities in Canada.

In 2024, the NEIHRs were renewed, along with a new Research Development Grant for the Yukon that will apply off-cycle for a NEIHR grant in 2026. The NEIHR National Coordinating Centre (NCC) provides support to the nine NEIHR networks and Yukon Development Grant as well as facilitates national and international research collaborations (

Primary Purpose

The Research Officer provides operational oversight for the Rapid Research Response – Wildfires with Indigenous Evacuees project, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research from August 1, 2025 to January 31, 2027. Working closely with Dr. Robert Henry, Nominated Principal Investigator (NPI) for this grant, and the NEIHR National Coordinating Centre (NCC), and Tara Erb, Research Manager of the NCC, the Research Officer supports research activities, partnership development, community engagement, knowledge translation, evaluation, and grant administration across a national network of collaborators.

The incumbent plays a central role in supporting rapid, community-engaged Indigenous health research and contributing to a Canada‑wide effort to build sustainable, Indigenous‑led emergency research capacity. This project is very significant to the NCC’s reputation and long-term sustainability, requiring a high degree of dedication and commitment.

Project Background: The 2025 wildfire season has significantly affected First Nations and Métis communities in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with over 40,000 people evacuated. Despite representing less than 5% of Canada’s population, the Public Health Agency of Canada estimated that Indigenous communities accounted for over 42% of wildfire evacuations nationally in 2023. These communities often face heightened discrimination, broken social networks, and disrupted access to health and social services when displaced.

Compounding this, current emergency research mechanisms are not designed to capture real-time data or center Indigenous knowledges, due in part to limitations in funding cycles, ethics processes, and knowledge mobilization.

This project, led by the National Coordinating Centre for the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NCC-NEIHR), and supported by the 10 provincial/territorial NEIHR centres, proposes a rapid research model rooted in Indigenous methodologies and relational accountability. It seeks to: (1) document the lived experiences and health impacts of First Nations and Métis evacuees through rapid ethnography, interviews, and surveys; (2) support NEIHR capacity to implement rapid research designs with communities and emergency response partners;

(3) examine ethical data governance and distinctions-based protocols; and (4) evaluate the rapid research process to inform a scalable response model.

Using pre-existing NEIHR-community relationships and grounded in the 4

Rs (respect, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility), the project aims to inform real-time policy and programming while upholding Indigenous governance and ethics. Knowledge mobilization will be prioritized through localized updates and a special issue in the International Journal of Indigenous Health (IJIH). The initiative also includes national and international partnerships to expand impact and share learnings globally. The NCC-NEIHR, with its established relationships and infrastructure, is best positioned to lead this innovative rapid research response.

Nature of Work: The Research Officer oversees daily operations of this research grant. They report to Dr. Robert Henry, PhD, the Nominated…