Interim Senior Vice President, Applied Research & Innovation

Interim Senior Vice President, Applied Research & Innovation

Reports to:

Chief Executive Officer Duration: 6-12 months Hybrid

Our client is a leading Canadian mental health organization with a strong commitment to improving outcomes for young people through evidence-informed care, advocacy, prevention, and community-based services.

The organization has accumulated significant clinical, operational, programmatic, and population health data and recognizes the opportunity to leverage these assets to generate meaningful insights, strengthen service delivery, improve youth outcomes, attract new funding sources, and demonstrate measurable impact to stakeholders.

To support this vision, the organization is seeking an accomplished professional to design and establish a sustainable Applied Research Division that will serve as a strategic enabler of the organization's mission and long-term growth.

This assignment will focus on creating the foundational strategy, governance, operating model, partnerships, funding framework, and implementation roadmap required to build a leading applied research capability focused on youth mental health outcomes.

This is an opportunity to build something from the ground up.

Reporting directly to the CEO and working closely with the Executive Leadership Team and Board of Directors, the Interim Executive will provide strategic leadership in establishing a new Applied Research Division capable of:

• Generating evidence to support improved youth mental health outcomes.
• Attracting research grants and external funding.
• Building partnerships with academic institutions, government agencies, healthcare providers, and industry.
• Supporting program innovation and evaluation.
• Positioning the organization as a recognized leader in youth mental health research and innovation.

The Interim Executive will be accountable for:

• Assessing the organization's readiness and opportunities for applied research.
• Developing a comprehensive Applied Research Strategy aligned with organizational priorities.
• Identifying research themes with the highest potential impact on youth mental health outcomes.
• Establishing realistic short- and long-term objectives.

• Assessing existing data assets and governance practices.
• Identifying opportunities to leverage clinical, operational, demographic, social, and population-level data.
• Developing a framework for transforming data into actionable organizational insights.
• Creating mechanisms to identify trends, risk indicators, service gaps, and emerging youth mental health needs.

• Developing a diversified funding strategy.
• Identifying new sources of revenue, including:
  • Health system partnerships
  • Academic collaborations
  • Foundations and philanthropic funding
  • Industry-sponsored initiatives
  • Knowledge translation and consulting opportunities

• Designing an appropriate governance framework.
• Establishing policies related to ethics, privacy, data stewardship, and research oversight.
• Defining reporting relationships and organizational accountabilities.
• Recommending committee structures and Board oversight mechanisms.
• Creating the organizational design for the Applied Research Division.
• Defining capabilities, roles, competencies, and resource requirements.
• Developing a phased implementation roadmap.

• Identifying strategic partnerships with:
  • Universities
  • Research institutes
  • Hospitals
  • Mental health organizations
  • Creating a sustainable collaboration framework.

• Establish the foundational Applied Research Division and transition it from concept to operational reality.
• Build and implement the organizational structure required to support the function.
• Define key roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities.
• Recruit and onboard critical team members where appropriate.
• Develop the policies, processes, and procedures required to support research operations, funding management, data governance, ethics, privacy, and partnership oversight.
• Establish performance metrics, reporting mechanisms, and operational dashboards.
• Create workflows for project selection, grant management, stakeholder engagement, partnership development, and knowledge translation.
• Develop operating standards that ensure consistency, sustainability, and scalability of the research function.
• Establish governance committees and define decision-making frameworks and reporting relationships.
• Implement foundational tools, templates, and documentation required to support ongoing operations.
• Initiate and actively manage the first wave of research, analytics, and funding initiatives to demonstrate value and establish organizational momentum.

• Define the competencies, experience, and leadership profile required for the permanent Executive Director or Vice President responsible for Applied Research and Innovation.
• Partner with the CEO and leadership team in the…