Director, Applied Research (6-month contract) in Toronto, Ontario at Kids Help Phone
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Job Description
Job title | Director, Applied Research (6-month contract) |
Department | Service Programs |
Reports to | Vice President, Equity, Programs & Innovation Implementation |
Salary range | $105,000 - $125,000 |
Job type | Full-Time, 6-month contract, Hybrid working 2-3 days per week |
Location | Toronto, Ontario |
Posting period | Friday, August 7, 2026 |
The opportunity Are you motivated by the chance to help ensure all young people in Canada can access mental health support and Feel Out Loud? Kids Help Phone (KHP) is Canada’s Unlock The Hope Youth Charity. We’re the first and Canada's only national 24/7, free, confidential, and multilingual e-mental health service for youth and a global leader in innovation for youth and their well-being.
Reporting to the VP, Equity, Programs & Innovation Implementation, the Director, Applied Research is responsible for advancing KHP’s applied research strategy and strengthening the systems, partnerships, and organizational capacity required to support the best possible interaction for young people. The role will support the growth, evaluation, outcome measurement, and sustainability of applied research activities across KHP, with a focus on building research infrastructure, mobilizing knowledge, and enabling program and service leaders to use evidence in decision-making. The Director will be a core member of KHP’s applied research function and will work closely with clinical, program, technology, data, equity, privacy, legal stakeholders and external partners. The role requires deep applied research expertise, strong partnership management, and the ability to design practical evidence, evaluation, and governance approaches that support youth mental health services today. This includes strengthening data and ethics practices, supporting evaluation and outcome measurement, and building staff research literacy across the organization. It’ll take courage, collaboration, innovation, resilience and trust. If you’re interested in transforming e-mental health solutions with KHP, you can explore this opportunity today! The responsibilities
Applied Research Strategy, Infrastructure & Governance
Service Evaluation & Outcome Measurement
Knowledge Mobilization & Capacity Building
Research Partnerships & Portfolio Management
Organizational Leadership
The qualifications
Don’t meet every qualification listed? Studies often report equity-deserving people are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every requirement. KHP is dedicated to building a more diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role, but your experience doesn’t align with every qualification, we welcome you to apply anyway. You may have the qualifications / experience for this role or other opportunities at KHP! The application process To apply for this opportunity, you can tap the “Apply” button on this page and follow the on-screen instructions. | |
About KHP, Canada’s Unlock The Hope Youth Charity Kids Help Phone (KHP) is Canada’s only free, national, 24/7, multilingual and confidential e-mental health service for youth to get help and Feel Out Loud. Since 1989, KHP has been the empowering, trusted changemaker giving young people’s feelings, big and small, a non-judgmental place to go through personalized well-being solutions. A made-in-Canada, global leader, KHP continually evolves by blending data, innovation and technology with real human support and clinical knowledge to unlock the hope young people need to thrive in their world. Explore help for all the feelings at KidsHelpPhone.ca. Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) KHP has a role to play in effecting social change and advancing equity. This is why the practice of IDEA is critical to us. KHP has a long history of celebrating and advancing IDEA through our tailored programs, services, policies, initiatives and task forces with contributions and leadership from teams across the organization. We will not waver on these commitments and will continue leading the way in making the workplace, and the world young people live in, more inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible. We believe it’s critical that our services empower everyone who interacts with us to bring their authentic selves to an environment of mutual respect. An open and diverse community can foster the inclusion and amplification of voices that have been, and continue to be, underrepresented. As such, we welcome applicants from equity-deserving communities (e.g. Indigenous Peoples, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women, 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, etc.). We strongly believe that alleviating the underrepresentation of equity-deserving groups will help create a stronger KHP and help us better support the needs of youth from coast to coast to coast. To learn more about how we are committed to advancing IDEA, you can explore KHP’s IDEA 2023–2027 Strategy and Action Plan.
Accommodations KHP welcomes applications from people living with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request during any phase of the application / hiring process. If you’re contacted about an opportunity, you can reply and let us know if you require accommodations at any time. Compensation and benefits Salaries at KHP are determined by candidate experience, qualifications and specific skill sets, as well as market and operational considerations. Potential additional benefits at KHP include:
Candidate verification The successful candidate for this opportunity will be asked to complete a background screen, which may include criminal, credit, employment and educational checks. All offers of employment are conditional on the receipt of satisfactory results of any applicable check. Privacy KHP cares about your privacy! We’re required to save select information about opportunities, applications and interviews for set periods of time. To learn more, you can explore KHP’s Privacy Policy or contact us using our general form. Message to agencies KHP doesn’t accept unsolicited phone calls, referrals and / or resumes from any source other than directly from candidates. KHP won’t consider unsolicited phone calls, referrals and / or resumes from vendors including and without limitation, search firms, staffing agencies, fee-based referral services and recruiting agencies. The submission of unsolicited referrals and / or resumes by anyone other than a candidate directly to KHP is deemed gratuitous. KHP won’t be obligated or bound in any way to pay a referral or any other fee if a person referred to us from a source other than a direct candidate is subsequently hired. |