Help us make Terry's dream of ending cancer through research a reality

The opportunity

As part of our continued growth, we're seeking a Data Product Owner to focus on data strategy and solutioning, governance and interoperability across systems and partner ecosystems for the Digital Health & Discovery Platform (DHDP). The Digital Health and Discovery Platform, a research initiative led by the Terry Fox Research Institute, is a federated AI and data-sharing software product for advancing disease research. The DHDP operates by bringing its software to where the data is located, analyzing it there, and delivering the results back to the platform and user.

The Data Product Owner will lead the evolution of the DHDP's data ecosystem (by defining how research datasets, metadata and partner integrations are structured, governed and made usable for privacy-preserving AI and digital health innovation across Canada). This role will be responsible for the lifecycle of the DHDP's assets and infrastructure, with a specific focus on integrating data from academic, research and industry partners. Their scope will also bridge product strategy, data engineering, governance and stakeholder engagement to ensure that data collected, shared and used through DHDP meets quality, compliance and utility standards for digital health innovation

About the Terry Fox Research Institute and DHDP

The Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI), named for Canadian icon Terry Fox, is built on Terry's dream to end cancer through research. Established in 2007, TFRI is a registered charity and invests its funds in cutting-edge cancer research through highly collaborative, team-oriented programs and national research networks. Together with its many research and funding partners, TFRI empowers Canada's brightest researchers to seek out new transformational and precision medicine discoveries to advance our understanding, diagnosis and treatment of cancer with the goal of significantly improving outcomes for patients. One of these landmark projects is the Digital Health & Discovery Platform (DHDP).

Responsibilities

• Develop and own the data product roadmap in collaboration with partners, stakeholders and the Technology Product Owner.
• Convey partner and user needs into deliverable product capabilities (focused on academic/research requirements, partner contributions and cross-site interoperability). 
• Align data roadmap to product development and program milestones (prioritizing data-centric features and backlog items related to ingestion, integration, metadata and discoverability). 
• Act as the primary data liaison with collaborators (including researchers, academic institutions and industry partners) to translate project goals and requirements into internal data workflows.  
• Facilitate coordinated onboarding and integration of external partner datasets and metadata into the DHDP ecosystem. 
• Collaboration with the product's Technology Working Group (of partners and vendors) plus TFRI's Program Management team (currently overseeing the Digital Health Innovation Fund (DHIF), a funding program to support the product's early adopters).  
• Work with Privacy, Security and Governance teams to ensure all partner-contributed data complies with DHDP policies, provincial/federal regulations and ethics requirements. 
• Promote FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles across all integrations (e.g., through metadata schema, federation policies or consent models).
• Contribute to the development and documentation of data standardization, provenance tracking and best practices for third party consent management processes. 
• Collaborate with the Business Analyst to backlog and prioritize the needs of data engineers, architects, and analysts to design and implement pipelines for incoming external datasets. 
• Specify technical requirements for data formats, APIs, metadata schemas and harmonization strategies. 
• Support the development of federated tokenization and linkage strategies from multiple collaborators. 

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in data product ownership, data strategy or data governance in research, academic or health-care setting. 
• Strong understanding of health informatics and data types (e.g., EHR, genomic, imaging, administrative), data lifecycle and data integration best practices. 
• Proven experience working with diverse stakeholder groups, especially in research or public/private partnerships. 
• Familiarity with Canada's federal and provincial data privacy laws and ethical frameworks applicable to health research (e.g., PHIPA, TCPS 2). 
• Experience managing complex multi-partner backlogs in Agile or SAFe (ART, SoS) environments with strong backlog management and stakeholder engagement skills. 
• Familiarity with research infrastructure platforms (REDCap, i2b2, OMOP, or GA4GH standards) as well as industry infrastructure platforms (i.e., ADO) is preferred.
• Knowledge of federated learning networks, synthetic data or privacy-enhancing technologies is an asset.
• Experience with tools or platforms related to data cataloging, lineage or tokenization (e.g., Datavant, Trifacta, Collibra) is an asset.
• Background in public health, health informatics, bioinformatics or data science is an asset.

Join us!

Please email your cover letter and resume to hr@tfri.ca with the subject line: Data Product Owner, DHDP. Please note that applications will be considered until the role is filled.

The candidate must be authorized to work in Canada. English language required. 

We recognize the importance of diversity and equity in our workforce and encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including Indigenous persons, women, persons with disabilities, minorities and other underrepresented communities.

Salary: $90,000 - $100,000

The opportunity

The Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) is seeking a highly qualified individual with a strong clinical background in oncology, medicine or a related health-care discipline to join our Board of Directors. The ideal candidate will be a clinician or researcher with significant expertise in cancer research or clinical oncology. This individual will bring objective scientific judgment to TFRI’s strategic direction and governance while helping advance our mission to drive impactful cancer research. The Director should exemplify Terry’s values: Integrity, Inclusivity, Perseverance, Creativity and Excellence.

About the Terry Fox Research Institute

The Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI), named for Canadian icon Terry Fox, is built on Terry's dream to end cancer through research. Established in 2007, TFRI is a registered charity and invests its funds in cutting-edge cancer research through highly collaborative, team-oriented programs and national research networks. Together with its many research and funding partners, TFRI empowers Canada’s brightest researchers to seek out new transformational and precision medicine discoveries to advance our understanding, diagnosis and treatment of cancer with the goal of significantly improving outcomes for patients.

About the TFRI Board

The role of the Board is two-fold: decision-making and oversight. The decision-making aspect includes the selection and appointment of the President and Scientific Director and, working with management, the formulation of TFRI’s strategic goals and policies. Oversight focuses on reviewing management decisions and ensuring adequate systems, controls and the successful implementation of strategic policies. Directors receive no remuneration for their service in accordance with the By-laws of TFRI. TFRI does reimburse out-of- pocket expenses for travel and accommodation. The TFRI Board is composed of professionals from diverse fields, including research, oncology, business, communication, finance and philanthropy. United by Terry Fox’s legacy, they provide strategic oversight and guidance to advance cutting-edge cancer research and improve outcomes for patients.

Responsibilities

Strategy

• Work with the President & Scientific Director to set long-term goals for TFRI.
• Provide objective scientific input and broad judgment to ensure strategic initiatives align with TFRI’s mission.
• Work with management to develop, approve and monitor the implementation of TFRI’s strategic plan, ensuring its success in advancing cancer research.

Governance

• Steward TFRI’s financial resources by approving annual operating and capital budgets.
• Authorize expenditures and approve cancer research investments based on recommendations from the President and Scientific Director.
• Monitor financial performance against the approved budget and ensure accurate financial reporting.
• Vote on recommendations from the Finance & Audit Committee and approve the annual audited financial statements.

Interest holder accountability and communication

• Ensure stakeholder relationships are maintained based on principles of inclusion, equity, transparency, accountability and fairness.
• Balance the interests of key stakeholders, including the Terry Fox Foundation (TFF), researchers, patients, hospitals, governments and donors.
• Contribute to the development of effective communication strategies for TFRI’s stakeholders.

Risk management

• Understand the risks inherent in cancer research supported by TFRI and balance these with potential benefits to patients and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Educational Background: PhD, MD or equivalent in oncology, cancer research or related fields.
• Professional experience: Experience in clinical oncology or cancer research.
• Leadership and governance: Previous board experience or leadership roles in research or clinical settings is an asset.
• Strategic judgment: Proven ability to provide scientific and clinical judgment in decision-making.
• Collaborative approach: Experience working with diverse stakeholders including researchers, clinicians, funders and policy makers.
• Commitment: Availability to attend quarterly board meetings (in-person or virtual) and engage in ongoing board activities.

Join us!

Please email your cover letter and resume to board@tfri.ca with the subject line: Board of Directors Application. Accepting applications until November 20, 2025.

The candidate must be authorized to work in Canada. English language required. 

We recognize the importance of diversity and equity in our workforce and encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including Indigenous persons, women, persons with disabilities, minorities and other underrepresented communities.

Please note this is a volunteer position.

The opportunity

We are seeking a dynamic and visionary leader to join our team as the  National Director, DHDP  and drive the execution of the Digital Health and Discovery Platform (DHDP), an initiative run by the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI). The purpose of the DHDP is to make precision medicine and personalized clinical care available to all Canadians. Reporting to the President and Scientific Director, the National Director, DHDP will oversee the delivery of the DHDP and develop the commercialization strategy of the platform according to the long-term vision set by TFRI, the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Portfolio (ISED) and the DHDP Executive Committee.

The mission of DHDP is to bring precision medicine and personalized care to Canadians in the areas of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases through the application of big data and artificial intelligence. By transforming how health data is shared and analyzed, the DHDP aims to create new opportunities for collaborative research and stimulate the commercialization of Canadian-made, homegrown research discoveries using cutting-edge AI and other computational platforms.

Our ideal candidate is an experienced industry professional with a strong background in high-level strategy and business development in the health technology space. They have a proven track record of analyzing project requirements, identifying gaps and opportunities, and breaking them down into actionable steps. By leveraging their extensive network within the private health technology industry, the incumbent will actively promote the DHDP, attracting new partners and public-private user base to ensure its long-term sustainability beyond 2027.

About the Terry Fox Research Institute and DHDP

The Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI), named for Canadian icon Terry Fox , is built on Terry's dream to end cancer through research. Established in 2007, TFRI is a registered charity and invests its funds in cutting-edge cancer research through highly collaborative, team-oriented programs and national research networks. Together with its many research and funding partners, TFRI empowers Canada's brightest researchers to seek out new transformational and precision medicine discoveries to advance our understanding, diagnosis and treatment of cancer with the goal of significantly improving outcomes for patients. One of these landmark projects is the Digital Health Discovery Platform (DHDP).

Responsibilities

Networking and partnerships: 40%

• Utilizing a strong health technology network, identify and form tri-party relationships between the DHDP, public organizations and private sector companies.
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure effective collaboration, alignment between all interest holders and seamless execution of partnership initiatives and communication activities.
• Map the alignment of DHDP within the broader system infrastructure and ecosystem, focusing on its strategic value and differentiation.
• Negotiate with external organizations, consultants and other interest holders, leveraging a strong network in the life sciences industry to capitalize on commercialization opportunities.
• Represent and promote the possibilities of the DHDP at industry conferences, investor meetings, scientific meetings and networking events to promote its mission and foster collaboration and partnering opportunities.

Business development and sustainability: 40%

• Develop a sustainable business model and risk management framework for the DHDP, identifying precision medicine opportunities and planning for the commercialization of DHDP after 2027.
• Develop DHDP value proposition for the health technology market by analyzing the competitive landscape and creating a strategy tailored to the public sector and private industry organizations.
• Continuously monitor industry trends and market dynamics to identify research and commercialization opportunities to maintain DHDP competitiveness and growth.

DHDP team leadership: 20%

• Understand the ISED and TFRI vision of the platform in the context of the overall emerging health technology landscape.
• Translate that vision into strategic plans, KPIs and technical requirements for the DHDP team to execute, ensuring operations align with the vision and timeline.
• Track, report and communicate updates of progress, successes and challenges to the DHDP Executive Committee during quarterly or ad-hoc meetings as required.
  
  

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in science, engineering, health technology or a related field that provides a strong understanding of AI, machine learning and/or technology development.
• A Master's in Business Administration (MBA) or equivalent advanced degree is preferred.
• Proven experience (minimum 10 years) in a leadership position in the private sector health technology space or equivalent with, preferably, a demonstrated familiarity of the Canadian health system and data sharing and commercialization ecosystem challenges.
• Possesses network and connections within the biotechnology, health technology, private sector investment or other relevant spaces.
• Excellent negotiation, communication and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex scientific and technical information to diverse audiences.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to identify and evaluate new partnership opportunities, assess risks and make informed recommendations.
• Strong understanding of commercialization strategies, including technology transfer, IP management and market adoption.
• Knowledge of responsible innovation and AI integration in strategic planning is an asset.
• Proactive, results-driven and able to work independently and collaboratively within cross-functional teams.
• Proven ability to analyze market dynamics, assess business opportunities and develop business development and partnership strategies.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet tight deadlines.
• Ability to navigate complex interest holder landscapes, including government, industry and research institutions.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a problem-solving mentality.
  
  

Join us!

Please email your  cover letter and resume  to  hr@tfri.ca  with the subject line:  National Director, DHDP.   Please note that applications will be considered until the role is filled.

The candidate must be authorized to work in Canada. English language required. 

We recognize the importance of diversity and equity in our workforce and encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including Indigenous persons, women, persons with disabilities, minorities and other underrepresented communities.

Salary: $140,000 - $170,000