Status: Full time, indefinite

Location: Ottawa, Ontario, or Toronto, Ontario (hybrid), or remote

Closing date: January 28, 2026

Salary range: $112,200 to $139,740 per year

Background

Canada’s Drug Agency has a 5-year strategic plan that promotes bold and innovative change. This plan aims to maintain and advance the organization’s role as a leader in evaluating health technologies to support sustainable and high-quality health care for everyone in Canada. It shows the organization's dedication to fairness, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. As part of this commitment, we seek to work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, governments, communities, and organizations, approaching these collaborations with humility. The strategic plan builds on the pledge Canada’s Drug Agency has made to ensure reconciliation remains a priority for the organization.

As a non-Indigenous organization, Canada’s Drug Agency is focused on coupling this commitment with action to continue to move forward. This key organizational priority encourages us to invest ourselves and our time in deepening meaningful relationships with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples, governments, organizations, and communities. The internal work completed to date has strengthened our knowledge, readiness, and capacity to engage respectfully and effectively beyond our organization, though we realize there is still much to learn and do.

Primary Focus

We are seeking to fill a current opening on our Strategic Relationships and Initiatives team. This role will support thoughtful, reciprocal engagement rooted in listening, relationship building, and fostering a shared commitment of time and presence, as well as internal efforts to include Indigenous realities, experiences, and knowledge in our work. While we have identified initial accountabilities for this role, we recognize that priorities will be informed and defined through engagement itself and by the individual who fills the role. By creating space, listening deeply, and being guided by Indigenous voices, Canada’s Drug Agency intends for this role to help shape the organization’s ongoing journey toward reconciliation and to inform our path forward as we strive to be allies to Indigenous Peoples, to advocate for strategies that address health inequities, and to ensure Indigenous realities and perspectives are heard.

Position Highlights

On any given day, the Strategic Partner, Indigenous Engagement and Partnerships, will:

• provide leadership and guidance grounded in lived experience to support a culture of truth, openness, and cultural safety while advancing respectful, reciprocal relationships with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples, communities, governments, and organizations
• advise Canada’s Drug Agency on its statement of reconciliation and support the development and ongoing refinement of an action plan aligned with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, recommendations of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, and the In Plain Sight report
• strengthen and expand our Indigenous engagement approach by fostering and supporting relationships with Indigenous Elders, Knowledge-holders, leaders, and groups; the primary focus of this work is outward-facing engagement that enables sustained dialogue, mutual learning, and collaboration to address Indigenous-identified challenges within health systems
• maintain internal knowledge development and capacity building while enabling activities, informed by insights gained through relationships and guided by a commitment to reciprocity in every engagement
• participate in a community of practice with peers across organizations who are advancing reconciliation efforts and Indigenous engagement; this external network, inclusive of Indigenous and Settler practitioners, will provide shared learning, support, and reflection to sustain the role and strengthen engagement approaches across sectors
• provide strategic advice to the executive team to ensure the organization’s internal culture, practices, and decision-making continue to support culturally safe, respectful, and effective engagement with Indigenous partners; this includes guidance related to:
  • the recruitment and retention of Indigenous experts, advisors, and employees who self-identify as First Nations, Inuit, or Métis, as a means of sustaining organizational capacity
  • ongoing employee learning and awareness, developed in collaboration with the People and Culture team, to maintain readiness for external engagement
  • the incorporation of Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing into our work, in collaboration with the Evidence, Products, and Services team, to support meaningful partnerships and outcomes
• partner with senior leaders to advance the development, review, and implementation of high-impact internal policies, procedures, and processes that meaningfully reduce, and where possible eliminate, practices that perpetuate anti-Indigenous racism, systemic racism, and colonization-related harms
• collaborate closely with the Strategic Partner, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility, to ensure an intersectional lens is in place.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

The Strategic Partner, Indigenous Engagement and Partnerships, will likely have:

• Indigenous ancestry with a strong Indigenous cultural safety and anti-racism lens; in accordance with Section 24 of the Ontario Human Rights Code, preference will be given to applicants who self-identify as having Indigenous ancestry
• recent and relevant experience negotiating, facilitating, and building consensus with diverse groups, including Indigenous communities and organizations, senior leaders, and decision influencers
• the ability to navigate and bridge Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldviews, particularly within health and health care contexts
• a strong understanding of the effects of colonialism in Canada on Indigenous Peoples, including social and health systems, and an awareness of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis governance structures and processes
• knowledge about key reconciliation frameworks and reports, including those of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
• excel at building trust and sustaining meaningful relationships, internally and externally, through open, respectful, and solution-oriented engagement
• the ability to think critically and conceptually, with experience analyzing issues and trends, synthesizing complex information, and making thoughtful, actionable recommendations.

Lived and/or professional experience will be given equal consideration as postsecondary education in policy, health policy, Indigenous studies, or a related field.

What’s in it for you?

At Canada’s Drug Agency, you will find:

• a team-focused, supportive, and inclusive work environment
• a competitive compensation package, including participation in a defined benefit pension plan with the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)
• a comprehensive benefits package for employees and dependents, including health, dental, life, and travel insurance; spending accounts to meet your health care and individual wellness needs; and an employee assistance program
• generous paid time off (including a minimum of 4 weeks of vacation, paid sick leave and life leave, a December holiday closure, your birthday as a paid day off, and other leave options)
• flexible hours and a hybrid work model that promotes work-life balance
• opportunities to work with and learn from highly specialized professionals
• personal growth through professional development opportunities, corporate training, and support for continuing education
• a friendly culture in which community engagement is supported and people’s efforts and important milestones are recognized
• the opportunity to make a difference for people living in Canada and effect positive change.

Who We Are

Canada’s Drug Agency is a pan-Canadian health organization. We are an independent, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Ottawa, with a satellite office in Toronto. Created and funded by Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments, we drive better coordination, alignment, and public value within Canada’s drug and health technology landscape. We provide health care system leaders in Canada with independent evidence and advice so they can make informed drug, health technology, and health system decisions, and we collaborate with national and international partners to enhance our collective impact.

We are proud to be 1 of the National Capital Region’s Top Employers for 2025. Canada's Drug Agency was named 1 of the National Capital Region's Top Employers for the second year in a row. This recognition celebrates our dedication to fostering a work environment that nurtures growth; innovation; and inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA). It reaffirms our ongoing efforts to create an outstanding workplace where our employees thrive and feel valued.

Hybrid Work Arrangement

Most of our employees participate in a hybrid workspace arrangement that allows for flexibility and enhanced work-life balance. We believe in the positive impact of in-person collaboration and the importance of team building. Canada’s Drug Agency gives preference to qualified candidates who live near our offices and can participate in a hybrid arrangement. We encourage individuals outside of these regions to apply, as fully remote arrangements may be considered.

To apply for this position, visit the Careers section of our website. Your application must clearly identify how your skills and experience relate to the requirements of this role. You can also share a portfolio or work samples to showcase your skills and experience to give us a clearer understanding of what you can do. Applications for this opportunity may be used for future staffing vacancies. We thank you for your interest; however, only those candidates selected for further consideration will be contacted.

Hiring Process

We believe hiring is an open, reciprocal conversation. Our process is designed to help us get to know you, and for you to get to know us. It includes introductory calls, a panel interview, and opportunities to showcase your skills. You’ll also have time to ask questions and explore how you can contribute to the team and organization.

Our applicant tracking system includes artificial intelligence features; however, these are not used in our selection or recruitment processes. All hiring decisions, including application screening, are made by our hiring team members, who carefully review each application to ensure a fair and equitable process.

At Canada’s Drug Agency, we actively celebrate, support, and flourish through our differences. Our employees are people with different strengths, experiences, and

backgrounds who share a passion for building the future of health care. We demonstrate a commitment to IDEA by encouraging continuous training, modelling inclusive behaviours, and proactively managing biases. We highly encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including Indigenous people, people of all places of origin and religions, people with disabilities, people who are neurodivergent, people who are racialized, women, and people from 2SLGBTQ+ communities. We also provide accommodations during all phases of the recruitment process. If you require any accommodations, please let the Talent Acquisition team know when they contact you. We will work with you to meet your needs.

Candidates must be legally eligible to work in Canada. We regret that we are unable to sponsor employment visas at this time.

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