Jennifer Dekker

Research Program Manager, Emergency Department Outreach Research Program

MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health Toronto | Toronto, ON |January 2023 – present

·        Provide overall development, execution and management of various emergency department research programs, quality improvement initiatives and evaluation projects

·        Responsible for training, mentoring, day to day guidance, and management of Research Assistants, Coordinators and graduate students

·        Negotiate terms of financing with external parties, develop and/or authorize research study budgets and payment schedules

·        Lead team of direct and indirect reports to execute and achieve operational priorities of several emergency department programs

·        Ensure project goals, objectives and deliverables are met within the required timeline, proactively manage changes in study scope, identify potential risks, and devising/implementing contingency plans

·        Develop and negotiate agreements and strategic alliances with internal and external parties and stakeholders

·        Develop and prepare grant submissions, foundation submissions, and responses to funding opportunities from various government and non-government sources

·        Liaise with investigators, administrative staff, sponsors, and clinical trials staff and develop excellent communication strategies

·        Responsible for financial management, including budget preparation, budget management, financial forecasting, and financial reporting

·        Manage hiring, training, payroll, personnel reports and annual performance reviews

Lead, Performance and Accountability

Ontario Health | Toronto, ON |July 2021 – January 2023

·         Lead and participate in various projects and provide effective project management, ensure project/program interdependencies are recognized and addressed in a streamlined fashion

·         Work with operational groups to assess data quality, develop and manage funding agreements and to support operational/project needs

·         Develop briefing notes, formal CEO letters, methodology documents, financial analyses, reports, business cases, methodology documents, communications, presentations, briefing notes and research publications, as necessary for internal and external stakeholders

·         Led the ongoing management of several large, complex hospital/facility funding agreements, including planning and implementing initial allocations, in-year reallocations, and year-end settlements

·         Led ongoing funding operations related to health service funding models

·         Led and facilitated education and/or orientation sessions to external partners related to funding models

·         Understand, interpret and clearly communicate complex data analysis and results related to treatment/service volumes, funding, performance against program expectations and reporting requirements, etc. to all levels of stakeholders

·         Develop new partnerships and new funding agreements with new Ontario Health partners to further the integration of different organizations into the broad umbrella of Ontario Health

·         Explore and suggest ways to improve processes, service and operations using sound judgment

·         Provide oversight, mentorship, and leadership to new and/or junior staff and temporary summer students

• Co-lead and support multiple key program operations such as clinical trial review and regimen review processes
• Support other ongoing funding related operations related to clinical program funding models including the review of information submitted by hospitals to support funding, request processes to ensure funding models are up to date with current clinical practice and supporting the ongoing development of facility reports
• Work in close collaboration with other OH(CCO) divisions to support operational/project needs
• Proactively identify and escalate risks and issues to timely contract issuance, and provide thorough and practical recommendations to management to mitigate risks and resolve issues
• Monitor hospital/facility performance against allocated volumes and against performance and reporting requirements on an ongoing basis
• Support initiative/project-related meetings and ensure achievement of deliverables by actively tracking action items and ensuring follow-up and completion

• Oversee research project documentation to ensure quality control, updated questions, and secure storage of paper and electronic personal health information (PHI).
• Oversee electronic data input, storage and retrieval of participant PHI in Microsoft Access and REDCap databases.
• Ensure project follows PHIPA and other related health acts to ensure participant privacy
• Oversight of part-time staff and volunteers to obtain and run clinics in the community and implement new research initiatives.
• Oversight of summer students to perform data entry and preliminary analysis, community engagement and day-to-day administrative tasks
• Met with community leaders and stakeholders to coordinate community clinics and participate in community engagement
• Coordination of three CIHR funded clinical research projects, including a multi-centre Health Canada/FDA approved clinical trial
• Coordination of knowledge translation initiatives including outreach events, promotional material and development/updating reference interval database online and on a mobile application
• Ensure all regulatory documentation is up to date and submit applications and amendments for new and existing projects involving clinical research to the Research Ethics Board (REB).