Research Director

Across Australia, over one in five people have three or more legal needs in a given year. Many of them are some of the most vulnerable and marginalised in our community, making them hard to reach; and they are far more likely to raise their legal needs with a trusted health professional like a GP, community nurse or social worker, than with a lawyer. That’s why, since 2012, health and legal organisations have been building collaborations called health justice partnerships to improve their responsiveness and effectiveness in meeting health and legal needs in Australia. Adding a lawyer to the healthcare team means that healthcare professionals are more able to spot a legal problem and have someone nearby who can solve it. Additionally, because legal problems can affect health, it means patients get better, more holistic healthcare too. Working together, they can better identify and respond to the legal and social needs that make it harder to be healthy and stop their existing problems from reaching crisis point.

Health Justice Australia is the national centre for Health Justice Partnerships (HJPs). We support the expansion and effectiveness of health justice partnerships through:

• Research and evaluation;
• Developing resources to support practitioners working in partnership; and
• Advocating policy solutions informed by the experiences of communities using health justice partnerships, and the professionals who support, to secure long-term, systemic reforms.

Health Justice Australia works to improve the health and justice of some of Australia’s most vulnerable communities. A national charity, we were established in 2016 through founding support from the Clayton Utz Foundation and Justice Connect. We are now looking for highly motivated people with a demonstrated capacity to work collaboratively to join us.

The Research Director is a new role responsible for evaluation and other research to demonstrate and improve the effectiveness of HJPs. The Research Director has a strong understanding of research, and researchers/organisations with a strong track record, in the areas of:

• the social determinants of health
• reducing legal need/access to justice
• evaluation of integrated service models
• health and legal systems capability
• the role of communities and consumers in service design, delivery and evaluation.

Roles and responsibilities

• Develop and implement evaluation frameworks for HJPs and for Health Justice Australia
• Design, implement and analyse metrics across HJPs nationally
• Drive HJA’s data strategy, underpinning the evidence of HJP value and impact
• Identify policy recommendations emerging to further the expansion and effectiveness of HJPs
• Maintain existing and develop new relationships fostering interdisciplinary research that supports the expansion and effectiveness of health justice partnerships, such as health, law, social policy, collaboration, workforce capability and systems change
• Work closely with researchers in academic and independent research organisations; and evaluators and practitioners across health justice partnerships and related practices in legal and health settings
• Advise on the translation of research findings into HJP application, in collaboration with the Partnerships Director
• Communicate complex research findings to a range of audiences, including non-specialist
• Develop proposals and relationships for new research and secure the funding to undertake them

Skills, knowledge and experience

• Post graduate qualification and specialist knowledge of research in relevant fields of health, law, social sciences or social policy
• Highly skilled in evaluation methodology and in conducting or coordinating applied research in relevant fields
• Accomplished in data analytics and implementation of data management systems
• Data-matching or linkage within or across disciplines including health and legal systems
• Demonstrated project and research management skills
• Highly accomplished communicator in both written and verbal contexts
• Ability to communicate complex research concepts to non-specialist audiences
• Highly adept at working in partnership and collaboratively across a range of disciplines and areas of expertise
• Ability to manage and develop strategic projects and relationships within a multi-disciplinary environment
• Ability to be self-directed and highly motivated
• Strong understanding of the non-profit operating environment
• Commitment to the values of social justice, improving health and reducing legal need particularly for communities experiencing disadvantage

Organisational relationships

• Reports to CEO
• May have supervisory responsibilities
• Leads governance or advisory processes relating to HJA research and data strategies