Staff - Non Union
Job Category
M&P - AAPS
Job Profile
AAPS Salaried - Statistical Analysis, Level B
Job Title
Statistical Analyst
Department
Research | Schummers Lab | Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Compensation Range
$7,622.83 - $11,886.67 CAD Monthly
The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.
Posting End Date
May 8, 2025
Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.
Job End Date
Jun 30, 2026
This position is expected to be filled by promotion/reassignment and is included here to inform you of its vacancy at the University.
At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.
Job Summary
The Statistical Analyst will be responsible for providing expertise in research designs and statistical analysis plans and leading integrative statistical analyses for multiple projects within Dr. Laura Schummers’s research team. The incumbent will perform and lead statistical analysis using large datasets for ongoing research projects and lead the development, planning, and execution of new research projects. This will largely focus on a CIHR-funded program of research examining impacts of policy and practice change on reproductive population health using quantitative methods from epidemiology and health policy and may involve offering statistical analysis services to collaborating or related research teams on a cost-recovery basis. This currently includes studies on pregnancy spacing; abortion safety and access; impacts of contraception policy on access, use, costs, and outcomes; miscarriage epidemiology; pharmacist survey evaluating contraception prescribing; and methodological work related to database and cohort development using population-based administrative health data.
The position will require advanced statistical methodological understanding and advanced programming skill. Reporting and documentation will require descriptive and inferential analysis of data, as well as the production of publication quality tables and figures to present results. The research datasets being used in these studies involve the linkage of birth records, pharmaceutical and health claims data, hospital records, and other linkable routinely collected data. The Statistical Analyst will perform complex linkages, considering both individual-level linkages and pregnancy-level linkages within the same data, and will create analysis-ready datasets tailored to study-specific analytic plan or trainee-led project needs.
The Statistical Analyst will be responsible for data management, testing and analysis; they will use raw, claims-level databases to construct cohorts and research variables that the research team requires for analysis. The Statistical Analyst will lead and work closely with the investigator team to define and operationalize research concepts in large, linked datasets being used in these studies. The Statistical Analyst will conduct advanced statistical analyses, under the supervision of the Principal Investigator, including controlled interrupted time series, difference-in-differences, synthetic control designs, multivariable regression modeling (including propensity scores for continuous and categorical exposure variables, model assumption verification), and may expand to include g-methods for causal inference (such as inverse probability weighting for marginal structural models). The Statistical Analyst will collaborate with the Principal Investigator and investigator teams to develop appropriate analysis plans for new projects in the design phase. This will include informing and writing methods components of grant proposals, providing advanced expertise in study design and statistical approaches, and introducing new statistical methodologies/designs that may improve rigor and feasibility of proposed or ongoing studies. The Statistical Analyst will provide methodological and programming leadership for the research team, including support, training, and capacity development of team members and trainees, code review, and oversight of trainee-led analyses. They will work with investigators, trainees, and collaborators to enhance data presentations.
Several ongoing and future projects will involve collaboration with analysts in other Canadian provinces for pooled and federated analyses of provincially-held administrative data. To support these projects, the Statistical Analyst will, in most cases, be responsible for leading data cleaning, cohort creation, and variable harmonization with those analysts to ensure consistent methods and common data models. For pooled analyses of these administrative data, the Statistical Analyst will guide analysts in other provinces to prepare and export data in consistent formats, receive and merge exported data to create a single analytic file, and lead all statistical modeling.
Organizational Status
The Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) is the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science’s multidisciplinary group of outcomes researchers specializing in epidemiology, health economics, health services research, and pharmacy practice research. Research conducted by CORE faculty members is directly aligned with the Faculty’s Health Outcomes theme. The Statistical Analyst will report directly to the Principal Investigator of this research group within CORE, Dr. Laura Schummers
https://pharmsci.ubc.ca/directory/laura-schummers
Work Performed
The primary role of the Statistical Analyst is to inform and conduct rigorous analysis of health datasets for the range of studies included across the research program led by the team PI. The Statistical Analyst will be required to interact with researchers, faculty, trainees, and support staff, within UBC, and collaborators across the wider research and knowledge user communities, including some personnel in provincial and federal governments. Good interpersonal, communication, and collaborative team skills are essential. The work requires use of confidential data files from government programs, professional associations, and population-based surveys and will require diplomacy and good interpersonal skills.
Responsibilities include:
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Conduct extensive programming for the management and use of complex large data sets using a variety of software and languages, such as SAS/R/Stata, to explore data validity, develop research variables/algorithms/flags, create analytic cohorts for each study, create sub-cohorts for trainee-led analyses, and conduct statistical analysis using study date (primarily linked administrative health data).
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Provide input on data requests for health administrative data (e.g., Population Data BC, Perinatal Services BC, Health Data Research Network) as needed.
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Conduct programming for the development of complex, novel study cohorts, under the guidance of the PI and in collaboration with team members, including required documentation of processes.
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Provide advanced methodological and statistical expertise to support the design of proposed and ongoing studies, including through the introduction of new statistical methodologies/designs that may improve rigor and feasibility.
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Lead pooled and federated analyses, in collaboration with analysts in other provinces and jurisdictions, to ensure harmonized approaches to the management and analysis of administrative data required for cross-jurisdictional research studies;
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Employ advanced statistical analytic methods, including multivariable modeling, quasi-experimental methods (e.g., interrupted time series, difference-in-differences), and use of synthetic controls.
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Identify potential validity issues with data and suggest methodological approaches to overcome limitations to the research team.
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Prepare documentation for members of the research team, including publication-quality tables ad graphs.
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Performs analysis and interpretation of data received from a variety of sources producing related reports, tables and charts.
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Contribute to writing technical research reports and articles for peer-reviewed publication, ensuring the completeness and the accuracy of methods undertaken to conduct research analyses.
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Provide analysis output to team members for presentations to internal and external research team meetings.
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Collaborate with team members and trainees to optimize data analysis techniques and quality of presentation.
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Provides expert guidance in programming code review for team members and trainees, ensuring best practices are followed,
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Ensure that all privacy and data security guidelines are followed.
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Recommend and adhere to best practices for data management, statistical analysis, and statistical reporting.
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Participate in presentations to research groups and peers.
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Attend monthly in-person meetings of the Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation within the faculty.
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Attend regular team meetings and provides updates on current projects and assists others in developing their work.
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Liaise with research team members and collaborators across the university, Canada, and international settings.
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Other duties as required.
Consequence of Error/Judgement
Complexity of Duties:
This position requires the Statistical Analyst to exercise professional judgment and creativity, as some tasks to be undertaken are unique. Because of the large files handled, efficiency is important to keeping computing resource requirements to a minimum. Care must be exercised in designing and performing tasks to avoid inappropriate assumptions. The position requires considerable judgment in developing approaches and techniques for the solution of problems. It also requires an ability to communicate about aspects of complex problems so that appropriate decisions can be made by the research team.
Communication:
The Statistical Analyst must communicate clearly and effectively in both written and interpersonal forms. Considerable interpersonal communication skill and judgement must be exercised in developing and implementing analytic plans with the faculty, staff and collaborators of research projects. Clear and concise writing is required in the preparation of data documentation and results presentation.
Deadlines:
Multiple projects in the Principal Investigator’s program of research have strict deadlines with funding agencies, government bodies, and publishers. It is essential that the Statistical Analyst be able to work effectively under pressure to meet deadlines. The Statistical Analyst must be able to work effectively, to strict deadlines and to the highest of standards with little day to day supervision.
Confidentiality:
The Statistical Analyst’s work will require use of confidential data files from government programs, professional associations, and population-based surveys and will require diplomacy and strict adherence to privacy and confidentiality.
Accuracy and Accountability:
Accuracy is essential since errors may have implications for published reports, grant-funded research commitments, and contracts with collaborators and government bodies. The Statistical Analyst is responsible for checking the reliability and accuracy of work done and reporting challenges and threats directly to Principal Investigator. The Statistical Analyst will be required to interact with researchers, faculty, trainees, and support staff, within UBC, and collaborators across the wider research and knowledge user communities, including some personnel in the provincial governments and research collaborators across Canada and abroad.
Supervision Received
The Statistical Analyst will work as part of a research team and operate independently under administrative supervision. The Principal Investigator will provide ongoing direction and high-level supervision and guidance, with results reviewed for achievement of overall research objectives. The Statistical Analyst will report to the Principal Investigator. Normal work activities are determined in consultation and collaboration with the research team and are carried out without direct supervision in implementation. The Statistical Analyst must be able to identify circumstances that require consultation with appropriate associates - Principal Investigator, other researchers, or other staff - and must be able to seek out that consultation in a timely and professional manner.
Supervision Given
The Statistical Analyst will provide technical guidance, mentorship, and supervision of analysis to members of the research team, including trainees. This will include regular meetings to review analysis progress, reviewing and providing feedback on data analysis plans, programming code review to support their data management and/or statistical analyses.
Minimum Qualifications
Post-graduate degree in Statistics. Minimum of three years of related experience in research analysis, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Preferred Qualifications
A masters-level degree in statistics or computer data processing is preferred. A minimum of 5 years of experience in data processing, programming, or analysis is desired, preferably in an academic research environment using health administrative data. Experience with large datasets is desired, and preference will be given to applicants who have worked in similar research settings.
Assets include:
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Understanding of and experience with large datasets, particularly health administrative datasets;
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Knowledge of data management and analysis techniques using SAS. Experience with STATA, R, SQL or other programming languages would be an asset.
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Ability to manage databases in an organized, efficient and secure manner;
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Ability to perform multivariable statistical analyses, including linear, logistic, log binomial regression, hierarchical models, interrupted time series analysis, and use of synthetic controls;
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Ability to independently learn new methods required for study-specific analyses based on previous work or published methodological advances;
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Ability to collaborate with analysts in other provinces and jurisdictions to lead and guide harmonized approaches to the management and analysis of administrative data;
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Superb organizational skills and attention to detail;
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Be willing to work with confidential information and abide by strict confidentiality guidelines;
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Ability to communicate technical issues to faculty and staff with varying levels of technical training;
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Ability to work both independently under general direction, and as part of a multidisciplinary team;
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Ability to work in an organized, efficient and secure manner with minimal supervision on a day-to-day basis;
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Demonstrate an interest and/or experience in health services and policy research
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Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own; and
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Demonstrate a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
