SPARK Program Lead(s)
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Affiliated with the University of Toronto
2 positions available
About Sunnybrook
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC) is a fully affiliated academic hospital of the University of Toronto and a national leader in research, education, and patient care. Sunnybrook is deeply committed to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and to addressing systemic barriers within academic medicine.
About SPARK
The Sunnybrook Program to Access Research Knowledge (SPARK) is a core initiative aligned with the SHSC’s strategic plan, designed to support Black and Indigenous medical students through paid research experiences, mentorship, community-building, and career development. SPARK aims to increase access to research opportunities, foster a sense of belonging in academic medicine, and support students as they navigate medical school and prepare for residency.
More information about SPARK can be found here:
https://research.sunnybrook.ca/careers-and-students/sunnybrook-program-to-access-research-knowledge-spark-for-black-and-indigenous-medical-students/
Position Overview
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is seeking two SPARK Program Lead(s) to provide strategic leadership, operational oversight, mentorship, and community building within the SPARK program. A minimum of 0.1 FTE (half day per week) of dedicated time per position is required for the role.
This set of roles encompasses two core areas of leadership:
1. Research Program Leadership – Oversight of the SPARK research program, drawing on lived and professional experience as a clinical researcher within academic medicine.
2. Mentorship Program Leadership – Mentoring and supporting Black and Indigenous medical students as they navigate medical school, explore research pathways, and prepare for residency applications, including sharing lived experience and serving as a visible role model.
Sunnybrook welcomes applications from all applicants bringing deep expertise to the two leadership domains.
Key Responsibilities
1. Program Leadership and Strategy
- Champion the impact and importance of the SPARK program internally at Sunnybrook and externally across the University of Toronto and partner institutions.
- Develop, implement, and refine a strategic plan to expand SPARK beyond Sunnybrook to other U of T–affiliated hospitals and, over time, to additional medical schools.
- Play a significant leadership role in fundraising, including engaging departments, programs, and external stakeholders with support of Sunnybrook Foundation to support SPARK studentships.
- Apply an iterative quality improvement lens to the growing SPARK program.
2. Program Operations
- Lead the annual student recruitment and application process, including:
- Advertising SPARK to eligible medical students
- Reviewing applications
- Leading the selection process
- Annually identify and engage Sunnybrook programs and departments to participate in SPARK and to fund one or more student placements.
- Collaborate with participating programs and departments to identify suitable research supervisors.
- Match students with research supervisors in alignment with students’ choices and program capacity.
- Plan and deliver student and supervisor orientation sessions.
- Liaise with Black Medical Students Association and the Black and Indigenous Medical Society and the Office of Indigenous Health at Temerty Faculty of Medicine and other partners as needed to support operations
3. Mentorship and Student Support
- Identify, recruit, and match each SPARK student with:
- One career mentor (provides advice and guidance about a career in medicine, based on shared clinical interests)
- One community mentor (provides mentorship and guidance through shared lived experience/identification as Black or Indigenous)
- Provide additional mentorship, guidance, and support to SPARK students throughout the year.
- Troubleshoot student research, academic, and personal challenges as they arise, connecting students to appropriate resources when needed.
- Support SPARK students in CaRMS residency applications, including advising, coaching, and navigating academic medicine pathways.
4. Community Building and Programming
- Identify and recruit speakers for the SPARK summer seminar series (typically four sessions).
- Organize and facilitate SPARK social and check-in events (approximately 2–3 per year).
- Foster a strong sense of community, belonging, and peer support among SPARK participants.
Qualifications and Experience
(NB: across the 2 roles, individuals are not expected to meet all criteria)
Strongly Preferred
- Lived experience as a Black and/or Indigenous physician or deep demonstrated commitment to supporting Black and Indigenous learners in academic medicine.
- Experience as a clinician researcher, a clinician in quality improvement and/or a clinician teacher/educator within an academic health sciences environment.
- Appointment as Assistant, Associate or Full Professor.
- Experience mentoring medical students and/or trainees.
- Strong understanding of the Canadian medical education system, including residency applications (CaRMS).
- Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and leadership skills.
- Familiarity with research supervision, funding structures, and academic medicine career pathways.
Assets
- Experience in program development, administration, or leadership.
- Fundraising, grant writing, or donor engagement experience.
- Experience working across departments and institutions.
Appointment and Compensation
- A minimum of 0.1 FTE of dedicated time per position
- Compensation will be commensurate with experience and role scope and may be structured flexibly depending on whether one or two leaders are appointed.
How to apply: Interested applicants are asked to submit their application directly to:Francesca Cirone - [email protected]
