Active Leaders of Love (ALL) is seeking an Applied Research Director (Volunteer) to lead research that helps the organization better understand community needs, challenges, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.

The purpose of the research is not simply to collect information, but to turn evidence and community perspectives into practical insights that can inform ALL’s initiatives, partnerships, communications, and advocacy work. The Director will lead research that supports projects such as the Light Board Project, while also identifying and exploring other areas where communities may benefit from meaningful improvement.

The Director will help guide research from initial exploration through analysis and recommendations, working collaboratively with program leaders, project teams, community members, partners, and organizational leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Lead or support applied research that informs ALL initiatives, including the Light Board Project and other emerging community initiatives.

- Conduct and coordinate desk research, environmental scans, literature reviews, data analysis, needs assessments, and other appropriate research activities.
- Help identify and clearly define issues or questions that require further research and understanding.
- Gather information from credible sources, existing research, public data, organizations, and other relevant stakeholders.
- Support the collection of community perspectives and lived experiences to complement existing research and data.
- Analyze research findings to identify key themes, gaps, trends, challenges, and opportunities.
- Translate research findings into clear, practical recommendations that can inform programs, initiatives, partnerships, and advocacy.
- Work closely with Program and Project leadership to ensure research is relevant to the development and implementation of ALL initiatives.




- Support the development of research reports, briefs, presentations, summaries, and other knowledge products for internal and external audiences.
- Help communicate research findings in ways that are accessible and meaningful to community members, partners, organizations, and other stakeholders.
- Identify opportunities for collaboration with researchers, organizations, institutions, government, community leaders, and subject-matter experts.
- Maintain appropriate research practices, documentation, source tracking, and quality standards.
- Monitor emerging research, policies, trends, and developments relevant to ALL’s areas of work.
- Identify opportunities to improve how ALL conducts, communicates, and applies research over time.

Leadership & Collaboration The Director will provide research leadership while working collaboratively across ALL’s programs and initiatives. This includes:

- Advising organizational and program leadership on research findings and their implications.
- Collaborating with project teams to ensure research supports real-world initiatives and outcomes.
- *mHelping research teams and contributors understand research objectives, methods, responsibilities, and expected outputs.
- Coordinating research-related contributions from volunteers, subject-matter experts, community members, and partners.
- Supporting knowledge-sharing across the organization so that research informs future initiatives and organizational learning.





- What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for someone who can combine research capability with practical judgment and curiosity about how communities and systems work.

The ideal candidate will have:

- Experience in applied research, social research, community research, policy research, program evaluation, or a related field.
- Strong research, analytical, and information-synthesis skills.
- Experience conducting research independently and/or leading research projects.
- The ability to assess information critically and distinguish credible evidence from unreliable information.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- The ability to translate complex information into clear, accessible findings and recommendations.
- Experience working with qualitative and/or quantitative information.
- Solid organizational and project coordination skills.
- An interest in community development, social issues, nonprofit work, advocacy, public policy, or social impact.
- The ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with program, project, and organizational leaders.

Commitment

This is a volunteer leadership position requiring approximately 5–7 hours per week.

The role is primarily flexible/remote, with occasional in-person participation where appropriate for research activities, community engagement, meetings, or events.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to lead research that does something with what it learns.

As an Applied Research Director, you will help ALL move from questions and observations to evidence, understanding, recommendations, and practical action—helping the organization identify where improvement is needed and how initiatives and partnerships can contribute to meaningful community impact.

📌 Applied Research Director (Volunteer) (Toronto)
🏢 The ALL Project
📍 Toronto