"Community Chair, Health Justice Partnerships"

The Dalhousie Health Justice Institute with the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, invites applications from qualified candidates for the newly created Community Chair, Health Justice Partnerships. This is a full-time 14-month limited-term appointment at the rank of Instructor, to commence May 1, 2026, with the possibility of renewal, subject to funding.

Working in close collaboration with the leadership of the Health Justice Institute (HJI), the Community Chair, Health Justice Partnerships will play a leading role in a variety of education, research, and capacity-building activities that aim to support, develop, and expand partnerships with community-based organizations in the service of health justice.

The key responsibilities of the Community Chair position include:

• Teaching a new, year-long practicum course on community health justice advocacy, requiring mentoring and supervision of JD students and students from other professional programs at Dalhousie (e.g., social work), starting in September 2026.
• Developing relationships, in collaboration with HJI and other law faculty, with community-based organizations for the purposes of setting up experiential learning opportunities for students enrolled in the practicum course as well as building partnerships between those organizations and HJI.
• Co-leading the development of grant applications and other fundraising proposals with members of the HJI to support partnerships with community-based organizations, including various advocacy strategies that advance health and disability justice related needs and goals of those organizations.
• Advancing, in collaboration with HJI and other law faculty, pedagogical approaches to support JD student engagement and work as future legal practitioners with marginalized people and communities.
• Additional teaching in the health justice curriculum beyond the practicum course, as necessary to fill teaching needs in the JD program, as well as service on faculty and/or university level committees.

The successful candidate will possess a strong academic record, demonstrated experience as a legal practitioner working in or with community-based organizations in disability justice and/or mental health related areas of the law, and evidence of post-secondary teaching excellence. At the time of appointment, the successful candidate will hold an LL.B. or J.D. degree (or equivalent). Professional experience in fundraising, including grant applications, and/or in a leadership role with non-government organizations, and/or in designing or leading test case litigation and other means of advancing health justice through law and policy reform would be considered a strong asset. Applicants with a minimum of two years teaching experience at a Canadian law school are preferred.

Application Instructions
A complete application includes a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, a vision statement for the role (of no more than three pages), and the names of three referees, at least one of whom should, if possible, be an academic referee.

Applications will be accepted until March 15, 2026. All applications must be submitted via PeopleAdmin: https://dal.peopleadmin.ca/postings/20192.

For further information about this position, or to request accommodation at any stage of the hiring process, please contact lawdean@dal.ca.

This position is a part of the Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) Bargaining Unit.