Title: Knowledge Translation Writer
Reports to: Director, Knowledge Mobilization and Program Development
Position time: Full time, permanent
Location: Toronto
Application deadline: May 6, 2014
THE ORGANIZATION:
Kids Help Phone is a Canadian and world leader, known for our expertise in providing vital, innovative counselling services to children and youth. Since 1989 we have offered children, teens and young adults in Canada a critical lifeline of hope and support, through our free, anonymous and confidential service. Our professional counsellors support the mental health and well-being of young people ages five to 20, in urban, rural, and remote communities, by providing one-on-one counselling, information and resources online and by phone. Our internationally recognized, award-winning websites are considered a model of child-focused interactive design, and offer online counselling forums and engaging, therapeutic games, tools and information to encourage resilience and self-care. A community-based national charity, Kids Help Phone receives no ongoing financial support from government or any larger funder and relies on community and corporate support to keep our essential service available. We’re there for the 6.5 million young people in Canada, 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year, in English and in French.
THE OPPORTUNITY:
This position supports Kids Help Phone’s Knowledge Mobilization activities by using previous clinical counselling experience to conduct research, develop materials and work collaboratively on ongoing knowledge translation projects. Specific duties include but are not limited to: 1) conducting systematic, topic-based literature reviews and developing summary documents and ‘tip sheets’ that present research findings and best-practices in formats tailored to a range of stakeholder needs; 2) responding to emerging organizational needs for issue-specific information and research scans; 3) supporting the uptake of this information by increasing engagement with the Knowledge Mobilization System (KMS); 4) developing, contributing to and/or writing content for the kids and teens websites that is based on the literature reviews and summary documents created on specific topics; 5) supporting other knowledge mobilization activities such as developing public-facing documents in collaboration with other Kids Help Phone departments.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
A major portion of this portfolio involves the development of Kids Help Phone’s clinical knowledge base through research and writing. This includes compiling the latest clinical research (last 5 years) in each identified subject area through the use of social sciences databases, library and online research and developing a network of internal and external sources and contacts who can contribute to and review content.
Duties also include developing, and translating knowledge in the optimal format(s) that works for Kids Help Phone counsellors, including counsellor tip sheets and writing summary documents that cover important information, best practices and current implications for counselling, suggested readings, definitions and trends and statistics.
The successful candidate will also update and maintain the Knowledge Management System, an online SharePoint system where created documents will live. This involves entering all content into the Knowledge Management System, ensuring usability and consistency of formatting, reviewing page-based user feedback, and making suggested changes / improvements. This person will also act as point-person for concerns, questions, and suggestions related to the Knowledge Management System and consult with counsellors as needed regarding usage and uptake of the system.
An important function of this position is to develop and support Kids Website topic development for the Kids and Teens websites, ensuring that the content is developmentally appropriate and suited for targeted audiences. The incumbent will contribute to the multidisciplinary web content development team by acting as a resource and an expert for subject areas researched with consultation with other internal partners. This individual will engage with young people to solicit feedback about the website, in collaboration with other team members and monitor appropriate websites for fit with Kids Help Phone’s criteria and Style Guide.
Other duties of this position include supporting the work of Kids Help Phone’s Clinical Practice Specialists by surfacing the latest research about training topics as identified by Counselling Services and supporting the organization’s emerging information needs by performing research reviews and undertaking fact-checking activities to assist with the development of topic-based messaging.
The successful individual will also manage relationships with Subject Matter Experts and respond to cross-organizational departmental and external requests for clinically accurate messaging and materials, in consultation with supervisor.
CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:
This position requires graduate level education in an applied social science (e.g. Psychology, Social Work, Counselling) with clinical experience offering counselling to children, youth and families. As well, applied Knowledge of at least one of the following counselling approaches: Brief Solution Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy; Crisis Intervention and understanding of academic writing standards (e.g. APA, MLA formats) are essential.
Applicants must possess three (3) years of writing experience with experience developing comprehensive / systematic literature reviews while experience working in Knowledge Mobilization / Knowledge Exchange is a strong asset.
We are seeking a skilled individual with a well-developed decision-making history and the ability to write to a diverse range of stakeholders. The successful candidate will need excellent collaboration and relationship management skills coupled with strong presentation skills and written communication skills to work with internal and external stakeholders. The ability to receive and integrate feedback from a variety of stakeholders is essential.
Experience with SharePoint, content management systems and basic wiki mark-up is an asset.
Bilingualism is a strong asset.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS:
If you are inspired by our cause and are ready to contribute to a dynamic organization dedicated to improving the mental health and well-being of 6.5 million young people* throughout Canada, please forward your resume with a cover letter in one document to [email protected] by Tuesday, May 6, 2014 quoting Position Vacancy 2014-0023 Knowledge Translation Writer, Toronto in the subject line.
*Source: Statistics Canada (2012)