Knowledge Translation Lead

Knowledge Translation Lead

The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Michigan Medical School is seeking a full-time, in-person Research Area Specialist Lead to serve as a Knowledge Translation and Outreach Lead. This exempt, grant-funded, term-limited position will support the development, dissemination and uptake of outputs which translate research, programmatic, and educational content from various grants to multiple targeted audiences.

The successful candidate will create clear, engaging, and tailored communication products for a variety of stakeholders, including community partners, professional organizations, researchers, clinicians, advocacy organizations, funders, and other external audiences. Outputs may include newsletters, videos, infographics, briefs, slide decks, reports, web content, social media content, event materials, and other communication formats.

This position will engage with local, state, regional, and national organizations to understand informational needs, identify opportunities for collaboration, and support effective knowledge translation. The role will also develop and maintain distribution lists, partner contacts, outreach systems, and stakeholder networks to maximize dissemination, engagement, and uptake of project outputs.

The individual in this role must be comfortable representing the program at community events, conferences, partner meetings, resource fairs, webinars, and other engagement opportunities. The position includes event planning and management responsibilities, including logistics, promotion, materials development, registration or attendance tracking, follow-up communications, and evaluation of engagement.

This position will provide supervision to at least two staff members and will also engage with, coordinate, and manage the work of vendors, consultants, and other project personnel supporting communications, outreach, multimedia production, event support, and dissemination activities.

This is an in-person position based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Local and regional travel is required to support community engagement, outreach activities, meetings, events, and conferences.

Responsibilities*

Key Responsibilities

• Knowledge Translation and Content Development

• Translate research findings, project updates, and program outcomes into clear, engaging, audience-specific materials.

• Develop stakeholder-relevant outputs, including newsletters, briefs, videos, infographics, slide decks, web content, social media posts, reports, toolkits, and other dissemination products.

• Use plain language and accessible communication principles to make complex information understandable and useful to varied audiences.

• Tailor content and messaging for different stakeholder groups, including community organizations, professional associations, research partners, clinicians, policymakers, and other audiences.

• Ensure that communication products are accurate, timely, visually engaging, and aligned with project goals.

• Dissemination Strategy and Outreach Planning

• Develop and implement knowledge translation and dissemination strategies across projects.

• Identify target audiences, appropriate communication channels, dissemination timelines, and opportunities for stakeholder engagement.

• Support evaluation of dissemination efforts using metrics such as reach, engagement, attendance, downloads, partner feedback, or other indicators of uptake.

• Recommend creative approaches to increase awareness, participation, and use of project outputs.

• Coordinate dissemination plans with project teams, departmental leadership, and relevant communications partners.

• Stakeholder and Partner Engagement

• Engage with local, regional, state, and national organizations to understand informational needs, priorities, and opportunities for collaboration.

• Build and maintain relationships with community partners, professional organizations, advocacy groups, research collaborators, and other stakeholders.

• Identify opportunities for co-developed materials, presentations, webinars, resource sharing, and other knowledge translation activities.

• Represent the program professionally in meetings, outreach activities, conferences, and external communications.

• Gather stakeholder feedback to inform future communications, outreach approaches, and dissemination products.

• Supervision and Project Team Leadership

• Provide direct supervision to at least two staff members.

• Assign and review work, provide guidance and feedback, support professional development, and assist with performance-related processes in accordance with university and departmental procedures.

• Coordinate the work of vendors, consultants, contractors, temporary staff, student employees, or other project personnel supporting content development, graphic design, video production, editing, event support, outreach, or dissemination activities.

• Establish project timelines, monitor deliverables, ensure accountability, and support high-quality completion of work.

• Serve as a lead resource for communication, outreach, and knowledge translation workflows across assigned projects.

• Distribution Lists, Contact Management, and Outreach Infrastructure

• Develop, organize, and maintain distribution lists, partner contacts, stakeholder databases, and outreach tracking systems.

• Segment contact lists by audience, topic area, geography, organizational type, or other relevant criteria to support targeted dissemination.

• Track communications, outreach activities, stakeholder engagement, follow-up needs, and dissemination outcomes.

• Strengthen systems that maximize the reach, relevance, and uptake of communication products and project outputs.

• Identify new organizations, partners, and contacts to expand dissemination reach.

• Community Events and Event Management

• Plan, coordinate, attend, and conduct outreach at community events, conferences, partner meetings, resource fairs, webinars, workshops, and other engagement opportunities.

• Support event logistics, scheduling, registration, materials preparation, presentation support, promotion, partner coordination, and follow-up communications.

• Develop outreach materials for in-person and virtual events.

• Track participation, stakeholder feedback, and event outcomes to inform future engagement strategies.

• Travel to local and regional events as needed to support project goals and stakeholder engagement.

• Occasional evening or weekend hours may be required to support community events or outreach activities.

• Communications Platforms and Brand Support

• Support communications presence and visibility through website content, newsletters, social media, event materials, reports, and other public-facing communications.

• Help maintain consistency with departmental, Michigan Medicine, and University of Michigan brand standards.

• Coordinate with departmental, Medical School, or Michigan Medicine communications teams as needed.

• Support content calendars, communication schedules, and routine updates to public-facing materials.

• Internal Coordination and Administrative Support

• Coordinate with faculty, research staff, administrative staff, communications teams, and external partners to support project goals.

• Align communication and dissemination activities with Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Michigan Medicine strategies.

• Participate in team meetings, project planning, reporting, and related administrative activities.

• Provide updates on project progress, outreach activities, dissemination metrics, and upcoming engagement opportunities.

• Required Qualifications*

• Knowledge Translation Lead

• Doctorate in field of expertise OR

• Masters degree in communications, journalism, marketing, design, education, social sciences, health-related field, or a related discipline, or equivalent combination of education and experience and

• 6 years or more experience in communications, outreach, dissemination, knowledge translation, stakeholder engagement, event coordination, or a related area.

• Experience supervising staff on project teams

• Ability to attend, represent the program, and conduct outreach at community events, conferences, partner meetings, resource fairs, webinars, workshops, and other engagement opportunities

• Demonstrated ability to create engaging, tailored, and stakeholder-relevant outputs, such as newsletters, vid