Michigan Medicine improves the health of patients, populations and communities through excellence in education, patient care, community service, research and technology development, and through leadership activities in Michigan, nationally and internationally. Our mission is guided by our Strategic Principles and has three critical components; patient care, education and research that together enhance our contribution to society.

Job Summary

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.

Key Responsibilities

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

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, videos, infographics, reports, briefs, web content, social media content, presentations, toolkits, or other multimedia products.
• Strong writing, editing, and content development skills, including the ability to translate complex research, programmatic, or technical information into clear, concise, audience-appropriate language.
• Experience engaging with external organizations, community partners, professional groups, or other stakeholders to assess informational needs and identify opportunities for collaboration, dissemination, outreach, and knowledge translation.
• Ability to travel to local and regional events, meetings, and conferences.

• Experience supporting event planning, coordination, logistics, promotion, execution, and follow-up.

   

• Ability to coordinate and manage vendors, consultants, contractors, student employees, temporary staff, or other project personnel.

• Ability to develop, organize, and maintain distribution lists, contact databases, partner networks, and outreach tracking systems.

   

• Strong project management and organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects, timelines, contributors, events, and deliverables.
• ability to work collaboratively with faculty, staff, consultants, organizational partners, community stakeholders, and other internal and external collaborators.
• Demonstrated expertise in interpersonal, relationship-building, and customer service skills.
• Demonstrated expertise in common communication and productivity tools, such as Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, email marketing platforms, website content management systems, social media platforms, project management tools, or similar platforms.

Knowledge Translation Senior

• Bachelors degree in communications, journalism, marketing, design, education, social sciences, health-related field, or a related discipline, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5-6 years of experience in communications, outreach, dissemination, knowledge translation, stakeholder engagement, event coordination, or a related area.
• Demonstrated ability to create engaging, tailored, and stakeholder-relevant outputs, such as newsletters, videos, infographics, reports, briefs, web content, social media content, presentations, toolkits, or other multimedia products.
• Strong writing, editing, and content development skills, including the ability to translate complex research, programmatic, or technical information into clear, concise, audience-appropriate language.
• Experience engaging with external organizations, community partners, professional groups, or other stakeholders to assess informational needs and identify opportunities for collaboration, dissemination, outreach, and knowledge translation.
• Willingness and ability to attend, represent the program, and conduct outreach at community events, conferences, partner meetings, resource fairs, webinars, workshops, and other engagement opportunities.
• Willingness and ability to travel to local and regional events, meetings, and conferences.
• Experience supporting event planning, coordination, logistics, promotion, execution, and follow-up.
• Experience supervising staff or leading the work of project teams.
• Ability to coordinate and manage vendors, consultants, contractors, student employees, temporary staff, or other project personnel.
• Ability to develop, organize, and maintain distribution lists, contact databases, partner networks, and outreach tracking systems.
• Experience with project management and organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects, timelines, contributors, events, and deliverables.
• Ability to work collaboratively with faculty, staff, consultants, organizational partners, community stakeholders, and other internal and external collaborators.
• Strong interpersonal, relationship-building, and customer service skills.
• Proficiency with common communication and productivity tools, such as Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, email marketing platforms, website content management systems, social media platforms, project management tools, or similar platforms.

• Experience working in research, academic, clinical, nonprofit, government, or community-engaged environment.
• Experience creating multimedia communications products, including short-form video, infographics, newsletters, visual summaries, slide decks, social media campaigns, or event materials.
• Experience planning community-facing events, workshops, webinars, conferences, advisory meetings, listening sessions, or stakeholder engagement activities.
• Experience conducting outreach or representing an organization at community events, professional meetings, conferences, or partner convenings.
• Experience with web strategy, content management systems, digital content planning, or email marketing platforms.
• Experience using analytics, engagement metrics, event participation data, or stakeholder feedback to refine communication strategies and improve dissemination outcomes.
• Familiarity with accessibility standards and best practices for developing inclusive digital, print, and event materials.
• Experience with brand standards, style guides, and communications planning in a university, health system, nonprofit, government, research, or community-based setting.
• Experience with AI-supported tools for content development, editing, design support, event promotion, workflow efficiency, or dissemination planning.

• Ability to identify emerging dissemination, outreach, and engagement opportunities and recommend creative approaches to increase stakeholder participation and knowledge uptake.

   

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Work Schedule

This is a full-time position working 40 hours per week. The schedule will generally be Monday through Friday during standard business hours. Occasional evening or weekend hours may be required to support community events, conferences, partner meetings, webinars, or other outreach activities.

Work Location

This position is intended to be fully in person. The selected candidate will be expected to work on-site in accordance with departmental expectations and University of Michigan policies. Local and regional travel is required for community engagement, meetings, outreach events, conferences, and related activities.

This position may be underfilled at a lower classification depending on the qualifications of the selected candidate.

• This is two-year, term-limited appointment, with the possibility of extension depending on performance and availability of funding. At the end of the stated term, if funds are not not available, your appointment will terminate and will not be eligible for Reduction-in-Force (RIF) benefits. This term-limited appointment does not create a contract or guarantee of employment for any period of time as you will remain subject to disciplinary or other performance measures, up to and including termination, at the will of the University in accordance with existing University policy and standards for employee performance and conduct. 

Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings.  Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.