Hikma Strategies Intern – Knowledge Mobilization Specialist (Remote)

Fall 2022 Semester

Application Deadline: 30 June 2022

ROLE: KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION SPECIALIST

Who We Are

Hikma Strategies is a Vancouver-based small business that offers research consulting, content development, facilitation services, and training programs to help people with unique expertise thrive in any context. Our programs interweave topics like research communication, partnership development, and entrepreneurship that can fall under many interrelated fields, including but not limited to public scholarship, social impact, implementation science, knowledge translation, knowledge exchange, and knowledge mobilization. The Knowledge Mobilization Specialist will work actively with our founder and team to gather resources across these fields, articulate the points of connection between them, and develop a suite of resources to support research for the public good.

Why You Should Apply

We’re hiring a student to assist with cross-disciplinary research and the development of resources to support our clients, partners, and target audiences. This will be a research and development-focused role with minimal supervision, appropriate for a student with demonstrated intellectual curiosity and experience in developing annotated bibliographies, synthesizing arguments, crafting creative teaching materials, and interrogating the nuances of public scholarship.

The Knowledge Mobilization Specialist will be encouraged to bring their creativity and unique skill set to this role. We look for applicants who are excited to learn and test ideas.

At Hikma, we are committed to building and refining sustainable better practices across our organization. Every member of the Hikma team engages in the co-creation of an engaging, collaborative and transparent work culture.

Eligibility

This is an internship for academic credit. It will be administered at The Graduate Center through the PublicsLab. In order to be eligible, students must be able to enroll in IDS 81620: Scholarly Praxis at Work in the World in the Fall 2022 semester (every other Thursday, 2-4pm). For questions about the course, please contact PublicsLab director Stacy Hartman at shartman2@gc.cuny.edu.

Core Activities

  • Gather articles and other resources about knowledge mobilization from a wide range of academic, public, industry, and social sector channels
  • Synthesize these materials into shared themes that enable connection and translation between contexts and fields
  • Map new contexts to surface insights about how knowledge mobilization works in academia, industry, government, and the social sector
  • Develop 2-3+ new resources to help Hikma partners, clients, and target audiences communicate research, develop partnerships, and implement and evaluate social impact projects
  • Draft and implement a project plan to guide your research and resource development
  • Create professional workplace samples to add to your portfolio, which may include podcast episodes, infographics, blog posts, slide decks, published web graphics, teaching materials, discussion topics and guides, and data analysis, visualization, and reporting
  • Develop brief weekly reports summarizing progress toward project goals
  • Identify funding opportunities to support the expansion of Hikma’s knowledge mobilization initiatives
  • Attend virtual meetings with clients as appropriate to take notes, provide technical support, learn about the consulting side of Hikma’s work, and refine Hikma resources to respond to the needs of active public scholars

Supervision

You will report directly to Dr. Erica Machulak, Founder of Hikma Strategies. You may also collaborate with and receive instructions from other Hikma team members.

What You’ll Learn

  • Work in a context with a heavy focus on entrepreneurship, community engagement, knowledge mobilization, and strengths-based approaches to professional development
  • Receive coaching and mentorship from Hikma’s Founder
  • Build technical skills required to develop creative resources in a range of media types, e.g. writing for new audiences, audio editing, and visual design
  • Co-create the substance and circulation of an engaging public resource that will advance our organization’s mission and strengthen our knowledge ecosystem
  • Build skills in communication, collaboration, and project planning
  • Participate in the development of better practices to implemented across our organization and emerging community of practice

What We’re Looking For

​We are framing this internship as a research assistantship that engages many dialogues across sectors to better understand the theory, practice, and broader landscape of knowledge mobilization. It is not necessary that candidates be familiar with the term “knowledge mobilization” to be well prepared for this role—you will learn the language of this field and many others through your work in this role. Ideal candidates will be keen to learn and skilled at drawing connections between different realms of their own experience, asking thoughtful questions, and ordering a complex network of ideas into an organized research plan.

We anticipate that the person who fills this role will bring their unique experience and skill set to both the research process and the development of creative materials. The specific genre of the materials themselves (blog posts, podcast episodes, videos, reports, academic journal articles, et c.) will be determined according to the goals of the material and the candidate’s approach. Our Founder and Creative Director are committed to helping motivated applicants build technical skills to develop creative resources across a range of content types and genres.

Hikma’s Founder, Erica Machulak, and Creative Director, Sophia van Hees, will provide mentorship through weekly team meetings and targeted check-ins as needed. We’re here to steer the direction of the work, and we are interested in finding a candidate who is excited to make the project their own.

All team members are warmly encouraged to learn from each other and provide input on Hikma initiatives beyond their portfolios, so there will be plenty of cross-training opportunities along the way. The person in this role will also be invited to participate in client meetings when appropriate.

  • Demonstrated experience facilitating inclusive and engaging learning spaces, with an emphasis on creating welcoming environments for participants from under-represented groups
  • Demonstrated experience in the development of audio and visual digital storytelling materials with an emphasis on podcast development—or willingness to learn
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with experience writing professional emails and social media content
  • Experience with creative storytelling in academic and/or non-academic contexts across a range of media
  • Strategic thinking skills, such as the ability to translate concepts across contexts
  • Reporting skills, such as the ability to synthesize qualitative and quantitative information into summaries or briefs
  • Outstanding organizational and time management skills, especially related to tracking communications with a large volume of contacts
  • A proven ability to organize and deliver on a complex project over a period of weeks or months
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a team to meet deadlines
  • Ability to reflect on processes, identify creative solutions, and offer and receive constructive feedback
  • Working knowledge of a range of computer programs including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Zoom
  • Working knowledge of a range of communication platforms including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and content or learning management systems
  • Background, education, or experience with teaching discussion-based courses an asset—or willingness to learn
  • Background, education, or experience with teaching online an asset—or willingness to learn
  • Background, education, or experience with graphic design, data visualization, and/or audio editing an asset—or willingness to learn
  • Background, education, or experience in plain language and alt text an asset—or willingness to learn

How to Apply

Please submit a resume or CV and answers to the following questions to PublicsLab Director Stacy Hartman at shartman2@gc.cuny.edu by Thursday, 30 June 2022.

  1. Why do you want to work for Hikma?
  2. How would this role align with your professional goals, research, and interests?
  3. What do you see as the purpose of public scholarship?