Technical Writer

This position is a part of the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA).

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package which can be viewed at: Faculty & Staff Benefits .

Location: This role is hybrid with a mix of remote and in-person and work primarily located at North Campus, Edmonton.

Working for the University of Alberta

The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages and cultures of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.

The University of Alberta is teeming with change makers, community builders, and world shapers who lead with purpose each and every day. We are home to more than 40,000 students in 200+ undergraduate and 500+ graduate programs, over 13,000 faculty and staff, 260,000 alumni worldwide and have been recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for over a decade.

Your work will have a meaningful influence on a fascinating cross section of people—from our students and stakeholders, to our renowned researchers and innovators who are quite literally curing diseases, making discoveries and generating solutions that make the world healthier, safer, stronger, and more just.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Associate Vice President & Chief Information Officer the incumbent provides outlining, drafting, writing and editing of Governance Executive Summaries, briefing notes, and presentations at meetings of the Board, senior executive, Deans’ Council, GFC and GFC subcommittees, university technology governance, Senior Admin Community of Practice, meetings of the University Services & Finance AVPs, university workshops organized by the CIO and CISO, and external organizations.

This position provides guidance and advice on presenting explanations of technology using approaches and language that will be understood by the target audience(s). Responds to urgent and emergency needs, such as briefing notes for privacy or security breaches, Board requests for information, and drafts IST policies and procedures, for incorporation in UAPPOL or for IST internal use. This position will prioritize multiple, complex deliverables with varying and competing completion dates, and with varying review processes through multiple levels of the university executive. This position will work in alignment with external relations Centres of Expertise as appropriate.

Duties

• Manages Information Services and Technology (IST) portfolio-level writing and communication projects and initiatives as assigned by the CIO, CISO and IST Executive.
• Leads complex, specialized communications on behalf of IST.
• Identifies key stakeholders and audiences, and shapes communications for those audiences, ensuring technical concepts are explained clearly, and in terms the intended audience will be engaged with and understand, while maintaining technical accuracy.
• Identifies new communications required due to current or future directions of IST, changes in progress, and apparent communication gaps in those changes. Proposes initiatives based on these discoveries.
• Manages the portfolio communications work plan for IST, including sequencing and aligning presentations to various audiences (PEC, Deans’ Council, Sr Admin group, PEAC, etc.), and prioritizes the development of documents, presentations, and policy work based on IST priorities. Works closely with the USF Strategic Initiatives Officer to deliver communications routed through that office.
• Establishes strategic priorities with IST Executive to define initiatives/projects that align with the University’s Strategic Plan, and the University Technology Strategy.
• Creates frameworks and terms of reference for the development of initiatives and projects.
• Completes environmental scans, summaries of external policies and procedures, and identifies and assesses IST communication gaps.
• Analyzes communication problems or issues in a systematic way to identify relevant audiences, approaches and channels.
• Generates original ideas, formulates outlines and presentations, and develops innovative solutions based on best practices in translating professional or discipline-specific expertise into frameworks, concepts, documents, presentations and language appropriate to non-technical audiences.
• Researches, writes, and/or edits proposals, recommendations, reports, policies, procedures, portfolio annual report and other documents.
• Facilitates and presents proposals, recommendations, reports, policies, procedures, and other documents via the university and technology governance committees.
• Manages the delivery of proposals, documents, presentations, policies and procedures, where appropriate.
• Works with IST teams to obtain an in-depth understanding of documentation requirements and details.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 2-5 years of progressive experience where a significant portion of the duties involved technical writing, communicating technical and systems changes in-progress or planned, and collaborating in organizational change management
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office and the Google Suite
• Good working knowledge of Web markup languages is desirable
• Excellent time management skills, with the ability to work on tight deadlines and manage priorities that may at times be in conflict
• Bilingual in English/French would be an asset.

Note: Online applications are accepted until midnight Mountain Standard Time of the closing date.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.