Job Description

SCIENTIFIC WRITER AND TEAM LEAD, VOLUNTEER

About the Pet Cancer Foundation

The Pet Cancer Foundation's vision is to increase the life expectancy and improve the quality of life of pets diagnosed with cancer. Estimates suggest that 12M dogs and cats are developing cancer every year, roughly 6x the number of humans getting cancer yearly within North America.

We need to do more for our furry friends. To achieve this mission, we're building a large team of distributed, animal-loving passionate volunteers to help them and their families. Our Website Editorial team requires experienced scientific writers to produce informational resources for our community. That's where and how you can help us!

About the Position

The Scientific Writer and Team Lead is a volunteer position that guides a team of research assistants to execute high quality literature reviews, and scientific writers, who draft articles on topics pertaining to pet health, canine and feline cancer, and the various parts of the healthcare journey, pets and their families experience during their time together.

Team leaders provide oversight and guidance to the research assistant team and work alongside their writing team to complete their own writing assignments (as time permits). Additionally, the Team Lead provides direction and quality checks on all writing assignments to ensure they meet conditions to enter our editorial process.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Supervises or assists with literature search for assigned topics, evaluates and grades papers (when required). Familiarizes self on assigned topics and completes further diligence or knowledge gathering when necessary. Communicates scientific research by writing reliably and effectively, drafting assigned articles to educate a lay audience on topics that may contain complex scientific knowledge regarding the health/welfare of cats and dogs, or humans when discussing coping, grief, and other social sciences-related topics involving human and animal interactions. Provide high-quality documents that meet PCF guidelines, regarding clarity, accuracy, format, consistency, voice, & style. Supervises, coaches, & constructively provide feedback to scientific writers and research assistants in their efforts to research or draft articles that meet the organization's standards. Ensures that regardless of the topic being discussed that the tone and voice remain hopeful while showing sensitivity, empathy, and compassion when appropriate. All content regardless of tone must remain factual and credible. Submit work to the Project Leader or Editing team according to the schedules agreed upon. Adheres to deadlines & communicates situations that cause deviation from timelines or milestones. Communicates with peers, editors, and leadership constructively to suggest improvements in our efforts.

About You:

You have developed excellent skills writing content of a scientific nature while pursuing your PhD. that may have included post-doctoral work in your field. Your writing experience will include source grading and validation, along with an understanding of effective contextualization of scientific data for a lay audience, which is vitally important to our work towards being a valued source of education, awareness, and information for pet owners. Always a team player who respects timelines and deadlines, you have:

Ph.D. in life, animal sciences, or an appropriately related field/discipline that applies to our content needs 6+ years' experience (post-achievement of your PhD) writing and/or editing scientific-related content, including published, peer-reviewed papers Strong history of translating research or technical findings into concise, engaging, and actionable content written for specialist and non-specialist audiences Ability to identify, review, and critique topic-specific research literature Ability to handle multiple projects at once while maintaining attention to detail Excellent oral communication skills

What we provide you with

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the development of public information materials that will help improve the critical periods when pets fall ill. You'll work alongside a professionally diverse and dedicated team, expand your professional network, and be part of an organization committed to making a difference in the lives of animals and their families.

Footnotes

Expectations regarding a time commitment are in the range 6-8 hours per week, completed in your available time. This position is virtual and completed from anywhere in North America. This role may require additional hours from time to time and your flexibility to adapt is necessary. Please visit our website at www.petcancerfdn.org for more information.
Job Type: Part-time

Expected hours: 6 - 8 per week

Application question(s):

Please note that Indeed adds a "suggested salary" for all roles when the posting does not include a salary. With this being a volunteer role, we do not include a salary.
To avoid any misunderstanding, we ask that you leave us a brief note acknowledging your awareness and willingness to volunteer to properly consider your application.

Thank you!

Education:

Post-Doctorate (required)
Experience:

scientific writing: 10 years (required)
Work Location: Remote