Posting Date: July 16, 2025

Closing Date: July 25, 2025

Innovation Coordinator

1.0 FTE, Contract | August 11, 2025 – August 13, 2027

Location: Waterloo Site

About KidsAbility

We are a not-for-profit, equal opportunity employer supporting over 17,000 children and youth to reach their communication, social, physical, and behavioural goals each year. Providing early and exceptional family-centred services in the Waterloo and Guelph-Wellington regions. We believe that by living our values, our impact can be profound, and together, we can build brighter futures.

At KidsAbility, we offer

• A supportive and caring work environment with a strong focus on client service and supporting to staff to meet our mission critical work
• Organizational transparency on missions, visions and future development
• Social Events and opportunities to give back to your community
• Ongoing training and development opportunities, empowering you to enhance your skills
• Comprehensive benefits and optional group RRSP program, short- and long-term disability income protection benefits, and generous vacation package and paid personal leave days

About the Opportunity:

As a part of the Rocket Discovery Centre at KidsAbility, the Innovation Coordinator is responsible for being a process expert, while providing ongoing project and program support. The candidate will act collaboratively as a member of the Rocket Discovery Centre, function as a team player, and work with multiple levels of the organization.

Research Management and Process Champion

• Help manage and refine research programs, especially enhancement of internal processes
• Support staff in ensuring research and innovation processes are followed through to completion
• Support project planning, tracking, and documentation, including developing and managing project plans
• Facilitate regular project meetings and provide status updates to stakeholders
• Support teams to meet goals and timelines
• Ensure that projects are centrally tracked in terms of status and lessons learned
• Work with project leads to identify and mitigate project risks and issues
• Ensure that administrative research requirements (ex: NDAs, Proposals, Ethics Approvals) are completed and effectively organized
• Coordinate on-boarding of research students and project leads
• Liaise with external researchers and students to facilitate research activities

Knowledge Translation

• Work with the communications team to develop communications plans for the Rocket Discovery Centre
• Communicate research outcomes to internal and external audiences.
• Create knowledge translation materials, including reports, presentations, and infographics
• Collaborate with the communications team to disseminate research findings
• Organize workshops, seminars and events to share research insights and best practices
• Document and profile innovations and the staff, families, and researchers involved in projects

Research Discovery and Evaluation

• Analyze department data and trends to identify issues suitable for further research and development
• Work with project leads to ensure research follow standard evaluation frameworks
• Support coordination of qualitative and quantitative evaluation
• Assist with data collection
• Analyse data using descriptive and inferential statistics to evaluate the impact of research initiatives
• Prepare evaluation reports and summarize research findings

More About You

• Graduate of a post-secondary degree program
• Experience in health service delivery and or a related field, 1-3 years of relevant experience
• Be a process expert who enjoys organizing work and using technology to be productive
• Self-motivated and able to work with minimal direction
• Well-developed organizational and problem solving and time management skills
• Ability to communicate effectively, to empathize with others, be sincere and self-aware
• Proven skills in problem solving and conflict resolution
• Excellent ambassador for KidsAbility with external stakeholders
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word CoPilot and other apps in the O365 suite
• Must be task oriented, be organized and detail minded, be able to prioritize tasks in order to meet strict deadlines and have excellent follow-up.
• Common sense, maturity, accuracy, friendly, courteous, positive, team player
• Demonstrated collaboration skills working with diverse groups.
• Strong written and visual communication skills
• Valid Ontario Driver’s License and availability of a motor vehicle required.

We invite applications from those interested in this opportunity to submit a detailed cover letter and resume to Human Resources.

KidsAbility strives to create an accessible and inclusive application and selection process and is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to job applicants who may require provisions to participate in the selection process. Should any applicant require accommodation please contact Human Resources in advance for assistance.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are the core values of KidsAbility. We are a diverse workforce with wide perspectives and creative ideas that benefit our clients and the community. It is the policy of KidsAbility to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment. We welcome applications from visible minority groups, women, Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information or any other ground protected by applicable law.

Please note that all prospective KidsAbility employees are subject to mandatory immunization requirements, including the full and ongoing COVID-19 vaccination, as a condition of obtaining and maintaining employment. We will make accommodations as directed by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and the Chief Medical Officer of Health.