The Meyers Lab at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons is a dynamic lab spanning expertise in implementation science, socio-behavioral science and translational research within the fields of HIV treatment and prevention.
We are seeking a consultant to aid in the development and dissemination of three types of communication deliverables: 1) Lab website 2) Resources and tools for patients and clinical staff and 3) Research posters and PowerPoint presentations. For all deliverables the consultant will need to collaborate with team members in an iterative design approach. The consultant must be open to feedback at each stage of the development process, with a willingness to mockup designs with slight variation and revisit old ideas if the current design is not working.
1) Website and Dissemination
The goal of the website is to communicate more broadly the type of work the Meyers Lab does as well as spotlight individual lab projects including 1) a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-funded project to support clinics across the US to accelerate the delivery of a new form of HIV treatment (injectable treatment) in a way that enhances health equity; 2) a National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study to develop and pilot test a drug-level monitoring intervention for people who are discontinuing injectable HIV prevention; and 3) a NIMH-funded study to support the integration of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) programs into clinical settings; and the expansion of those programs to include emerging PrEP options. In addition to developing the website, the consultant will also propose and execute communication and social media strategies that leverage the website in the dissemination of research findings and project updates and potentially support recruitment into studies.
2) Resources and tools
The consultant will work closely with subject matter experts to contribute to the design and development of clinic staff-facing materials (including job aids, training manuals and slide sets) and patient-facing materials (including brochures, fact sheets, infographics, and possibly videos, and web-based apps) that support implementation of novel biomedical HIV treatment and prevention interventions. Videos and web-based apps would be outsourced to third-party; the consultant’s scope would include working with the third party. As part of resource development, the consultant will help distill complex research findings into easy-to-understand visualizations including graphs and illustrations, some of which have already been developed. The consultant will develop branding style guidelines to ensure all tools and resources have uniform design elements.
3) Posters and presentations
The consultant will provide research team members with support in creating visually pleasing abstract posters and research presentations using creative layouts and demonstrative visuals. The consultant will work closely with the project manager to ensure presentations and posters are developed in a timely manner and meet strict deadlines requirements. The consultant will also develop strategies for dissemination of products and presentations.
Minimum Qualifications
- Excellent organizational and time management skills, and the ability to balance multiple competing priorities and handle multiple tasks simultaneously, ensuring that tasks are completed in a timely manner, accurately, and meeting quality standards.
- Ability to work independently and follow-through from idea generation to task completion.
- Experience with website design using Squarespace or WordPress
- Experience developing and managing website content
- Openness to constructive feedback and motivation to improve and further develop skills.
- Eye for design with ability to prepare graphics materials using software such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, PowerPoint, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat
- Experience with plain language and non-stigmatizing communications as well as familiarity with accessibility, ADA and WCAG compliance.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office suite, particularly with PowerPoint
- Bachelor’s degree plus six years of experience.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with or interest in HIV-related projects.
- Experience with videography, video editing, and/or animation or demonstrated experience working with creators.
- Experience disseminating research and health information to the public across social media platforms (e.g., X, TikTok, Instagram)
- Ability to anticipate and identify problems and collaboratively problem-solving in complex, fast-changing, and interdisciplinary settings.
- Ability to work collaboratively with a culturally diverse staff.
- Flexibility and willingness to change focus and course when the situation requires a new approach.
- Bilingual English and Spanish.
- Four years of experience in marketing, communications, and design experience related to health
- Lived experience as a member of a population historically impacted by HIV/AIDS and/or experience working with people with this lived experience including:
Black, indigenous, immigrant, and other people of color
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, nonbinary, and queer people
People who are unhoused or unstably housed
People who use drugs
People with chronic mental health diagnoses
People who engage in sex work
People who are formerly incarcerated and/or have experience with the justice system
Consultancy Term & Details
October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025.
Expectation of 10-20 hours a week, with variation likely week-by-week based on project deadlines and deliverables. The ideal consultant will be able to join the team in person an average of two days a month.
Hourly Rate
Hourly rate is commensurate with experience. Range: $80 to $110/hour.
Meyers Lab
The Meyers Lab at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, in the Infectious Disease Division of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons Department of Medicine, is focused on bridging the gap between the development of innovative treatment, prevention, and diagnostic strategies for infectious diseases (e.g. HIV, viral hepatitis, coronaviruses) and their practical implementation. Our work is positioned at the far end of the translational research process: we take innovations from the laboratory and clinical bedside and study how these evidence-based interventions can be successfully implemented at scale across diverse clinical and public health settings. Using mixed-method, interdisciplinary approaches, our goal is to accelerate the adoption of new clinical and public health interventions in providers and patients/end users so that we can maximize health benefits at the population level. To that end, our lab collaborates with clinics, community-based organizations, government organizations, and other users and stakeholders to implement federally0funded studies and projects both internationally and domestically. We believe that engaging stakeholders at all stages of the research is a critical component of our process, leading to practical project design and findings that are useful to our partners and result in public health impact.