Senior Director, Knowledge & Review

Application Deadline: 15 August 2025

Department: 02. Knowledge & Advising

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: New York City, New York

Reporting To: CMO

Compensation: $125,000 - $165,000 / year

Description

The Senior Director, Knowledge & Review, is responsible for ensuring JED's teams are integrating current research on youth mental health and suicide prevention, as well as evidence-informed prevention and treatment practices, into our work, and that we are doing so with an equity lens. The Senior Director, Knowledge & Review, will possess deep knowledge about youth mental health and be passionate about researching new topics, writing for a variety of audiences, and helping others to learn alongside them. This role serves as the primary internal point person for literature reviews and verification of statistics related to youth mental health and suicide prevention, and as one of the senior clinical staff, providing expertise in clinical approaches and safe messaging for young people, parents/guardians, educators, and the public on youth mental health topics. Collaborating with staff across the organization, this position ensures that all JED content is evidence-informed. The ideal candidate is a mental health clinician-researcher familiar with youth mental health trends who is excited about translating research and clinical knowledge to the public.

Key Responsibilities

Building and Maintaining JED’s Knowledge Base

• Lead initiatives that integrate research and clinical knowledge into JED’s work.
• Write literature reviews and research reports on youth mental health topics.
• Ensure effective and efficient development, access, and maintenance of a library of key findings from research studies related to youth mental health and suicide prevention.
• Maintain a folder of talking points, alongside JED’s PR team, on youth mental health subjects and suicide prevention for staff engaging with media.
• Build and maintain relationships with external consultants on mental health topics spanning diverse groups of youth to ensure breadth of available knowledge when needed.
• Develop and maintain relationships with field counterparts in government (e.g. CDC, SAMHSA, HHS) and nonprofit organizations (e.g. Trevor Project) in order to participate in meaningful discussions (both formal and informal) about topics related to youth mental health.
• Participate in professional and scientific organizations where there is important knowledge-sharing about youth mental health research.
• Remain current with best practices for safe and effective messaging related to mental health and suicide prevention.
• Enhance JED’s reputation for speed, accuracy, expertise, and cutting edge thinking related to youth mental health through effective knowledge management practices.
  
  
  

Translating Research and Clinical Knowledge

• Host regular briefing sessions with key staff on emerging youth mental health trends and recently released data.
• Provide background information/stats for JED’s publications/content.
• Perform quality assurance reviews of JED content for accuracy of research and clinical information.
• Plan and execute review cycles for all internal and external-facing documentation that includes research or public health/clinical approaches related to mental health and suicide prevention.
• Create and deliver JED staff trainings on mental health topics.
• Be available for staff questions about research related to youth mental health and suicide prevention topics.
• Speak for JED at conferences and to media outlets on topics related to youth mental health and suicide prevention.
• Encourage a culture of knowledge-sharing among departments and project teams.
  
  
  

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• Doctorate degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) in Psychology or related field.
• Experience leading mental health research initiatives.
• 5 - 10+ years of experience as a mental health clinician, with understanding of DSM-5 diagnoses and evidence-informed treatment options.
• Knowledge about the evidence base for a wide array of interventions and practices in mental health and suicide prevention on a clinical as well as public health/population level.
• Understanding of the structure of mental health systems and programs in schools.
• Ability to analyze and report results from surveys and research studies.
• Excellent writing skills and ability to write well across audiences (academia, youth, caregivers, educators, policymakers (as evidenced by prior publications).
• Presents clearly and is able to distill complex information.
• Actively engages with colleagues to establish collaborative working relationships to help bring out their ideas and recommend solutions that address needs.
• Takes initiative, brings new ideas to the organization, and incorporates feedback when appropriate.
• Plans, organizes, and schedules in an efficient, productive manner, focusing on key priorities and pivoting when necessary.
• Familiar with planning, implementing, and monitoring changes while understanding risks, benefits, and how to communicate effectively during transitions.
• Proven success in project management practices, (e.g. RASCI models, Asana, and other tools).
• Strong problem-identification and problem-solving abilities.
• Detail oriented, ensuring accuracy that does not let important details slip through the cracks or derail a project.
• A commitment to The Jed Foundation’s mission and guiding principles.
• Empathetic communicator with a passion for advocating for mental health and supporting youth and who engages using an inclusive and accessible approach.
• Ability to work in a face-paced, changing and growing organization, including implementing new technology (if needed) and processes.