The Organization

Through clinical services, education, and research, The Family Institute at Northwestern University is one of the nation’s leading relationship-based behavioral health organizations committed to strengthening and healing children and adolescents, couples, families, and individuals. When you join The Family Institute, you are joining a team of over 230 collaborators comprised of clinicians, educators, researchers, therapists-in-training, partners, and administrators across three service sites. We are a strong, independent organization focused on advancing the world of behavioral health.   

Learn more about our culture.  

The Role 

We are seeking an Internal Communications & Intranet Manager to strengthen organizational communication and knowledge-sharing across The Family Institute at Northwestern University (TFI). This role will lead the evolution of our SharePoint-based intranet and Teams collaboration ecosystem, oversee internal communication strategies, and drive change-management communications for major organizational initiatives spanning clinical services, academics, office of the president and shared services. 

The ideal candidate blends editorial excellence with technical expertise in Microsoft 365, particularly SharePoint and Teams. They simplify complex information, foster engagement among staff and affiliates, and ensure our multi-site and hybrid workforce has timely access to accurate, compliant resources. 

This position is critical for adoption of new systems and workflows (e.g., EHR optimization, automation, policy updates), ensuring that internal messaging is clear, consistent, and aligned with TFI’s mission, and that communications adhere to HIPAA, FERPA, and organizational policies. 

Location
Chicago
Department
Professional Services
Reports To
VP of Strategic Insights & Analytics
FLSA Status
Exempt

Primary Responsibilities

Internal Communications 

  1. Develop and execute a TFI-wide internal communication strategy and channel plan (email, SharePoint news, Teams announcements, Viva Engage/Communities) with cadences for all-staff updates, leadership notes, clinical bulletins, and academic program updates.  
  2. Draft, edit, and publish organization-wide messages; partner with stakeholders to translate strategy, operational changes, and quality/safety updates into clear, accessible content. 
  3. Establish content standards, style guide, templates, and editorial calendar, including plain-language and accessibility/WCAG standards for all internal channels.  
  4. Implement measurement and feedback loops (open rates, read time, link CTR, search success, time-to-find, sentiment) and provide quarterly engagement dashboards to leadership. 

Intranet & Knowledge Management 

  1. Lead the design, information architecture, and governance of TFI’s intranet (SharePoint) as the authoritative hub for policies, procedures, clinical & academic operations, training assets, and FAQs.  
  2. Stand up content ownership models (RACI), review cycles/expiry, and metadata & search refiners to improve findability.  
  3. Collaborate with Shared Services (HR, Finance, Facilities, and IT), Clinical Services, Academics, Operations teams and the Office of the President to ensure content is accurate, current, and compliant (HIPAA/FERPA). 
  4. Champion a self-service culture by positioning the intranet as the first stop for answers, enhanced by AI-powered search refiners and Copilot agents that surface relevant content based on user intent and behavior. 
  5. Embed guided self-help tools such as Zingtree decision trees or Copilot-powered virtual agents that use natural language understanding to answer FAQs, guide users through workflows, and escalate complex issues to the appropriate teams. 
  6. Explore integration of Viva Connections (dashboard/resources), Viva Engage (communities), and Viva Amplify/campaigning for multi-channel publishing where available. 

Change Management (Communications & Adoption) 

  1. Partner with the VP of Strategic Insights & Analytics and project leads to develop change-communications and adoption plans for initiatives (e.g., EHR optimization, automation, hybrid work norms, compliance updates).  
  2. Conduct stakeholder and audience analysis, readiness and impact assessments, and craft messaging frameworks (what’s changing/why/when/benefits/what to do).  
  3. Produce adoption deliverables: FAQs, one-pagers, quick-start guides, micro-learning videos, live/recorded demos, and office hours.  
  4. Coordinate a Champion/Coach network across programs and shared services; capture field feedback and manage resistance with targeted interventions.  
  5. Define success criteria and measure adoption (task completion, ticket volume, training completion, search/task success, utilization) via SharePoint analytics and Power BI. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Governance 

  1. Serve as a trusted advisor to leadership on messaging, change readiness, and staff engagement.  
  2. Run a Communications & Intranet Governance Group (monthly) to prioritize requests, align campaigns, and enforce content standards and retention.  
  3. Crisis/incident communications: establish playbooks and on-call workflows for unplanned events (e.g., systems downtime, policy changes), in coordination with Shared Services and leadership.  
  4. Partner with the Data & Automation Engineer so that communication about new data tools, Copilot agents, automations, and self-service resources is timely, accessible, and supported by interactive walkthroughs and embedded help. 
  5. Perform other duties as assigned by manager for business necessity 

Summary of Qualifications

Knowledge and Skills 

  1. Demonstrated experience planning and executing change-management communications for technology rollouts or process changes (Prosci/ADKAR, Kotter, or similar).  
  2. Expertise with Microsoft 365: SharePoint (site design, pages, permissions), Teams (channels, announcements), basic HTML/CSS for pages, and SharePoint analytics.  
  3. Strong writing/editing and plain-language skills; proven ability to tailor tone for clinicians, faculty, trainees, and administrative staff.  
  4. Project management skills; ability to prioritize and deliver in a matrixed environment; discretion with sensitive information (PHI/FERPA-protected data). 
  5. Familiarity with Viva (Connections, Engage, Amplify, Learning) and SharePoint PnP provisioning/site templates, preferred.  
  6. Prosci/ADKAR or related change-management certification; experience facilitating training (live and asynchronous), preferred.  
  7. Basic content design/visual skills (Canva/Adobe); experience with survey tools (Microsoft Forms) and A/B testing for message optimization, preferred. 
  8. Experience in healthcare, higher education, or nonprofit environments, preferred. 

Minimum Hiring Specifications

  1. Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Organizational Development, Information Management, or related field; or equivalent experience.  
  2. 5+ years in internal communications, employee engagement, or digital workplace/intranet management. 

Job Requirements

Physical and Mental Requirements

  1. Must be able to compose written reports clearly and effectively  
  2. Must be able to be in a stationary position due to attention to computer screen   
  3. The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations 
  4. The ability to observe details at close range (within a few feet of the observer) to perform work-related duties  
  5. Must be able to apply established protocols in a timely manner  
  6. Must be able to determine solutions to problems  
  7. Must be able to operate successfully while handling multiple projects 

How to Apply

Submit Application

Equal Opportunity Employer 

The Family Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, Veteran status, or any other protected class. We strive to create a working environment that is free of all forms of discrimination and one that promotes human dignity and mutual respect among all staff. We believe every member of our organization enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, to identify challenges, and to discover, design, and deliver solutions.  

If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation to complete this application, please direct your inquiries to the hr@family-institute.org.

Compensation is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: scope and responsibilities of the position; a candidate’s applicable work experience, key skills and qualifications, as well as internal and external market considerations. The pay range for this full-time, exempt position is $89,636.00 - $123,193.40/year. The Family Institute provides competitive benefits, including health, a 403(b) retirement savings plan, generous time off, and professional development. For a more inclusive list of benefits, please visit our Careers page at https://www.family-institute.org/about-us/careers.