Volunteer Editor-In-Chief - Child Psychology

What will you be doing?

We are a pioneering non-profit association founded in 2021 out of the desire to promote intentional kindness in children and to foster positive racial identity development in young people. Our charity's sole purpose is to advocate for kindness. We are focused on inspiring, educating, and empowering children and young adults to be kind to themselves (mental health), kind to others (empathy), kind to the environment, and extend our kindness framework to Africa.  Racial bullying, and the mental health of children, and racism in schools are hot topics that have been headlining media outlets, dominating conferences & events, and gaining increasing traction in research and pilot projects. Afrikindness is pioneering a children-led initiative and providing support to parents, schools, and children as well as to help governments, and inter-governmental and regional organizations to navigate the complexities of parenting children of color in the UK. We put a lot of work into research, providing research blogs to educate parents so that informed decisions can be made by the parents and schools in supporting and developing the social and emotional needs of children and young people. You will be joining our charity during an exciting point in our development and a period of real growth; your expert knowledge, skill, and experience will be critical to our success. You will have a key role in ensuring we can maintain the work that we do and make the needed impact on young people. The editorial chief is expected to manage the team of writers and editors, determine the look and feel of the publication, decide what to publish, and oversee the publication's operations and policies. You will review articles, and photographs, contribute to editorial pieces and manage the production of content for publication. You will be in charge of a small team of researchers, driving the end-to-end research editorial, conducting both independent research and publishing research, producing briefing materials for speeches and presentations at high-level conferences; and turning actions into impacts to shape sustainable finance policy agenda on a global international platform. Our activities cover both the Uk and Africa. We’re urgently looking for a volunteer who has proven ability in research publication/organization/business development and who will help steer our research agenda to support our work both in the UK and Africa. 

What are we looking for?

publishes articles that significantly advance knowledge and theory  Responsibilities

Approving the publication's layout, design, style, and tone.  Publish articles that significantly advance knowledge about child developmental stages, children's mental health, behavior, etc that would benefit the general public. To provide high-quality editorial services - including content development, copyediting, proofreading, and publishing To simplify research journals into blogs on issues and challenges with children from black and minority ethnic communities, and working with our Graphic designers to present it in visual content, videos, and graphics that can be easily understood by our parent community.  Reviewing written content for spelling and grammar errors. Fact-checking information in articles and stories. Writing editorial pieces to contribute to the publication. Representing the publication's editorial team at conferences & social functions. Making final decisions about which stories, articles and photographs to publish. Attending meetings with the publication board to discuss issues and plans for the research publication.

You’ll help us deliver content that people need and understand, in a way they can find and use.  Skills & Abilities

Excellent oral communication and writing skills, including the ability to develop effective working relationships, work flexibly across professional and operational boundaries, and communicate professionally with internal and external stakeholders at all levels. Detail-orientated; great organizational skills and ability to balance competing demands under pressure. Strong presentation skills and ability to present ideas appropriately and persuasively. A relevant degree or training in the relevant discipline, Psychology, Psychiatrist, CAMH professional etc. Experience in producing research outputs and structured reports for different audiences. Experience in working independently and with teams to drive forward projects using own initiative. Experience in designing, planning, and facilitating independent research and the ability to meet tight deadlines. Good at publishing content across a range of digital, print and video formats

What difference will you make?

As the Editor-in-chief of Afrikindness research, you will help to create the image of Afrikindness seen and understood by the community we serve. Through your work, you will be contributing to the work we do, bringing awareness to the mental health issues children face, the lack of empathy, issues with bullying, hatred, racism, and the effect on children, especially children of color, and to promote what Afrikindness is doing to tackle those issues. Your support will make a difference in the lives of children & young adults across the UK & Africa who need early support the most to improve their mental, social, and emotional needs and to foster positive racial development and intentional kindness in children and young people. Your editorial publications and work will help drive policy changes, impact the communities we serve, provide educational resources to parents, look into existing research on racial identity challenges in children and young people of colour in the UK, and provide in-depth data analysis on the issues with a research output that could lead to policy change. Afrikindness is looking to increase its global reach by having a clear research pathway that will support the work we do.  You will be working with researchers across the UK and Africa, the CEO, psychologists, CAMH professionals, educators, the Board of Trustees, the editorial team, and other professionals. Research areas include social, and emotional issues children face relating to race, understanding the intersection of race and children in the UK, understanding parenting in black communities, focus on implicit racial biases in schools, Children’s mental health in Africa etc