Technical Editor

The Technical Editor will undertake substantive and technical editing of two CMHC project Issue Briefs, strengthening their clarity, structure, narrative flow, analytical presentation and suitability for an educated but non-specialist public audience. The editor will work from existing drafts and written feedback, retaining the underlying research findings and ensuring that proposed changes are clearly identified for author review.
Responsibilities
Review Issue Brief 1 and Issue Brief 2, together with the consolidated comments and relevant supporting materials provided by the UN-Habitat project team, and identify editorial priorities for each document.
Substantively edit both briefs for logical organization, coherent argumentation, clear transitions, consistent terminology and an accessible, public-oriented narrative appropriate for non-specialist Canadian readers.
Strengthen the presentation of findings, lessons learned, practical implications and relevant trade-offs, distinguishing evidence-based insights from descriptive background material without changing the substance of approved research.
Work with the authors to bring forward insights from key informant interviews and qualitative research where these are documented, including suggested placement of attributable or appropriately anonymized quotations subject to source verification and clearance.
Reduce duplication, overly technical language, unnecessary detail and passive or academic phrasing;
improve headings, executive summaries or introductory framing, key messages and conclusions as appropriate to each brief.
Check internal consistency of facts, figures, terminology, citations, tables, references and cross-references;
flag apparent gaps, inconsistencies or unsupported statements for resolution by the research team rather than independently validating or generating new evidence.
Ensure consistency of editorial style, tone, structure and presentation across Issue Briefs 1 and 2, while preserving the distinct subject matter and findings of each document.
Provide edited manuscripts in Microsoft Word with tracked changes and concise editorial queries or comments identifying issues requiring author decisions, verification or additional evidence.
Participate remotely in an inception discussion and focused review calls with the project manager, authors and, where requested, CMHC counterparts to clarify feedback and resolve editorial questions.
Incorporate one consolidated round of author and project-team feedback for each Issue Brief and prepare a clean, publication-ready editorial version, subject to final substantive approval by UN-Habitat.
Deliver Issue Brief 1 by the end of December 2026 and Issue Brief 2 by the end of January 2027, according to a mutually agreed review schedule.
Requirements
An advanced university degree in Communications, Journalism, English, Public Policy, Urban Studies, Housing Policy, or a related field is desirable.
A first-level university degree with two additional years of qualifying professional editorial experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.
At least 5 years of professional experience in substantive editing, technical editing, policy communications or publication development, preferably involving research-based reports for public-sector or international audiences is required.
Demonstrated experience editing issue briefs, analytical reports and other evidence-based publications for clarity, readability, logical structure, accuracy of presentation and consistent editorial style is required.
Proven ability to translate complex technical research into accessible, engaging, plain-language content while preserving analytical nuance, source integrity and the author’s intended meaning is required.
Familiarity with housing policy, urban development, or comparative public policy, including the Canadian policy context, is desirable.
Experience incorporating multiple reviewers’ comments, working collaboratively with researchers, and delivering tracked-change and clean manuscripts to tight publication deadlines is required.Experience with UN agencies, international organizations, government institutions, research organizations is desirable.
Excellent written English and demonstrated professional editing proficiency are required.
Knowledge of French is desirable.
Skills
Technical Editing
Substantive Editing
Policy Communications
Publication Development
Editing Research Reports
Plain-language Writing
Editorial Style Consistency
Report Writing
Collaborative Editing
Tracked-Change Manuscripts
Publication Deadline Management
English Editing
Issue Brief Editing
Analytical Report Editing
LanguagesEnglish, French
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