Post Doctoral Associate

Position Description
Postdoctoral Associate

Job Summary:

 

Drs. Rushina Cholera (Duke-Margolis, Duke Pediatrics), Lisa Gennetian (Duke Sanford), and Sarahn Wheeler (Duke School of Medicine), co-leads for a multi-year Maternal & Early Childhood Health Initiative focused on improving maternal health and child wellbeing among North Carolina’s perinatal-to-three population, are seeking a postdoctoral research associate. This is a 2-year appointment.

The initiative aims to build an integrated, data-driven ecosystem that strengthens care delivery, service coordination, and outcomes for pregnant people, infants, young children, and their families. The postdoctoral associate will work closely with Dr. Rushina Cholera and a multidisciplinary leadership team to design and implement the initiative’s data, measurement, and evaluation strategy, with a focus on cross-sector data infrastructure, linkage, performance measurement, evaluation, and continuous learning.

  Responsibilities:

 1. Serve as a scientific partner in advancing the initiative’s cross-sector data and learning agenda – 35%

• Serve as a scientific and strategic partner to initiative leadership on cross-sector data strategy, measurement, evaluation, and learning activities.
• Lead and support data integration and linkage across administrative, clinical, survey, claims, and programmatic data sources, including approaches for linking maternal-child dyads, families, and service interactions across systems.
• Support data acquisition, integration, validation, quality assessment, governance, reporting, monitoring, and stewardship processes.

2. Lead the development of measurement, evaluation, and analytic strategies to inform policy and systems transformation – 45%

• Develop conceptual frameworks, logic models, measurement plans, and analytic strategies, drawing on implementation science approaches, to guide implementation, evaluation, and continuous learning.
• Lead and conduct analyses that generate actionable insights for policy, program improvement, implementation, and systems transformation, including measures meaningful to families, providers, community organizations, health plans, and state partners.
• Develop and support performance measurement, accountability, data quality, monitoring, and rapid-cycle learning approaches across participating sites and partner organizations.

 

3. Contribute to scholarship and dissemination related to cross-sector data, evaluation, and systems change – 20%

• Collaborate with initiative leadership, implementation partners, state agencies, healthcare organizations, community stakeholders, and other partners to align data and evaluation activities with strategic priorities.
• Translate complex findings into clear and actionable recommendations for policymakers, funders, providers, community partners, and other audiences.
• Conduct background research and literature reviews and contribute to analytic frameworks, reports, policy briefs, presentations, manuscripts, and other dissemination products, with opportunities for lead authorship and independent scholarship.

 Expectations include:

• Serving as a key strategic partner to initiative leadership on cross-sector data strategy, measurement, evaluation, and learning activities.

• Leading the design and direction of cross-sector data integration and linkage efforts across administrative, clinical, survey, claims, and programmatic data sources.

• Developing innovative approaches for linking maternal-child dyads, families, and service interactions across multiple systems and sectors.

• Directing analytic activities that support data acquisition, integration, validation, and interpretation to advance initiative goals.

• Designing and overseeing data governance, reporting, monitoring, and stewardship processes that enable secure and effective use of cross-sector data.

• Developing conceptual frameworks, logic models, measurement plans, and analytic strategies to guide implementation, evaluation, and continuous learning.

• Leading and conducting analyses that generate actionable insights for policy, program improvement, implementation, and systems transformation efforts.

• Identifying, refining, and operationalizing measures that reflect outcomes and experiences meaningful to families, providers, community-based organizations, health plans, and state partners.

• Supporting the development of reporting strategies, performance measures, and accountability frameworks that may inform future sustainability and value-based financing models.

• Providing leadership for data quality, monitoring, and continuous improvement efforts across participating sites, pilot regions, and partner organizations.

• Collaborating regularly with initiative leadership, implementation partners, state agencies, healthcare organizations, and community stakeholders to align data and evaluation activities with strategic priorities.

• Participating in weekly team, evaluation, and data strategy meetings to support project coordination and shared learning.

• Translating complex findings into clear and actionable recommendations for diverse audiences, including policymakers, funders, providers, and community partners.

• Contributing background research, literature reviews, analytic frameworks, results interpretation, and written content for reports, policy briefs, memoranda, presentations, manuscripts, and other dissemination products, with opportunities for lead authorship and independent scholarship.

• Providing technical expertise and thought partnership on emerging challenges and opportunities related to data integration, measurement, evaluation, implementation science, and population health improvement.

Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein.

The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this classification. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties required of personnel so classified.

 

Required Qualifications at this Level

Education/Training PhD in health services research, public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, economics, data science, informatics, implementation science, public policy, or a related field

Experience/Skills

• Experience working with large administrative, clinical, or programmatic datasets, including state-level health and social service data.

• Strong quantitative analytic skills and experience using R, STATA, SAS, Python, or similar analytic software.

• Experience with data linkage, data quality assessment, and/or development of analytical datasets across multiple sources.

• Demonstrated interest in maternal and child health, Medicaid policy, population health, health equity, or cross-sector care delivery models.

• Strong project management and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

To apply, please send the following to Leah Goldsmith [email protected]:

·       An email that includes a description of your background, fit, and why you are interested in this position, and contact information for at least two references.

·       Sample paper or publication

·       Your résumé or CV

Each application will be evaluated on the following criteria:

·       The degree of fit of research interests

·       How the postdoctoral training will help to further the postdoctoral scholar’s research trajectory

·       Demonstrated record of work with quantitative data

·       Demonstrated quality of writing

·       Strength of letters of support

 

The review of applicants will begin immediately.  Only candidates selected for further consideration will be contacted. Salary is commensurate with experience.

Duke University is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, ethnicity, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation, or military status.

Duke University aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.