Research Assistant I - Children's Learning Institute

What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas’ resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That’s where you come in.

Once you join us you won't want to leave. It’s because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you’d expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus:  

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees  
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time – all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year) 
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you’ll accrue! 
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service) 
• Build your future with our awesome retirement/pension plan! 

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees’ wellbeing is important to us. We offer work/life services such as... 

• Free financial and legal counseling 
• Free mental health counseling services 
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs 
• Other employee discounts including entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc. 
• Resources for child and elder care 
• Plus many more! 

Position Summary:

Responsible for a variety of projects and programs with a diverse array of subjects focusing on research in child development.

Position Key Accountabilities:

Provide reliability status on various objective and subjective coding analysis measures pertaining to projects within the department. 

Perform cognitive/social/emotional assessments with children and additional interviews with teachers and families which include an extensive battery of psychological and educational based evaluations and manage appropriate research equipment and supplies.

Perform observational evaluations performed in schools and classrooms and focus on cognitive readiness activities by means of a complex live coding scheme.  

Work on a range of data and information including but not limited to transferring, verifying, entering, processing, management and analysis.  

Attend relevant trainings and assist in recruiting subjects (teachers, students, families, and individuals) and obtaining informed consent from potential research study participants. This often occurs in parent teacher meetings and sometimes in a family’s home.

May serve in an intervention or coaching role in home or school setting to training parents or teachers in parenting, including extensive trainings and regular meetings to maintain certification and reliability.

Perform other duties as assigned. 

Certification/Skills:

Completion of the Certification for Protection of Human Research Subjects is required within 5 days of employment.  
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Bilingual skills in English/Spanish preferred. 
Reliable personal transportation as some projects may require extensive out of town travel which will vary from Houston and surrounding areas to various sites across the state of Texas.

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in psychology, human development, biology or relevant field or experience in lieu of degree; master’s degree preferred.

Minimum Experience:

Experience in customer service, behavioral analysis or research experience is preferred.

Physical Requirements:

Exerts up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds frequently and/or a negligible amount constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive:

This job class may contain positions that are security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of Texas Education Code § 51.215

Residency Requirement:

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.