Research Assistant, RPCA

Founded in 1863, Boston College is a Jesuit, Catholic university located six miles from downtown Boston with an enrollment of 9,484 full-time undergraduates and 5,250 graduate and professional students.  Ranked 35 among national universities, Boston College has 888 full-time and 1,281 FTE faculty, 2,711 non-faculty employees, an operating budget of $1.4 billion, and an endowment in excess of $3.5 billion.

Job Description

Competitive salary commensurate with relevant experience.

The Research Program on Children and Adversity (RPCA) at Boston College School of Social Work focuses on observational research to understand trajectories of risk and resilience in children facing multiple forms of adversity while also using these research outcomes to develop and test evidence-based interventions to promote child health, development and family functioning. The program team, including a network of talented local collaborators, has developed and evaluated several transdiagnostic interventions that are both feasible, effective and able to be integrated into a range of social protection, health and education programs in low- and middle-income countries. Using implementation science methods, the program also tests implementation science strategies for quality improvement and sustainment of integrated evidence-based interventions including collaborative team approaches to improve fidelity and quality of the interventions to support early childhood development, violence prevention, and family strengthening so that they can be effectively and sustainably delivered at scale in low-resource settings. The RPCA manages a diverse global research portfolio; including several active projects, the details for which can be found at www.bc.edu/rpca

Reporting to the Refugee Program Manager, the Research Assistant will support research related activities for the RPCA Refugee Switchboard project, Cultural Validation of a Mental Health Screening Tool for Resettled Afghan Youth. The Research Assistant will be responsible for contributing to data collection, management, and analysis to contribute to the greater project’s needs and deliverables. The Research Assistant may have to travel across New England to support research initiatives. The Research Assistant will work specifically with Afghan refugee families. The RPCA refugee program works with philanthropic and federal partners to conduct research to inform the delivery of a mental health and family strengthening intervention that are designed to support families during resettlement. The RPCA will partner with a local resettlement agency to recruit participants and conduct research for development of learning materials and resources for service providers across the country. The Research Assistant is a part time (25 hours a week) grant funded  position and contracted until August 31, 2024. The Research Assistant must be fluent in Dari and/or Pashto.  

Duties and Responsibilities:

Participant Recruitment (20%):

• Implement effective recruiting strategies in order to achieve a diverse sample size of Afghan families in the New England area.

Data Support and Analysis (80%):

Conduct cognitive and pilot testing sessions of the mental health tool being developed with resettled Afghan youth and their caregivers.

• Transcribe and translate any documentation gathered from data collection for the purpose of p
• Collect and store data gathered through secure systems as directed by the Data Analysis Manager of the RPCA
• Attend regular meetings with the Refugee program team to present data collected and collaborate on best practices for data gathering and recruitment of participants.
• Provide cultural expertise to inform on research analysis and the overall development of the culturally validated mental health screening tool for Afghan youth.

This position will be based in Boston with expected travel around New England and the U.S. as conditions allow. The Research Assistant may work nights and weekends to meet project deliverables, as well as follow a flexible office schedule.

The Research Assistant will work in the general office setting in the School of Social Work. The Research Assistant is grant funded and contracted until August 31, 2024.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated proficiency or ability to be trained in utilizing computer applications including Microsoft Office, RedCap, Box, and Zoom.
• The individual must have at least high school diploma and is expected to have an interest in being actively engaged within the Afghan community.
• Strong skills in organization and communication are necessary, as well as interpersonal skills.
• Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Implementation Science, Social Work, Developmental Psychology, Mental Health preferred but not required.
• Some background related to conducting research in culturally diverse contexts preferred but not required.
• Previous experience working with refugee populations is preferred.
• Strong interpersonal skills and diplomacy to deal with multiple constituencies and cultural diversity at all levels
• Oral fluency in English and Dari/Pashto. Written skills and literacy in English and Dari/Pashto are also necessary.

Closing Statement

Boston College offers a broad and competitive range of benefits depending on your job classification eligibility:

• Tuition remission for Employees
• Tuition remission for Spouses and Children who meet eligibility requirements
• Generous Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Low-Cost Life Insurance
• Eligibility for both University-Funded 401k and Employer-Sponsored 403b Retirement Plans
• Paid Holidays Annually
• Generous Sick and Vacation Pay
• Additional benefits can be found on https://www.bc.edu/employeehandbook

Boston College conducts pre-employment background checks as part of the hiring process.

Boston College is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. In concert with our Jesuit, Catholic mission, Boston College is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty and staff committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications for women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and covered veterans. To learn more about how BC supports diversity and inclusion throughout the university please visit the Office for Institutional Diversity at https://www.bc.edu/diversity .

Boston College's Notice of Nondiscrimination can be viewed at https://www.bc.edu/nondiscrimination .