Senior Research Manager

Department
 

UL Operations

About the Department
 

The Health Lab’s mission is to partner with civic and community leaders to identify, rigorously evaluate and help scale programs and policies that improve health outcomes, particularly for low-income and disadvantaged urban residents. To accomplish our mission, we seek to identify and engage vulnerable people so they can access services and opportunities that will improve their safety, health and vitality. We work closely with partners, including persons with lived experiences, to learn directly from them about their challenges. We evaluate interventions that seek to address these challenges and advise our partners using data-driven results. We are deeply committed to understanding the impacts of policies, programs and interventions. Like the needs of those we seek to serve, our partnerships are vast. While these partners represent many communities and community-based organizations, they also include medical and social service providers, emergency service providers, members of the corrections, policing and other law enforcement communities. We believe that two key obstacles prevent cities from mobilizing and coordinating their rich resources across sectors. First, cities lack evidence about the multi-sector impact of their efforts. Second, cities lack coordination mechanisms and incentives to collaborate across sectors. The Health Lab dedicates our work and our resources to these two issues. Our primary goal is to generate high-quality evidence about interventions that can sustainably improve urban health and be widely scaled. For more information about the UChicago Urban Labs, go to http://urbanlabs.uchicago.edu/.

Job Summary
 

The UChicago Urban Labs is seeking a Senior Research Manager to work on large-scale social policy experiments designed to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of social policy interventions. The role will primarily focus on supporting the implementation of an ongoing multisite research project called Reducing Mortality in Illinois (ROMI).
ROMI is 5-year research study led by the University of Chicago in partnership with the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and the American Institutes for Research. ROMI aims to understand and test strategies for linking individuals with a history of opioid use disorder who are released from Illinois jails and prisons to substance use treatment. ROMI is one of twelve grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) to support research on quality addiction treatment for opioid use disorder in criminal justice settings nationwide.
This position requires an individual who can lead a small research team running a large, multisite randomized control trial. The position offers the opportunity to work directly with leading social policy researchers at the University of Chicago, as well as a team of administrative staff, other project managers, research analysts, and student research assistants. The Research Manager will also collaborate closely with the UChicago Urban Labs' partners in the public and nonprofit sectors.

Responsibilities

• Contributes to study design and coordinates implementation options with program partners; manages subject selection and randomization process; travels to program sites to monitor and assess implementation.

• Oversees University of Chicago IRB procedures and maintains confidentiality of participants information; ensures compliance with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives, and mandates.

• Works with PI and Grants Manager to develop budgets and coordinate all aspects of grant submission to federal and foundation funding agencies; manages progress reports, performance, or financial reporting as required by the granting agency; monitors anticipated and actual costs charged to project budgets, regularly communicates these to Grant Manager, to identify and prevent potential overruns.

• Develops and disseminates necessary project materials to research team and partner agencies. This could include preparing project memo, reports, presentations, and academic papers targeting both policymakers, academic researchers and other stakeholders.

• Advises other research staff on project budget development, IRB procedures, and funding proposals.

• Supervises other research staff and provides guidance on professional development, goal setting, and lab- or organization-wide opportunities.

• Supports the development and/or management of policies, procedures, and standards for the Health Lab, including project planning and communications templates.

• In partnership with Research Directors, Executive Director, and/or Sr. Research Analysts assists with internal coordination and management of data request to partner agencies.

• May conduct and manage the data analysis process to ensure proper data collection to evaluate program progress and feasibility.

• Solves complex problems relating to the administration of projects, including planning new procedures, adapting existing procedures to the needs of the project, and making significant contributions to methodology.

• Presents research findings at meetings and conferences, as well as to funding agencies. Conducts literature reviews. Develops and maintains liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings.

• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

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Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Minimum requirements include a master's degree in criminal justice, economics, sociology, public health, public policy or another relevant field required. Will consider applicants with equivalent lived experience.

Experience:

• Experience managing complex projects, with numerous stakeholders.

• Experience collecting and managing qualitative and quantitative datasets.

• Familiarity with large-scale data collection.

• Experience working with law enforcement or in emergency response.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Strong quantitative and qualitative skills.

• Excellent data visualization ability.

• Strong computer skills including the ability to effectively use software applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access, and Internet Explorer.

Preferred Competencies

• Passion for social policy.

• Strong leadership, interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills.

• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Demonstrated capacity to work independently in an organized, detailed manner, while maintaining a collaborative team environment.

• Ability to think abstractly and concretely.

• Ability to work both independently and as a team member.

• Ability to work discretely with sensitive and confidential data.

• Knowledge and understanding of criminal justice and 911 emergency crisis response.

Working Conditions

• This role will be indoors, on phone, Zoom, email, and other digital formats - working remotely initially.

• Requires the ability to work independently and virtually with teams for periods of eight (8) hours or more.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)

• Cover letter (required)

• Writing sample (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST  be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
 

Research

Role Impact
 

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status
 

Exempt

Pay Frequency
 

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours
 

37.5

Benefits Eligible
 

Yes

Requires Compliance with University Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement
 

Yes

Drug Test Required
 

No

Health Screen Required
 

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
 

No

Posting Statement
 

Employees must comply with the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward .
The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

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