Senior Research Manager, Health Lab

at  The University of Chicago

Department
UL Public Safety Portfolio 911
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 research, data science, and program evaluation projects to support the development of effective policy interventions at the nexus of public health and public safety, with portfolios focusing on housing/homelessness, 911/crisis response, and criminal-legal diversion/deflection/reentry.
The Senior Research Manager will have the opportunity to manage various stakeholder relationships and contribute to all aspects of research design, methods, and evaluation of research projects. Duties will include managing and facilitating communication between Health Lab and external stakeholders, project-related writing, conducting literature reviews, and managing qualitative and quantitative research projects. The ideal candidate will be organized and able to execute multiple project work plans, including setting project timelines and meeting key milestones.
This position requires an individual who can lead a small research team running large, field-based program evaluations and technical assistance projects. 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 Senior 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 Director of Operations 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
• Supervise other research staff and provide guidance on professional development, goal setting, and lab- or organization-wide opportunities
• Supports and leads fundraising efforts through identifying opportunities, developing potential partnerships, writing and coordinating proposal development efforts.
• Support 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. Develop and maintain 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.
-
Work Experience:
Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
-
Certifications:
-
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

Preferred Competencies

• Passion for social policy
• Strong quantitative and qualitative skills
• 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
• Excellent data visualization ability
• 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
• Strong computer skills including the ability to effectively use software applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access, and Internet Explorer

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)

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
Drug Test Required
No
Health Screen Required
No
Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
No
Posting Statement
The University of Chicago is an
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans
and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or 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.
The University of Chicago’s Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at:
http://securityreport.uchicago.edu
. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637

• 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 Director of Operations 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
• Supervise other research staff and provide guidance on professional development, goal setting, and lab- or organization-wide opportunities
• Supports and leads fundraising efforts through identifying opportunities, developing potential partnerships, writing and coordinating proposal development efforts.
• Support 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. Develop and maintain 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 neede