Title: Research Project Manager
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Apply Here: Project Manager
Job Summary:
The Northwestern Neighborhood & Network Initiative (N3) is seeking a Research Project Manager with strong leadership, collaboration, and research and/or project management skills to join our growing team. The N3 research center is dedicated to addressing the pressing policy and public health challenge of gun violence in Chicago and across the country. The research team at N3 is conducting cutting-edge research into the ways that network and neighborhood science can be used to understand and address gun violence and other pressing social problems in Chicago and beyond. Using an engaged approach, N3 work with community partners, civic organizations, and policymakers on research projects that seek to bolster their efforts to reduce gun violence and build communities that are safer, healthier, and more equitable.
The Research Project Manager will help lead a new large-scale research and evaluation project of a novel collaborative approach to reducing gun violence in North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side. The project manager will play an integral role in developing and launching the evaluation, managing the day-to-day activities of the research (e.g., managing relationships with key stakeholders, overseeing data collection, and supervising junior study team members), and disseminating results from the evaluation to partners, funders, policymakers, etc. The position offers the opportunity to work directly with leading social policy researchers, community organizations, and local city and governmental agencies. The project manager will report to N3’s executive director and will work collaboratively with other N3 team members.
A guiding principle of N3 is the hiring, training, and development of a diverse set of scholars and scientists. We strongly encourage and welcome applications from members of groups who are traditionally underrepresented in the research field, those with lived experience, and those who are well-acquainted with the neighborhoods in which our research is centered.
Learn more about N3 here: https://n3networks.northwestern.edu/
Core responsibilities for this role include:
Manages all activities associated with biomedical &/or social-behavioral research studies considered very complex by the inclusion of several of the following: multiple investigators, teams, sites, sub-contracts, participants, longitudinal assessments/ interventions; &/or multi-million dollar budgets. Ensures completion of contract requirements & client specifications. Oversees day-to-day operations including identifying & securing needed resources; creating, implementing, monitoring, & updating project plans; facilitating meetings with appropriate parties; tracking tasks/deliverables to ensure timelines, milestones &/or goals are attained; monitoring & reporting progress as appropriate; & resolving or escalating issues in a timely manner. May co-author scientific papers for presentation & publication & coordinates writing, submission & administration of grants. Ensures that all study activities are completed by strictly following Good Clinical Practices (GCP) & all current local, state, & federal laws, regulations, guidance, policy & procedure developed by the NU Institutional Review Board (IRB), Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), & the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH).
The Research Project Manager will be a full-time employee of Northwestern University with full benefits. The project manager will work alongside other N3 staff and leadership in our office space on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University.
This is a two-year, term-limited position. Opportunity for renewal will be based on performance and available funding.
Specific Responsibilities:
Technical
- Provides complex scientific & technical leadership in determining research priorities & the plan, design & execution of research projects ensuring that programs of investigation meet specified objectives.
- Plans, develops & implements new processes & protocols to support research studies & maximize/extend study capabilities.
- Oversees completion of study activities per protocol.
- Ensures that study protocols are in compliance with appropriate rules & regulations & reviews study progress and recommends revisions, amendments, and/or other study changes as necessary to better meet needs of sponsors.
- Reviews scientific literature & evaluates & recommends applicable techniques & procedures.
Administrative
- Analyzes, evaluates & interprets data to determine relevance to research.
- Assists PI in developing statistical methods & models to analyze & report data based upon study requirements.
- Prepares results & may co-author scientific papers for presentation & publication & disseminates information via seminars, lectures, etc.
- Creates data for use in grant submission & develop new proposals for research including obtaining financial support.
- Acts as liaison between sponsoring agencies, collaborating organizations &/or other research &/or educational institutions.
- Ensures that all study documents associated with current local, state, & federal regulatory guidelines, requirements, laws & research protocols are completed in a timely manner.
Finance
- May create &/or manage research study budget which may include deciding on & approving expenditures of funds based on budget.
- Monitors accounts.
- Negotiates prices & specifications with vendors.
- Purchases supplies, materials, equipment & services.
- Ensures appropriate allocation & compliance.
- Invoices study sponsors for study tests/procedures.
- Coordinates & participates in budgetary negotiations with industry sponsors.
Supervision
- Trains, directs, assigns duties to & may supervise lab EEs, students, residents &/or fellows.
- Acts as a mentor in regard to education of junior coordinators.
Miscellaneous
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major such as social or health science or related; OR appropriate combination of education and experience and 5 years' research study or other relevant experience required; OR
- Successful completion of a full course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a master's or higher degree in a major such as social or health science or related; OR appropriate combination of education and experience and 3 years' research study or other relevant experience.
- Supervisory or project management experience required.
- Must complete NU's IRB CITI training before interacting with any participants & must re-certify every 3 years.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience working on field-based and/or community-engaged research projects in Chicago or working at a community or civic organization that partners with researchers.
- Experience working with different kinds of data, including qualitative data (e.g., interviews) and/or large-scale quantitative data (e.g., administrative data), or some combination of the two.
- Experience working on projects that involve diverse sets of stakeholders (e.g., researchers, community partners, policymakers, civic organizations, etc.).
- Facilitation experience, including focus groups, or experience navigating conversations between diverse stakeholders.
Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)
- Well-acquainted with and/or experience working in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago.
- Familiarity with research project management, data collection, and data analysis.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills and attention to detail.
- Familiarity with Chicago-based efforts to improve public safety, reduce gun violence, and improve neighborhood well-being.