Lab Administrator

University of Chicago•Chicago, IL

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

The position requires a highly motivated and experienced Lab Administrator for grant-funded research projects within the Development-in-Sociocultural-Context (DISC) Research Lab. The Lab Administrator performs a variety of project management support and administrative duties for multiple federally funded research projects. This position will be responsible for maintaining project databases and coordinating local, state, and nationwide research efforts. The incumbent must have outstanding organizational and communication skills, project management abilities, and academic writing skills. Mistakes in interpersonal communications could have dire results for this project. The incumbent will be successful based on the cooperation and goodwill of many people. The incumbent must possess a strong work ethic and be able to work collaboratively as well as independently. This position requires knowledge of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SPSS, and Qualtrics. The position is grant funded, with the term of the assignment continuing for the duration of the initial grant and subsequent grant renewals. While the standard working hours are 20/week, during data collection or high activity points in the project, additional hours may be required. Overtime at time and a half will be applied when more than 40 hours are necessary in a given week.

Requirements

College or university degree in related field.
2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Knowledge of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SPSS, and Qualtrics.
Outstanding organizational and communication skills.
Project management abilities.
Academic writing skills.
Strong work ethic.
Ability to work collaboratively as well as independently.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in related field strongly preferred.
1-3 years experience with research project management, preferably in the field of education, developmental psychology, family studies, or other applied discipline.
1-3 years experience interacting with children or adolescents within school, family, or community settings.
Prior experience with administrative duties within applied or clinical settings.
Excellent organizational skills and keen attention to detail.
Ability to balance and prioritize work tasks effectively and on time.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including technical editing skills.
Communications experience; Canva or other graphic design experience preferred.
Ability to work with spreadsheets, simple statistical packages (e.g., SPSS), and survey platforms (e.g., Qualtrics).
Maintain confidentiality and follow university policies regarding data security.
Working knowledge of policy and practice innovations related to childcare and early education with an eagerness to develop further knowledge in these areas.

Responsibilities

Manage all calendaring, scheduling, and electronic file management.
Assist director in developing lab meeting agendas and attend all operations team meetings.
Copyedit lab documents and presentation slides for grammar, spelling, clarity, and consistent formatting prior to submission or distribution.
Provide administrative support for the faculty director of the Kersten Institute of Urban Education as directed.
Coordinate with project managers and director to conduct candidate searches as well as recruit, hire, and manage time sheets for temporary staff, student workers, and summer interns.
Conduct new hire onboarding—including the collection of CITI human subjects certifications—and office tours.
Manage federal work study application process for student employees.
Facilitate agreements with independent contractors.
Track all expenditures related to hourly employees and independent contractors.
Ensure employee compliance with mandatory HR trainings and directives.
Coordinate with university facilities management and IT as needed.
Manage office resources, room reservations, and catering.
Facilitate agreements with independent contractors and vendors associated with data collection.
Work with director to execute data use agreements with affiliated researchers and manage access to electronic data files.
Manage the lab Communications team and oversee communications strategy including social media, website, lab linktr.ee, and annual family newsletter.
Manage the lab shared email inbox, listserv, Teams, and Box.
Assist project manager with the execution of tasks related to research projects, including participant recruitment, enrollment, tracking, consent/assent, and communication as well as fraud checking and data collection tasks.
Work with director and project manager to develop, revise, and test data collection instruments.
Maintain accurate financial records, coordinate with grant administrators on expenditures, and prepare monthly financial reports using Orbit/Oracle.
Process expense reports and invoices.
Ensure timely submission of applications and reports, including funding agency correspondence.
Manage budget for and distribution of research participant incentives.
Coordinates events, researches logistics, assists with planning and preparing presentations, event outreach, and post-event write ups.
Assists with researching funding opportunities, preparing grant proposals, and drafting and/or editing other written materials with moderate guidance.
Maintains website (including but not limited to: employment page, news page, staff page, project pages, innovation challenge page).
Assists with other administrative projects as needed and acquire higher level guidance and skills.
Performs other related work as needed.