Research Specialist

Universities of Wisconsin•Madison, WI

5d•$50,000 - $75,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Driving Connections Lab, led by Dr. KJ Hansmann, is hiring a Research Specialist to coordinate research studies focused on supporting patients with dementia and their family caregivers as they navigate complex life transitions like stopping driving through team-based approaches. You will have the opportunity to be involved in daily research activities such as participant screening, recruitment, enrollment, and coordination, as well as broader strategic initiatives within the lab, including process development and building academic and community partnerships. The Driving Connections Lab is part of the UW Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, a national leader in clinical care, research, and community engagement among academic departments. Working with the Driving Connections Lab you will join a growing research team that engages people with dementia, their family caregivers, and primary care teams in participatory research. Our team is building relationships with community organizations across Wisconsin to include diverse perspectives and leverage cultural humility in our research and its clinical applications. We also routinely collaborate with other research teams in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Other areas of research focus that we collaborate on include reproductive health justice and efforts to improve health care access equity for Latino, limited English proficiency, and immigrant populations. This position is full or part-time, 80%-100%. This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location. This position has been identified as a position of trust with access to vulnerable populations. The selected candidate will be required to pass an initial caregiver check to be eligible for employment under the Wisconsin Caregiver Law and every four years. Must provide a valid driver's license. Employees may use their own transportation or receive approval for University Car Fleet usage. Employment is conditional pending the results of a Pre-hire Driver Authorization Check. See https://businessservices.wisc.edu/managing-risk/driver-authorization-and-insurance/driver-authorization/#become-authorized-driver (click on “Become an authorized driver;” then click on “Required criteria”). Candidates who demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities will be given first consideration: Demonstrated written and verbal fluency in Spanish, with strong comprehension and professional communication skills. Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, and interact professionally with co-workers, study participants, external collaborators, and diverse stakeholders

Requirements

Experience with qualitative research methods including conducting interviews, processing raw transcript data, and coding and analyzing results using NVivo or similar qualitative data analysis software
Experience using Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and ability to learn new software tools

Nice To Haves

A minimum of 1 year of research experience is highly preferred (medical, social science, and/or dementia care)
Demonstrated organizational skills, including the ability to work independently, delegate, and oversee tasks
Ability to follow research protocols or other detailed procedures consistently and accurately, with a high level of attention to detail
Computer literacy for literature searches, data entry, data management, data tabulation, statistical analysis, and data presentation in tabular and graphic formats
Demonstrated written and verbal fluency in Spanish, with strong comprehension and professional communication skills.
Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, and interact professionally with co-workers, study participants, external collaborators, and diverse stakeholders

Responsibilities

Recruits study participants and manages their study participation, including scheduling visits, obtaining informed consent, enrollment, data collection, and quality monitoring
Reviews, analyzes, and interprets data and/or documents results for presentations and/or reporting to internal and external audiences
Participates in the development, interpretation, and implementation of research methodology and materials
Provides operational guidance on day-to-day activities of unit or program staff and/or student workers
Performs literature reviews and writes reports
Conducts research experiments according to established research protocols with moderate impact to the project(s).
Collects data and monitors test results
Participates in community-based participant recruitment, community engagement, and outreach