Senior Project Manager, Research

Vanderbilt University•TN, TN

1d•Onsite

About The Position

This full-time position offers a unique opportunity to work closely with Principal Investigator [PI], assisting with multi-faceted research and writing projects. The Research Manager will lead and execute high-impact projects on happiness, well-being, and human flourishing, supporting both scholarly and public-facing initiatives. This role integrates academic research design, project management, data collection and analysis, and editorial leadership. The Research Manager will oversee publications, digital communications, and collaborations across campus and external partners. These high-profile initiatives might include long term projects (such as books, columns, feature essays, and academic journal articles), fast-paced communications products (such as PI’s column and newsletters), and experimental endeavors in various new and traditional media. The Research Manager will focus on the written word and bring strong writing and copy-editing skills and interdisciplinary interests to bear on fast-moving social science topics and complex academic questions. The Research Manager will be expected to lead a dynamic group environment. Subjects will range from happiness studies, politics and economics to behavioral science, social psychology, history, and philosophy. They will fulfill specific research requests in these fields with speed and precision, take ownership of inquiries into unfamiliar topics, and assist with efforts to share PI’s findings and conclusions with new audiences. The ideal candidate will demonstrate outstanding research leadership, analytical ability, editorial judgment, with strong interdisciplinary expertise in social science research and well-being studies.

Requirements

Strong writing and copy-editing skills
Interdisciplinary interests in fast-moving social science topics and complex academic questions
Ability to lead a dynamic group environment
Expertise in social science research and well-being studies
Experience with STATA or similar statistical analysis software
Experience with research design, sampling, and data collection
Experience with quantitative research, including survey construction, data cleaning, coding, and statistical analysis
Experience in managing research projects and teams
Experience in scholarly writing and public presentations
Experience in translating academic research for broader audiences
Experience serving as a liaison between research teams and other departments/offices
Experience supervising, training, and evaluating research assistants and interns

Nice To Haves

Interdisciplinary expertise in social science research and well-being studies

Responsibilities

Oversee and guide research design, sampling, data collection for large-scale projects related to the well-being space.
Conduct and supervise quantitative research, including survey construction, data cleaning, coding, and statistical analysis (using STATA or similar).
Identify alternative strategies, refine methodologies, and ensure compliance with campus research standards and human subject protocols.
Lead synthesis of findings to inform scholarly and applied publications, distilling complex data for diverse audiences.
Manage all operational aspects of PI’s research portfolio, maintaining project plans, deliverable timelines, and documentation across concurrent plans.
Coordinate academic conferences, workshops, and fieldwork.
Supervise, train, and evaluate part-time and full-time research assistants and interns, delegating assignments and providing developmental feedback.
Manage facilitators (approx. 30) of PI’s large class.
Substantively contribute to academic papers, journal articles, and presentations.
Draft and edit long-form research memos summarizing current literature in the well-being space.
Ensure editorial quality and conceptual rigor in all research products, maintaining consistent voice and alignment with research objectives.
Deliver guest lectures across the school community and across the country, so as to spread research findings and objectives to the university community and broader public.
Translate academic research for broader audiences by preparing memos, presentations, and summaries for PI’s public talks, media appearances, and institutional partners.
Serve as the core liaison between PI’s research team and school centers, labs, and communications offices to circulate findings and share research impact.
Field inquiries related to research products and represent PI’s work within the HKS community.
This position has supervisory duties as a direct supervisor of the lab staff & students.
Other duties, as assigned