Senior Research Associate

UNC-Chapel Hill•Chapel Hill, NC

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

This position may be eligible for a hybrid work arrangement that may include a partially remote work location, consistent with System Office policy. UNC Chapel Hill employees are generally required to reside within a reasonable commuting distance of their assigned duty station. If business needs change, an individual employee’s designation may be adjusted with a required minimum of ten (10) business days’ notice unless employee conduct or safety issues necessitate otherwise at the discretion of management. Supervised by Dean Ramona Denby-Brinson, the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is seeking a Senior Research Associate to work with a team of faculty, staff, community partners, and students on research projects related to child welfare practice (e.g., kinship care, culturally-specific delivery of child welfare services, youth transitioning from the child welfare system, foster youth who are pregnant and/or parenting, increasing the well-being of youth and caregivers, intersection of children’s mental health and child welfare system involvement, and macro analysis and reform of child welfare systems). The Senior Research Associate will be responsible for developing funding proposals for sponsored research submissions, directing the grant activities with the funding agencies, and creating strategic partnerships in support of research related to child welfare practice. The position will manage the School of Social Work team consisting of research assistants, interventionists, research and evaluation consultants at partner universities, and graduate students and other support staff as needed. The role will direct the daily operations of the research program including departmental, university, federal, and nonfederal reporting requirements including hiring, purchasing, training/education and project management and supervision. The Senior Research Associate will work to build local community partnerships with national research collaboratives that will primarily focus on projects related to evaluating services for kinship caregivers, developing and overseeing implementation of interventions that promote protective factors and increase the psychosocial, economic, and emotional well-being of kinship families, and translation of research discoveries related to tailoring child welfare support and interventions to the needs of vulnerable children and families. The position will also conduct literature reviews; conduct qualitative and quantitative data collection; develop grant applications; develop study designs, study protocols and IRB applications; manage and analyze qualitative and quantitative data; and disseminate research in scholarly as well as practitioner- and policy-based venues.

Requirements

Knowledge of advanced social science research methods
Knowledge of descriptive and inferential statistics
Ability to manage large databases and produce data displays
Ability to manage mixed methods, cross sectional, and longitudinal projects
Knowledge of survey research, quasi experimental design, and experimental methods
Demonstrated skills in the evaluation of program implementation and outcomes
Skills and experience writing manuscripts, issuing briefs, and/or technical reports
Exceptional organizational and time management skills as well as the ability to work independently
Ability to coordinate the work of large research, writing groups, and meet project deliverables and multi-component work plans on time
Ability to work respectfully with low-resourced families who have been challenged to secure services and resources needed to foster the health and wellbeing of their family.
Ability to work with diverse groups of people in a fluid work environment and to adapt to change
Ability to effectively manage and supervise a team with diverse expertise to meet grant and project related deliverables

Nice To Haves

PhD in social sciences or higher education, or a related field
Prior experience working directly with child welfare-engaged families and or those who have encountered adversity and socioeconomic challenges
Prior experience working in a research role in higher education

Responsibilities

Developing funding proposals for sponsored research submissions
Directing the grant activities with the funding agencies
Creating strategic partnerships in support of research related to child welfare practice
Managing the School of Social Work team consisting of research assistants, interventionists, research and evaluation consultants at partner universities, and graduate students and other support staff as needed
Directing the daily operations of the research program including departmental, university, federal, and nonfederal reporting requirements including hiring, purchasing, training/education and project management and supervision
Building local community partnerships with national research collaboratives that will primarily focus on projects related to evaluating services for kinship caregivers, developing and overseeing implementation of interventions that promote protective factors and increase the psychosocial, economic, and emotional well-being of kinship families, and translation of research discoveries related to tailoring child welfare support and interventions to the needs of vulnerable children and families
Conducting literature reviews
Conducting qualitative and quantitative data collection
Developing grant applications
Developing study designs, study protocols and IRB applications
Managing and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data
Disseminating research in scholarly as well as practitioner- and policy-based venues