Senior Research Scientist – Public Health Research

NORC at the University of Chicago • Washington DC, WA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a Senior Research Scientist to lead and support complex public health research and evaluation projects. The successful candidate will bring expertise in mixed-methods evaluation, public health systems and programs, stakeholder engagement, and the translation of evidence into actionable findings for government agencies and other partners. The Senior Research Scientist will collaborate across NORC’s Public Health Research, Health Sciences, and Health Care Evaluation and Programs Research departments to deliver rigorous, timely, and policy-relevant research. This is a hybrid role based in our Chicago Loop or Washington, DC office, with a minimum of six days per month in the office. Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. The Public Health Research team conducts work on a variety of public health topics including disease surveillance, health communication science, health promotion, interpersonal conflict and violence, rural health, and social determinants of health. Our team includes prominent health policy experts, nationally recognized public health researchers with general and specialized expertise in areas such as rural health and tribal issues, health communications, skilled methodologists, and leaders in the field of survey design and implementation. Our staff also brings expertise in populations of special interest and the intersection of public health and health care delivery. We offer broad, multidisciplinary experiences spanning public health, epidemiology, statistics, policy, developmental psychology, economics, sociology, social work, and political science.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in public health, health policy or related fields (training in an array of social science disciplines will be considered).
• At least 9 years of experience in positions of increasing responsibility in program evaluation, research, qualitative research (or equivalent education) including at least 3 years of project management.
• Knowledge of public health data sources and health systems.
• Experience with the design and execution of social science research and in publishing research results, with a strong career-appropriate record of peer-reviewed technical publications.
• Experience synthesizing complex health topics using mixed methods.
• Knowledge of public health infrastructure, workforce development, rural health, health care delivery, or health systems transformation.
• Experience analyzing administrative, programmatic, health care, or performance-measure data.
• Experience facilitating meetings with subject matter experts and high level government officials and partner organizations.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and aptitude in leading and working with project teams, coordinating multiple projects (including those run by others within NORC).
• Must have experience managing and mentoring staff.
• Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.

Nice To Haves

• PhD preferred.
• Experience with estimating project and proposal costs and managing project budgets a plus.
• Occasional travel to NORC offices and client sites may be required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of complex, multi-year evaluations of public health programs, policies, infrastructure investments, and systems-transformation initiatives.
• Develop evaluation frameworks, logic models, research questions, performance measures, data-collection plans, and analytic strategies.
• Integrate and synthesize quantitative and qualitative evidence from administrative, programmatic, survey, interview, focus-group, and other data sources.
• Translate evaluation findings into timely, actionable recommendations for government clients, program leaders, community partners, and other stakeholders.
• Develop reports, presentations, dashboards, performance-monitoring tools, and other products that communicate findings clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Coordinate effectively with clients, subcontractors, evaluation partners, subject-matter experts, and organizations implementing programs across diverse settings.
• Ensure that evaluation activities and deliverables support applicable contractual and federal reporting requirements.

Benefits

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
• Dental and vision insurance
• A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
• Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
• Generous paid time off, holidays
• Paid parental leave, bereavement leave
• Tuition assistance
• An Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior