Thursday, April 25, 2019

Project Assistant - University of Chicago

Department

35390 Harris Sch Pub Policy

About the Unit

The principal aim of the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab (BIP Lab) is to understand the science of parent decision-making. The Lab was co-founded in 2014 by Professors Ariel Kalil and Susan Mayer. The BIP Lab focuses on the science of parental decision-making, especially through the lens of behavioral science. We design interventions for parents that can be implemented at a very low cost by service providers and test them using field experiments (randomized control trials) in primarily low income populations. Research shows that a variety of low-cost, light-touch behavioral supports can optimize the decisions that people make in a number of key arenas of life, including decisions about health and financial savings. The BIP Lab is dedicated to understanding how such behavioral supports can be used to leverage parental investments to promote children’s development in low-income families. We have successfully applied these tools to parents’ decisions about the amount of time that they invest in educational activities with their children, their children’s attendance at school, and their engagement in their children’s school activities and events.

Job Family

Research
Responsible for all aspects of research projects and research facilities. Plans and conducts clinical and non-clinical research; facilitates and monitors daily activities of clinical trials or research projects. Directs engineering and technical support activities to develop and maintain tools and computational methods needed to gather and analyze data.

Career Track and Job Level

Research
Oversees all aspects of management, scientific technological development, and operations for major research projects or research facilities. Ensures compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives and mandates. Writes articles, reports and manuscripts. Presents research findings at meetings and/or conferences.
P1: Performs routine assignments in the entry level to a professional job progression. Typically requires a college or university degree or the equivalent work experience that provides knowledge and exposure to fundamental theories, principles and concepts. Develops competence by performing structured work assignments. Uses existing procedures to solve routine or standard problems. Receives instruction, guidance and direction from others.

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Responsibilities

The job performs routine assignments related to scientific research projects. Ensures compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives and mandates. Analyzes possible solutions using standard procedures. Writes articles, reports and manuscripts. Assists in drafting presentations on research findings.
1) Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project., 2) Analyzes and maintains data and/or specimens. Conducts literature reviews. Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents., 3) Installs, sets up and performs experiments; interacting with students and other laboratory staff under the direction of the principal investigator., 4) Maintains recruiting and scheduling research subjects; assisting with developing or amending study protocols; assisting with developing data collection tools; assisting with building databases; and providing general administrative support. Has general awareness in research techniques or methods, regulatory policies and procedures, and relevant scientific field, 5) Performs other related work as needed.
Additional Responsibilities
1) The Project Assistant directly supports the work of the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab (BIP Lab) within the Harris School of Public Policy.
2) The project assistant reports directly to the BIP Lab Manager, and will work in coordination with staff of the BIP Lab in providing administrative and field support for a large scale randomized control trial.
3) We are seeking a dynamic person to step into a fast-paced role and hit the ground running. This role is the perfect fit for a strong multi-tasker with excellent communication skills.
4) Primary responsibilities include coordinating field research schedules and providing logistical support for field implementation, data entry, creating, and preparing research materials for on-site recruitment, delivering promotional materials to early childhood learning sites.
5) There is potential for travel to Chicago-based research sites to help recruit research participants, administer surveys and train research assistants on site. Perform other administrative duties as assigned. 
6) This position is grant-funded through August 30, 2020 with the potential for future renewal.
7) The anticipated start date for this position is June 1, 2019.
8) Provide technical and administrative support to Lab Manager Interview and train new research assistants. Coordinate field research assistant team.
9) Prepare and organize research materials for preschools. Draft and schedule social media posts and ensure posts are published daily (twitter.) Keep up with social media best practices, new tools and trends.
10) Work with The Harris School Communications team to boost social media presence.
11) Contribute to the maintenance and integrity of the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab’s research efforts and data collection.
12) Manage files according to IRB confidentiality guidelines and ensure the security of participant data.
Unit-Preferred Competencies
1) Strong cross-cultural experience and knowledge in the area of early childhood.
2) Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Excel and PowerPoint.
3) Superior interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal).
4) High level of flexibility, with strong multi-tasking skills.
5) Self-motivated, results oriented.
6) Strong organization, accuracy and planning skills (detail oriented is a must).
7) Strong team player.

Education, Experience, and Certifications

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through < 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications
Education
Bachelor’s degree in a field relevant to the research being conducted (e.g., public policy, economics, psychology, education).
Experience
1) Prior experience working in social media.
2) Driver’s license and willingness to travel to research sites (ownership of a vehicle is not required).
3) One year of relevant administrative experience.
4) Prior experience working with under served communities.
5) Prior experience with data collection.
Required Documents
1) Resume
2) Cover Letter
NOTE:  When applying, all required documents MUST be uploaded under the Resume/CV section of the application.

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