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Reporting to the Faculty Director at the RPCA, The Associate Director for Research will supervise and provide high level oversight of all research activities  both internationally and domestically. This role will be afforded broad discretion to work independently  to ensure that research is conducted  in conformance with required academic and ethical standards. The Associate Director for Research provides high level supervision and training for all program managers. They will work with local stakeholders, funders, and community organizations, along with government and non-government organizations, to ensure study aims are fufilled onsite. They will work with the administrative team to ensure research budgets fufill the aims of the projects. They will work with the director to problem solve. This position operates at a highly independent level and will be expected to travel as needed, produce high quality research outputs and developments of proposals, and step in for the RPCA director as needed.

Qualifications

• Masters in Public Health, Social Work, Psychology or another related field required. Doctoral Degree preferred.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience as a translational scientist investigating and managing mental health and child development topics
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in research program manageemnt, research conceptualization, implementation, and related topics 
• Proficiency in using technology required. Including Microsoft Office, G-Suite, Asana, BOX, and others required. Qualitative/Quanitative data analysis platforms preferred. 
• Expertise in community based research and implementation science in low-and-middle-income countries  required. 
• Understanding of data collection and data management procedures, fidelity monitoring, quality improvements, and other efforts to streamline global mental health research.
• Experience in cross-cultural environments. Experience in sub-Saharan Africa preferred. 
• Ability to travel 10-15% of the year.    

Essential Functions Include

Provide Oversight of Study implementation in field (20%):

• Manage 4-5 Research Managers/Administrative Manager and related personnel to contribute to research outputs.
• Work with stakeholders (local stakeholders, community-based organizations along with government and nongovernmental partners) to ensure study aims are fulfilled.
• Work with the Boston College and sub-contracted institutions’ administrators, fieldbased program managers, and post-doctoral fellows to ensure that research budgets fulfill the scientific aims of the projects.
• Spearhead budgeting and forecasting [including burn rate, monitoring, etc.] for current and upcoming proposals using detailed Excel budgeting or other related systems.
• Understand the importance of administrating sponsored research within funder parameters, including NIH/federal and philanthropic funders.
• Work with the RPCA Grants Administrators to ensure Program Managers’ abilities to support project budgets to help forecast expenses across projects.
• Coordinate with Boston College internal departments, such as but not limited to the Institutional Review Board, Office of Sponsored Programs, Transferring and Licensing, and School of Social Work to manage outputs related to RPCA research are managed and negotiated with the respected parties.

Supervise Research and Data Collection (20%):

• Support in-country and Boston College data analysts to ensure data collection is met with scientific standard.
• Liaise with any third-party data collection firms to create and oversee processes regarding study design, assessment battery creation, and deployment in the field.
• Refine systems of data collection and management to be in line with the trends in research related to implementation science in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) and technology-based data collection systems.
• Ensure that study enrollment and data analysis advances according to expected timelines and that all quantitative and qualitative data is well organized while upholding strong ethical and scientific standards.
• Directly oversee all Boston College Program Managers and support partner-country IRB, DSMB and local ethics committee requirements and applications.
• Work with the Principal Investigator to support all research staff and postdoctoral fellows working with the RPCA lab both internally and externally to problem solve on all field-based research projects or dissemination outputs.
• As needed, be able to step in for program managers and oversee all research activities related to RPCA funded research
• Provide technical assistance to local community partners to ensure local partners are able to fulfill study aims and ensure programs are delivered with fidelity.
• Travel to research sites as needed (2-3 times per year).

Promote and Coordinate Research Development (50%):

• Oversee the grant writing, refinement and submission process of grant submissions, including federal and philanthropic funders.
• Remain current on all advances in the literature on implementation science, child development and mental health services research to ensure that the RPCA avails itself
  to the most advanced analytic and data collection methods.
• Support the publication and data dissemination efforts in publications, grant applications, communications materials and other products of the RPCA lab.
•  Engage in networking with stakeholders to expand the RPCA research portfolio.
•  Act as a proxy for the Director in all meetings and engagement with current and potential stakeholders.
  

Oversee Lab Activities (10%):

• Along with the Administrative Manager and adjunct staff, oversee students working with the RPCA lab to create student work plans and monitor activities of students both at Boston College and externally.
• Provide mentorship and one-on-one supervision of tudents, program managers, administrative managers, and key personnel as needed.
• Ensure student work contributes to the scientific knowledge of the lab as a whole.
• Ensure productivity of research managers, including monitoring their management of using electronic systems such as BOX, Asana, and G-Suite.