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The Associate Director for Research plays a vital role in overseeing research, operations, and development of the Research Program on Children and Adversity (RPCA). This role is integral to the current and future research initiatives of the RPCA and contributes to the greater University mission of expanding Boston College’s global research footprint. The Associate Director of Research will be expected to step in for the RPCA Director/Principal Investigator for study oversight, stakeholder
engagement, and research dissemination. The Associate Director of Research will need to operate on a highly independent level overseeing research in several countries, including managing several local and Boston based program managers, consultants,
and research assistants. The Associate Director will need to be able to problem solve so that research in low resource countries is effective and compliant with all governing regulations and will also need to have cultural competencies to ensure that research
projects are culturally appropriate. The Associate Director of Research will be expected to travel to research sites as needed, often remaining in country for up to a month at a time and is expected to step in for the RPCA Director/Principal Investigator for study oversight, stakeholder engagement, and research dissemination.

Roles and responsibilities include:

Provide Oversight of Study implementation in field (30%):

• 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, field-based program managers, and post-doctoral fellows to ensure that research budgets fulfill the scientific aims of the projects.
• Work with the RPCA Grants Administrators to oversee 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 partnercountry IRB, DSMB and local ethics committee requirements and applications.
• Work with the Principal Investigator to supervise 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 (30%):

• Oversee the grant writing, refinement and submission process of grant submissions, including federal and philanthropic. 
• 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 (20%):

• 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 students, program managers, administrative manager, 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.

Requirements

• Doctoral degree, preferably in Public Health, Social Work, Psychology, or other related field preferred
• Experience implementing NIH required.
• A minimum of five years’ experience as a translational scientist investigating cross-cultural mental health and child development topics.
• A minimum of five years’ experience in research program management or research coordination in the mental health, child development, implementation science, or public health field.
• A minimum of three years’ experience conducting research to include: research conceptualization and implementation, data analysis, and preparation of data for dissemination in publications and conference presentations.
• Proficiency in utilizing computer applications including Microsoft Office, STATA, SPSS, Atlas.ti, MAXQDA, MPLUS and other applicable quantitative and qualitative data analysis platforms are preferred.
• Expert knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies including Community Based Participatory Research (CPBR), implementation science in LMICs, fidelity monitoring and mixed methodology.
• Understanding of the application of technology both for data collection and data management, as well as routine symptom monitoring, fidelity monitoring and quality improvement efforts in global mental health and child development.
• Experience managing diverse team members preferred

The Associate Director for Research works flexibility as well as a general office setting. They are expected to work nights and weekends as needed in order to fulfill work responsibilities and meet project deadlines.