Bilingual Research Specialist IV

About the role

The Research Specialist IV works under general direction and performs advanced, complex, and highly responsible administrative, operational, and financial functions in support of the Healthy Living Program within the Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA).

Responsibilities

• Lead efforts related to the implementation of ongoing studies and the development of new ancillary research, including study design, operations, and reporting.
• Design and manage research project operational procedures, including preparing and coordinating IRB human subjects research protocols.
• Aid with study participant recruitment, data collection, field work, and management of project-related logistics. Written and oral communication in English and Spanish for recruitment, data collection, and field work activities.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of curricula and program materials for chronic disease prevention and health promotion, ensuring accuracy and consistency. Performs translation from English to Spanish for Spanish-speaking community members.
• Aid with preparing grant applications and proposals to funding agencies; develop and edit reports, manuscripts, scientific presentations, manuals, and other dissemination products for various audiences.
• Conduct literature reviews to inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of community-engaged health interventions and/or scientific publications.
• Coordinate pre and post award management with TAMU and with outside investigators.
• Draft NIH and similar progress reports, including budget components; develop and monitor project budgets.
• Evaluate and summarize study and programs impacts/results
• Aid with data management and analysis (qualitative and quantitative), including data cleaning, documentation, acquisition, and merging.
• Develop and manage online tools, including Qualtrics, REDCap and others, for project management, evaluation, and coordination needs, which requires translation from English to Spanish for Spanish-speaking community members.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in related field (e.g., public health, nutrition, exercise science, health communication, health administration, etc.) or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 10 years of related experience.
• Professional demeanor and demonstrated ability to manage and safeguard confidential information with the utmost discretion and professionalism, ensuring sensitive data is handled securely and in compliance with privacy policies.
• Ability to take initiative, work independently, multitask, work cooperatively with others, and manage priorities and tasks as assigned.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Outstanding planning and organizational skills.
• Knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation applications, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, etc.
• Fully fluent in both Spanish and English, verbal and written.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in related field (e.g., public health, nutrition, exercise science, health communication, health administration, etc.).
• Research background, including experience with community-engaged research and evaluation projects, specifically research management, data collection and/or experience with implementation of clinical research studies.
• Experience coordinating research projects in the following areas: maternal and early childhood nutrition; underserved populations; minority and urban health; food systems; food and nutrition security; community-based health behavior interventions.
• Experience conducting human subjects research and managing Institutional Review Board (IRB) applications.
• Experience with scientific writing, including proposal preparation and writing, developing written reports, and editing manuscripts and documents.
• Knowledge and understanding of the mission and role of the Land Grant University System, including community-campus partnership and the Extension system.