Research and Program Manager, Disease Ecology in a Changing World

About the role

The Disease Ecology in a Changing World (DECO) program is housed within the Center for Human and Planetary Health, which is based at the Woods Institute for the Environment and the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability – in close collaboration with the Stanford School of Medicine and the Center for Innovation in Global Health. This position will focus on working with DECO faculty leadership to advance a research program for DECO that bridges knowledge and action, scales solutions, and engages diverse stakeholders in generating new evidence and recommending solutions.

Responsibilities

• Leading and managing multidisciplinary teams across different disciplines or schools, and external research partners, in advancing multiple complex DECO research projects.
• Designing and leading research approaches for the entire program, including background research, experimental design and execution, and drafting manuscripts for publication.
• Deploying community- and partner-engaged approaches to manage stakeholder collaborations and produce co-created research outcomes.
• Developing new protocols; testing and evaluating a variety of approaches.
• Conceptualizing and drafting new research proposals and budgets, and preparing final materials for funding applications that will expand the scope and scale of DECO.
• Preparing periodic progress reports or written reports on all phases of the program.
• Contributing original ideas of major methodologies that alter the course of the investigation or developing innovative solution(s) to complex research problems.
• Performing ongoing literature review to remain current with new procedures and related research; proceeding without consultation with principal investigators to implement new techniques into research projects.
• Representing DECO in stakeholder meetings.
• Providing scientific and coordination support to the DECO Faculty Directors.
• Leading DECO program management and coordination activities, including organizing stakeholder meetings, scheduling and leading regular team meetings, organizing documents and creating knowledge-management systems, preparing slides for presentations, supervising student researchers, and contributing to DECO communications efforts e.g., maintaining the DECO webpage, drafting popular media pieces on DECO, etc.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related scientific field and four years of relevant work experience; or Master’s degree in a related scientific field and two years relevant experience; or PhD in related science field such as ecology, epidemiology, environmental science, conservation, or other relevant fields.
• Comprehensive understanding of scientific principles.
• Expert level knowledge and skills in a field of science related to the research project.
• General computer skills, experience with databases and scientific applications, and ability to quickly learn and master computer programs.
• Strong analytical skills and excellent judgment.
• Ability to work under deadlines with general guidance is essential.
• Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to complete detailed work accurately.
• Developing project management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD in disease ecology or a relevant field.
• Experience engaging with global non-academic research partners and stakeholders, managing complex and multi-partner programs, and administering research.
• Experience with project management tools and practices appropriate for large complex research endeavors.
• Experience working with University administrators to support research goals.
• Experience in data analysis, mapping, remote sensing, and synthesis.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills.
• Spanish language skills.