Research Assistant III/S

Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine, Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, is seeking an RA 3S to join Dr. Brittany Rudd’s CAPACITY Lab and manage a portfolio of NIH-funded projects focused on implementing mental-health interventions in legal settings that serve youth and families.

Responsibilities

• Develop and design research and data-collection procedures.
• Conceptualize, initiate, and execute research goals for each project.
• Conduct and coordinate advanced research studies.
• Analyze and interpret data, refine study design, and develop advanced study protocols.
• Evaluate current developments and research findings for potential applicability to projects.
• Replicate, refine, and develop new research approaches based on project needs.
• Advise on new research directions based on study results.
• Monitor project developments and implement changes as needed.
• Prepare, organize, and communicate research results.
• Write papers, grants, and other documents for publication; author and co-author articles and present at scientific symposia and conferences.
• Act as supervisor or team lead for lower-level staff: plan, assign, and review work to meet group objectives.
• Guide, train, and advise lower-level researchers and students on techniques, methods, and procedures.
• Hire, train, develop, and manage staff to ensure a qualified team.
• Manage the execution of research projects to ensure milestones are met.
• Coordinate research assistants and study staff to ensure compliance with study protocols.
• Manage and execute timely payment of study participants, research advisors, and consultants.
• Assist in the development of brief interventions that aim to promote mental-health equity.
• Support the development of community-academic partnerships by leading and joining community events, meetings, and activities.
• Participate in the development and management of the lab’s social-media and web presence.
• Assist in the completion of quarterly and yearly project reports for lab research projects.
• Support the development of a lab climate that facilitates psychological safety, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
• Assist in lab training and dissemination activities, as well as training coordination and evaluation.
• Participate in scholarship activities, including analyses, manuscript preparation, and grant writing.

Requirements

Knowledge equivalent to that normally acquired through completion of one or two years of post-bachelor degree work, such as a Master’s in Public Mental Health or a social-science discipline; one to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in research methodologies, report writing, supervision, software, data interpretation, and data handling in the area related to the research being performed; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Qualifications

• Extensive project-management and supervisory experience.
• Significant experience executing qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods social-science projects.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.

Desired Qualifications

• Managing NIH grants, including pre-award support, post-award support, reporting (e.g., RPPR), and clinicaltrials.org registration.
• Developing and overseeing the execution of IRB protocols, especially those involving community-engaged research.
• Executing qualitative research, including building new interview guides, collecting, and analyzing qualitative data.
• Using project-management tools such as Slack and Asana.
• Supervising and training staff and student research assistants.

Schedule

• 9 a.m.–5 p.m. with five flex hours per week.
• Hybrid: minimum two days per week in-person on the Flint Campus; regional travel for meetings.

Pay

This is a limited-term position funded for one year from date of hire with possible extension contingent upon funding renewal.