Job Opportunity - Research Project Coordinator, Youth Development Instrument (YDI)

YDI Research Project Coordinator

POSITION IDENTIFICATION

Position Title: Research Project Coordinator Faculty: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Term: August 1, 2021 – July 31, 2022 with the possibility of extension

Funding: Grant-funded; Full-time (40 hours/week)

FUNCTION

In the context of worsening youth health trends in mental health, injury, substance use and obesity, investigators and public health practitioners at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP)-UBC and SFU have identified an urgent need to develop an instrument to measure population-level longitudinal youth well-being (YWB) and resilience indicators. YWB indicators will then expand an existing population-level trajectory database on early and middle childhood well-being at HELP-UBC as well as serve as a baseline for predicting successful young adult outcomes. The research project coordinator will be responsible for the following activities: coordinating tasks related to ongoing development, validation and implementation of a survey —the Youth Development Instrument (YDI)—for assessing adolescent development, youth experiences, and social context factors at a population level; integrating input from a youth advisory committee, community advisory committee, the Project Team, and other stakeholders on project activities; building and maintaining relationships and liaising with education and healthcare professionals, and community contacts, to support project growth; assisting in strategic planning of overarching project aims; contributing to scholarly publications of project results; delivering training webinars and seminars; and developing reports to health care and education professionals and community contacts.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

This position reports directly to the YDI Principal Investigator. Among others, the incumbent will interact with faculty, staff, and students at the BCCDC, SFU, and HELP, as well as with external research partners in the health, education, and social services sectors.

WORK PERFORMED

Data management and analysis

• Stewarding and cleaning research data • Planning, conducting, and documenting analyses

• Interpreting results of analyses • Preparing reports and presentations

• Facilitating approval documents for data linkage HR & administration

• Setting up and renewing staff appointments

• Processing research expenses • Designing budgets and tracking expenses

• Creating and managing systems to coordinate research activities

• Scheduling meetings Research design and coordination

• Assisting with strategic planning, including the setting of high-level research goals and deliverables.

• Developing plans for data collection, external communication, and reporting results to achieve overarching research aims.

• Assisting in development of data collection tools such as survey questionnaires

• Leading processes for data collection, including survey delivery systems, delivery instructions and resources, and internal procedures for facilitating research implementation.

• Liaising with research partners to plan and implement research.

• Contributing more broadly to Chartlab.ca initiatives Manuscript development

• Outlining and writing manuscripts describing research activities and results

• Planning and preparing manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication Grant writing

• Identifying opportunities and drafting proposals for research funding. Ethics applications

• Drafting and revising applications for ethical approval of research activities.

DECISION-MAKING/LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY

This person in this position will assist the PI to effectively develop and implement the YDI, and provide research and financial accountability for funds supporting this project. This person makes professional decisions and recommendations on all aspects of the development and implementation work. Errors or incorrect work or decisions as a result of incompleteness, missed deadlines, lack of attention to details etc., will lead to confusion, lost opportunities and a poor impression of the project team and associated institutions.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED

Works with considerable latitude under the direction of the Assistant Professor (Principal Research Investigator) within established project parameters. Work is reviewed against task objectives.

SUPERVISION GIVEN

May manage and review the work of junior researchers, research assistants and technicians, staff, or students.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Works in an individual workstation in a shared office space in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University. Office space has overhead fluorescent lighting, and task lighting. Flexible arrangements such as the possibility for remote work are an option.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS

Education Master’s degree in public health, psychology, youth/human development, education, or social sciences, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Master’s thesis or research experience, including quantitative data collection, analysis and management, is preferred. Experience Three years of related experience in project management in a research environment or equivalent. Proven ability to work successfully with a wide range of groups and individuals, such as community groups, researchers, the public sector and multiple levels of government. Professional experience in Public Health and/or experience with the education sector preferred.

Skills/interests

• Ability to coordinate and oversee work processes required.

• Ability to develop and maintain cooperative and productive working relationships in an interdisciplinary environment required.

• Ability to communicate and build consensus among a range of stakeholders required.

• Ability to self-motivate and work well with minimal supervision required.

• Ability to prioritize assignments, multi-task, work effectively under pressure, handle heavy volumes, and meet demanding deadlines required.

• Strong attention to detail required.

• Excellent writing and presentation skills required.

• A balance of creative, technical, and social/interpersonal skills required.

• Intermediate knowledge of statistics, including significance tests, data distributions, data screening, and correlation/regression analysis required.

• Intermediate expertise with standard computer applications (e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook or equivalent) required.

• Interest in population health promotion and prevention required.

• Understanding of public health, social determinants, or child/adolescent development theories and research required.

• Demonstrated knowledge of grant-writing and manuscript preparation preferred.

• Thorough knowledge of SFU policies and procedures preferred.

• Demonstrated knowledge of conducting and interpreting descriptive statistics and regression analyses (e.g. linear, logistic) preferred.

• Intermediate knowledge of one or more common software applications or tools for data management and analysis (e.g. SAS, R, Stata, SPSS) preferred.

• Knowledge of survey methods and data, including survey delivery platforms such as Qualtrics, preferred.

• Knowledge of child/youth/young adult development preferred.

Please apply by providing a cover letter and your CV (in one file), which should be sent by email to hsamji@sfu.ca. The position will remain open until filled; only short-listed candidates will be contacted.