Add Health Research Project Director

A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation's top public universities. Known for its beautiful campus, world-class medical care, commitment to the arts and top athletic programs, Carolina is an ideal place to teach, work and learn.

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Since 1966, researchers at the Carolina Population Center have pioneered data collection and research techniques that move population science forward by emphasizing life course approaches, longitudinal surveys, the integration of biological measurement into social surveys, and attention to context and environment. We are also at the forefront of creating interdisciplinary training programs that integrate approaches from the social and biological sciences, building research capacity and training the next generation of scholars. Our faculty fellows address pressing research questions about population dynamics, fertility, health, mortality, migration, and the environment. Faculty come from multiple disciplines, benefitting from the cross-pollination of ideas. Our dedicated research and programming staff support fellows at every stage of project development, from conception through data collection or acquisition, analysis and dissemination, and project administration. https://www.cpc.unc.edu/about/

The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), housed and administered at the Carolina Population Center ( CPC) is the largest, most comprehensive nationally representative longitudinal study of adolescents ever undertaken. Over the 32 year long and continuing project, Add Health has and continues to collect rich demographic, social, familial, behavioral, psychosocial, cognitive, and health survey data from participants and their parents; a vast array of contextual data from participants' schools, neighborhoods, and geographies of residence; and in-home physical and biological data from participants, including genetic markers, blood-based assays, anthropometric measures, and medications.

The Add Health Research Project Director will provide leadership, financial and administrative management for the home exam field operations of the Add Health research project that has an approximate budget of $20 million. S/he will oversee the biological portion of a nationwide original data collection effort performed by a major subcontractor and work very closely with three biological laboratories. S/he will assist with keeping track of the 18,000-person cohort by developing retention plans and timelines. S/he will coordinate development of questionnaire materials and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for data and specimen collection. S/he will work with data staff on the transfer of sensitive information across subcontracting partners to ensure study participant information is accurately and securely transferred. The Add Health Research Project Director will work closely with the Add Health research team including experts in sociology, epidemiology, and data collection management on the project's biological day-to-day research activities involving data collection and field operations and coordinate field activities across the subcontractors and data staff.

The position will oversee regulatory compliance activities for the project, including IRB submissions, amendments, renewals, reliance agreements between coordinating sites and subcontractors, Promptly Reportable Incidents ( PRI), and NIH RPPR reporting. The Add Health Research Project Director will work across multiple institutions and coordinating sites to ensure compliance with UNC and federal guidelines and implement corrective actions, staff training, and interviewer guidance as needed to support compliance and data quality.

This position will directly supervise multiple project staff, including an Assistant Project Manager, the Retention Coordinator, the Medical Outcomes Coordinator, and the Biospecimen Coordinator. Supervision responsibilities will include assigning and monitoring work, managing timelines and deliverables, supporting staff training, and ensuring effective coordination across project teams and external partners.

Master's or Bachelor's and 0-2 years' experience; or will accept a combination of related education and experience in substitution.

* Demonstrated experience managing and prioritizing responsibilities across multiple concurrent projects and project components, ensuring alignment of timelines, resources, and deliverables across teams.
* Proven ability to plan, direct, and execute project activities across multiple functional areas, ensuring deliverables are completed on time and within scope.
* Outstanding organizational and management skills as well as excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
* Must be motivated and take initiative.
* Must be able to anticipate and solve problems.
* Must show the ability to work independently along with a demonstrated ability to work and collaborate within and across teams both inside and outside the organization.

* Minimum of one year of experience in managing or directing a complex research project is desirable, preferably within a university setting.
* Experience with field operations for major data collection efforts, especially those involving collection of biological specimens highly desirable.
* Experience using statistical packages (e.g., SAS, Stata) to run descriptive statistics.

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.