Project Director

Job Description

The Department of Child, Family, & Population Health Nursing has an outstanding opportunity for a full-time Project Director (Research Coordinator 2 NE S UAW Research) position.

Working in a research team under the leadership of the Principal Investigator, the Project Director will develop, implement, and manage data collection protocols for a new NIH-funded RCT. The project will conduct an RCT using an established treatment program to target childhood obesity (vs. control) in 240 prepubertal girls who are at risk for earlier pubertal onset based on BMI percentile ≥85th and low family income, both factors with strong prospective links to earlier pubertal onset.

Pubertal onset will be indexed both by hormones and questionnaire-based pubertal staging methods to characterize the onset of the main pubertal development processes. Findings will inform the value and optimal timing of conducting such interventions, including whether implementation in the prepubertal period may be most impactful due to the combined benefits of weight loss along with a reduction in risk for earlier pubertal onset and its sequelae.

The Project Director will have responsibility for the day-to-day operations and fiscal oversight of the project. Specifically, the Project Director's tasks will include: preparing and submitting Human Subjects IRB materials; developing and implementing subject recruitment procedures; developing and overseeing research protocol procedures; developing and overseeing data entry and data management; hiring and supervising study staff; developing and maintaining spreadsheets and other systems for tracking project expenditures and projecting spending to successfully complete the research;

preparing relevant portions of the annual progress report to assist the Principal Investigator with its timely submission; and preparing relevant written reports and data summaries to assist the Principal Investigator with the dissemination of research findings in the context of conference presentations and primary and secondary manuscripts.

Key Responsibilities:

* Developing, implementing, and maintaining recruitment and tracking procedures of a primarily low-income, racially diverse sample of prepubertal girls and their families.

* Developing, implementing, and maintaining complex data collection procedures including interview questions, health assessments, and biological specimen collection.

* Developing, implementing, and maintaining quality assurance/improvement, data management, data reporting, and fiscal oversight procedures.

* Developing, implementing, and maintaining training procedures for the study staff to ensure high quality implementation of recruitment and data collection procedures.

Oversee sample recruitment and tracking (20%)

* Oversee planning, execution, and maintenance of subject recruitment protocols.

* Oversee communications with potential study families to explain the study, answer questions, and solve problems.

* Oversee monitoring, identification, and re-engagement with families at risk of dropping out of the study.

* Oversee the development and implementation of strategies for sample retention.

Oversee data collection (50%):

* Oversee systems for tracking participant progress through stages of study including phases of intervention/control and assessments.

* Oversee systems for scheduling, coordinating, and completing baseline and follow-up study assessments.

* Oversee implementation and maintenance of complex in-person data collection protocols as well as performing follow-up tasks.

* Oversee supporting activities related to the data collection protocols including problem-solving scheduling issues and rescheduling, etc.

* Oversee the development, implementation, and maintenance of quality assurance/improvement tasks related to the data collection protocols.

Oversee quality assurance/improvement, related to data management/reporting, fiscal management/reporting, and staff training/performance (30%)

* Oversee and perform data management tasks, including data review, scoring, reduction, merging, and the construction of data sets for in-depth analysis by research team members.

* Oversee and prepare information needed for IRB modification applications, NIH progress reports, and scientific presentations and publications.

* Oversee and coordinate weekly staff meetings, provide recruitment and data updates to the research team at meetings and through periodic newsletters.

* Oversee and perform fiscal management tasks to maintain appropriate tracking, documentation, and compliance.

* Oversee and perform staff training and re-training activities to maintain high-quality performance of subject recruitment and data collection tasks.

Minimum Requirements

* Bachelor's degree in a related field and two years of relevant experience.

Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.

Desired…