Job Description: Project Director

International Institute for Internet Interventions for Health (i4Health), Palo Alto University (PAU)

(Director of the Institute: Ricardo F. Muñoz, Ph.D.)

 

JOB OVERVIEW

Reporting to and working closely with the Director of the Institute, the Project Director will have responsibility for overseeing operational activities of the Institute, including the planning and implementation of several projects and studies.

The mission of the Institute is to develop, evaluate, and disseminate self-help automated Internet interventions and other digital tools (e.g. mobile apps, text messaging applications) to provide psychological health behavior change strategies for Spanish- and English-speaking people worldwide.  See https://www.i4health-pau.org/ .

The Project Director will play a key role in coordinating the research activities of the Institute. The Project Director will monitor progress of i4Health research studies, organize and maintain study databases, present summaries of data to study investigators, assist with grant preparation and reporting, conduct statistical analyses, and coauthor presentations and articles based on our work.  The Project Director will provide administrative support for these activities, including coordinating meetings, keeping minutes of research meetings, obtaining human subject’s research approval, supervising paid and volunteer research assistants, and providing training, support, and guidance to doctoral students affiliated with the Institute. As the main point person for i4Health, the Project Director will be responsible for regular interactions with internal and external faculty, consultants, and project officers from granting agencies. 4Health is headquartered at Palo Alto University’s Allen Calvin campus, but its activities also take place in Menlo Park and San Francisco. Thus, ability to travel to these locations is required.

The ideal candidate would have a strong background and experience in conducting behavioral health research with diverse populations (especially Spanish speakers), experience with digital health studies, strong interest and experience in the interface of psychology and digital technology (such as web development, app development, computer science, machine learning, or digital health applications), and a personal commitment to helping reduce unnecessary human suffering at a global level by providing evidence-based psychological interventions to as many people as possible.

 REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• BA/BS degree with a major in psychology or a related field and three years of experience in conducting clinical studies in a research intensive environment; or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Experience with Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines and data security
• Expertise in MS Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), PubMed, website and desktop publishing software, and web-based technology development
• Excellent knowledge of online bibliographic search tools in order to perform literature searches and write literature reviews, and expertise in the use of Mendeley, EndNote or similar reference managers.
• Strong writing and editing skills to prepare progress reports, manuscripts, and formal internal/external communications
• Experience cleaning study data, analyzing data using SPSS and similar statistical software, merging data sets, preparing written summaries of the findings, including tables, charts, and graphs of study data for use in publications and presentations
• Familiarity with qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques, including online surveys.
• Previous experience in an academic research unit working with research teams and faculty
• Previous management and supervisory experience, including recruitment and supervision of volunteer research assistants
• Demonstrated ability to work independently with minimal supervision and exercise discretion, making sound decisions when evaluating complex situations
• Demonstrated ability to work on multiple projects with competing deadlines and the flexibility to shift focus as needed
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with a diverse group of colleagues, including senior investigators, administrative staff, federal and other funding agency representatives, and faculty at collaborating universities
• Demonstrated ability to organize and manage research group meetings and track action items and deliverables by project
• Exceptional planning skills and ability to prioritize tasks and coordinate work schedules to complete projects on time
• Demonstrated record of excellent attendance, attention to detail, ability to meet strict deadlines, and reliability

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s Degree with a strong research focus on clinical psychology, public health, social sciences, or a similar behavioral health field
• Excellent Spanish writing and reading abilities
• Familiarity with issues related to Internet research, outcome studies, randomized controlled trials, and other clinical trial designs
• Experience leading participant recruitment and data collection efforts
• Experience creating and conducting online research studies and using online survey systems, such as Qualtrics
• Experience conducting literature searches and systematically summarizing results; presenting relevant topics or methods relevant to research; statistical analysis; authorship on publications; and presenting research at national and international conferences

Procedure for applying:

• Submit cover letter and resume to Ricardo F. Muñoz, Ph.D. via email to i4Health@paloaltou.edu
• Include 3 references, with emails and phones and nature and duration of the professional relationship with referee
• If applicable, send a link to a Website or app created by applicant, and copies of research publications, if any

Salary range:  This is a full-time position (40 hours a week).  Annualized salary range is $55,000 - $65,000.

Interviews start the week of September 29th, 2014.  Position begins October 13th or later, 2014.