Research Program Coordinator

Who is Saint Louis University? Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic universities. SLU, which also has a campus in Madrid, Spain, is recognized for world-class academics, life-changing research, compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service.

Job Summary:

Saint Louis University (SLU) is seeking a highly organized and detail-oriented Research Program Coordinator to support a research grant awarded by the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFFH). The project, titled “Evidence-Based Policy Recommendations for Infant and Maternal Health Promotion: Solutions for Diaper Need,” focuses on improving health outcomes for infants and mothers.

The Research Program Coordinator will assist the Principal Investigator (PI) and the research team with all aspects of the project activities, focusing on research elements at SLU and facilitate smooth communications by coordinating the work among SLU, St. Louis Area Diaper Bank and Kids Win Missouri. This position supports the research team in preparing Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols for empirical studies. Key responsibilities include coordinating participant recruitment, scheduling, data collection, and data management. Additionally, the role involves maintaining comprehensive study documentation, assisting with regulatory compliance, and developing and maintaining study protocols to ensure the project’s success.

The ideal candidate will have expertise in social sciences, early childhood health, public health and policy, and research methodologies, with experience in advocating for linguistically and culturally diverse families, mentoring students, and conducting participatory community-based research. Responsibilities include managing data systems, IRB processes, research training, evaluations, and providing insights to support strategic planning and data-driven decision-making. The role also involves fostering student development and improving research outcomes.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Research responsibilities, including but not limited to preparation of online survey, IRB protocol preparation, recruitment and scheduling, data collection and entry, and administering questionnaires

• Coordinates development of forms and questionnaires

• Assist with protocol development and maintenance.

• Assist with collection of survey and interview data, data cleaning and a preliminary analysis of studies, preparation of an interview schedule for qualitative data collection, and analysis of survey and qualitative data, data management and interpretation.

• Outreach to community organizations, communicate and collaborate with key stakeholders, assist with hosting community-based listening and education sessions, as well as meetings with key policymakers.

• Assist participant groups during intervention sessions.

• Oversee research project and activities focused on improving maternal and infant health outcomes, guiding the team in designing studies and managing data collection and analysis, interpretation, ensuring findings contribute to evidence-based policy recommendations for addressing diaper need and improving health outcomes.

• Collaborate with families, community organizations, and multidisciplinary teams to collect data and ensure research is relevant to diverse populations, inclusive and relevance. Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and community stakeholders to ensure the relevance and impact of the research.

• Assist with advocacy and policy activities and advocate for policies that improve early childhood and maternal health, particularly in underserved communities.

• Provide mentorship, training and support to research staff and students, ensuring high standards of research integrity, maintaining confidentiality and adherence to ethical practices throughout research processes.

• Prepare reports for research dissemination to community stakeholders and provide manuscripts for publication, ensuring research integrity and compliance with ethical guidelines and maintain data confidentiality and integrity.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Skilled in ethical community-based research, community engagement, participant recruitment, and the application of survey, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method designs.

• Proficient in data management, analysis, interpretation, and disseminating research findings to community stakeholders.

• Ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines effectively.

• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.

• Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) such as SPSS, NVivo, ATLAS.ti, R, Stata, or other data management software.