Portfolio Director; Health Lab, Urban Labs

Department
 

UL Research

About the Department
 

The Health Lab’s mission is to partner with civic and community leaders to identify, rigorously evaluate and help scale programs and policies that improve health outcomes, particularly for low-income and disadvantaged urban residents. To accomplish our mission, we seek to identify and engage vulnerable people so they can access services and opportunities that will improve their safety, health and vitality. We work closely with partners, including persons with lived experiences, to learn directly from them about their challenges. We evaluate interventions that seek to address these challenges and advise our partners using data-driven results. We are deeply committed to understanding the impacts of policies, programs and interventions.

Like the needs of those we seek to serve, our partnerships are vast. While these partners represent many communities and community-based organizations, they also include medical and social service providers, emergency service providers, members of the corrections, policing and other law enforcement communities.

We believe that two key obstacles prevent cities from mobilizing and coordinating their rich resources across sectors. First, cities lack evidence about the multi-sector impact of their efforts. Second, cities lack coordination mechanisms and incentives to collaborate across sectors. The Health Lab dedicates our work and our resources to these two issues. Our primary goal is to generate high-quality evidence about interventions that can sustainably improve urban health and be widely scaled.

For more information about the Health Lab go to: https://urbanlabs.uchicago.edu/labs/health

Job Summary
 

The University of Chicago Health Lab seeks a full time Portfolio Director to oversee the criminal-legal and re-entry portfolio and lead the effort to ensure that all project milestones and deliverables are met. In addition, the Portfolio Director will provide scientific direction for the portfolio’s applied research projects and to ensure the rigor and quality of the Lab’s work at the intersection of health and the criminal-legal system.

The Portfolio Director will have the opportunity to manage various stakeholder relationships and contribute to all aspects of research design, methods, and evaluation of research projects. Duties will include managing both quantitative and qualitative research projects, managing relationships and communication between Health Lab and external stakeholders, conducting literature reviews and other research-related activities, and engaging in a variety of project-related writing. The ideal candidate will be organized and able to execute multiple project work plans, including setting project timelines and meeting key milestones.

This position requires an individual who is able to work as a part of a small research team simultaneously running a variety of data and research collection endeavors as well as facilitating communication with key stakeholders. The position offers the opportunity to work directly with leading social policy researchers at the University of Chicago, research partners, governmental agencies, community-based organizations, and others, as well as a team of administrative staff, project managers, and student research assistants

Responsibilities

• Design, lead, and execute a workplan for the portfolio that sets intermediate deadlines and identifies key milestones and critical interdependencies between workstreams.

• Develop and manage Institutional Review Board protocols and data sharing agreements with various partners.

• Manage the various grants that fund the projects (both federal and philanthropic), including monitoring budgets, writing and submitting grant reports, managing key stakeholder relationships, and ensuring compliance with data sharing agreements and legal requirements of the grant.

• Serve as part of the leadership team, providing input and thought partnership on strategy, project scoping, major hiring decisions and growth opportunities.

• Contribute to, and be able to lead, the development of scientific content and research proposals.

• Work with research managers and analysts and Principal Investigators to produce high quality deliverables.

• Ensure that all portfolio milestones are achieved, including writing and submitting grant reports.

• Manage project staff, in addition to interns.

• Support special projects and initiatives that help grow the consciousness of research staff and the larger community the Health Lab’s work in the criminal-legal sector.

• When needed, support the Executive Director and other leadership in building strategic partnerships and spearhead special projects and initiatives with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and community organizations.

• Presents research findings at meetings and conferences, as well as to funding agencies.

• Conducts literature reviews. Develop and maintain liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings.

• Provides expertise to researchers on compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives and mandates.

• Provides expertise to researchers and research support staff. Oversees activities related to data collection and analysis.

• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

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Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Master’s degree in criminal justice, economics, sociology, social work, public health, public policy or another relevant field. Will consider applicants with equivalent lived experience.

Experience:

• Experience managing complex projects, with numerous stakeholders.

• Experience collecting and managing qualitative and quantitative datasets.

• Familiarity with large-scale data collection.

• Experience working with law enforcement and in jail or prison settings.

Preferred Competencies

• Passion for social policy.

• Strong quantitative and qualitative skills.

• Strong leadership, interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills.

• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Demonstrated capacity to work independently in an organized, detailed manner, while maintaining a collaborative team environment.

• Ability to think abstractly and concretely.

• Excellent data visualization ability.

• Ability to work both independently and as a team member.

• Ability to work discretely with sensitive and confidential data.

• Knowledge and understanding of the criminal-legal system.

• Strong computer skills including the ability to effectively use software applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

• Familiarity with R, Python, SPSS, Stata, or other languages used for analysis.

Working Conditions

• This role will be indoors, at computer, on phone, Zoom, email, and other digital formats – working in-office at Industrious (24 E. Washington Ave, Suite 875, Chicago, IL 60602) and remotely.

• Requires the ability to work independently and virtually with teams for periods of eight hours or more.

• Travel to various sites within Illinois is required. 

• Some out of state travel required for conferences or other partner meetings or events.

Application Documents:

• Resume (required)

• Cover letter (required)

• Writing sample (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
 

Research

Role Impact
 

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status
 

Exempt

Pay Frequency
 

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours
 

37.5

Benefits Eligible
 

Yes

Drug Test Required
 

No

Health Screen Required
 

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
 

No

Posting Statement
 

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University’s Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago’s Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.