Research Specialist

Are you a flexible and curious person who wants to use your strong interpersonal and organizational skills to support the well-being of people impacted by incarceration? We are looking for a Research Specialist to support NIH-funded research on how mindfulness and related practices can support mental health and well-being as people return to the community following incarceration.

You will be joining a community-academic research partnership that includes community partners with lived experiences of incarceration and academic researchers. In this role, you will coordinate recruitment, screening, enrollment, and regular communication with formerly incarcerated research participants. You will support in-person intervention activities, working closely with researchers and class instructors to create a positive and welcoming environment for class participants. Working closely with the lead investigator, you will help develop and implement procedures to collect, monitor, and manage qualitative and quantitative data. You will provide administrative support for our community-academic partnership, participate in regular team meetings, and support community outreach activities related to this program of research. You may be asked to work occasional evenings and weekends during the participant enrollment phase.

Success in this role requires an open-minded and empathic person who is comfortable communicating with community members with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. Your flexibility, curiosity, and creative problem-solving will be essential in coming up with practical solutions to the limitations and challenges formerly incarcerated people may face when taking part in our research. Lived experiences with the criminal legal system that inform your knowledge of these challenges are highly valued, as are previous academic and professional experiences relevant to incarceration and reentry.

• 50% Conducts research experiments according to established research protocols with moderate impact to the project(s). Collects data and monitors test results
• 5% Operates, cleans, and maintains organization of research equipment and research area. Tracks inventory levels and places replenishment orders
• 5% Reviews, analyzes, and interprets data and/or documents results for presentations and/or reporting to internal and external audiences
• 10% Participates in the development, interpretation, and implementation of research methodology and materials
• 10% Provides operational guidance on day-to-day activities of unit or program staff and/or student workers
• 5% Performs literature reviews and writes reports
• 15% Participates in community-based participant recruitment, community engagement, and outreach

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Preferred
Bachelor's Degree

Required Qualifications:
- Experience with and/or interest in research that supports formerly incarcerated people's well-being
- Good problem-solving and organizational skills
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Experience with Microsoft Office and/or Google Suite

Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with community engagement, community outreach, and/or community-based research, especially with marginalized groups
- Experience coordinating day-to-day project logistics (for example, academic research projects and/or projects in industry/commercial spaces)
- Experience with and/or interest in learning to work with databases and data management tools (for example, REDCap, Qualtrics, Excel)
- Lived experiences of incarceration (for example, you or a family member/loved one has been incarcerated)

Full or Part Time: 50% - 100%

This position will require 60% of work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location. This position will require occasional evening and weekend work.

Ongoing/Renewable

Minimum $44,543 ANNUAL (12 months)
Depending on Qualifications
The typical starting salary for this position is $44,543 to $54,120 depending on qualifications and experience. Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays and paid time off; competitive insurance and saving accounts; and retirement benefits. Learn more: https://hr.wisc.edu/benefits/new-employee-benefits-enrollment/

We will consider applicants who are able to work a full-time schedule (40 hours per work week) or a reduced part-time schedule (minimum 20 hours per week).

University sponsorship is not available for this position, including transfers of sponsorship. The selected applicant will be responsible for ensuring their continuous eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without the need of an employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment.

Please click on the "Apply Now" button to start the application process.

Applications must be submitted by 11:55 pm on the deadline date. To apply, please upload a cover letter and resume. Please be sure to address each of the required qualifications listed above in your written application materials (resume and cover letter). In your cover letter, please briefly describe the skills, knowledge, experiences, and/or interests that you bring to the required qualifications and to any of the preferred qualifications that apply. We rely on written application materials to determine who will advance to preliminary interviews.

Selected applicants will receive an invitation to participate in virtual or telephone interviews 7-10 business days following the application deadline. Those moving on to second round interviews will be invited to an in-person or virtual interview. Once final applicants are identified, they will be asked to provide names and contact information for at least three professional references, including a current/most recent supervisor. References will not be contacted without advanced notice.

Lisa Wesley
lawesley@wisc.edu
608-262-0196
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Research Specialist(RE047)

A48-COL OF LETTERS & SCIENCE/CTR FOR HEALTHY MINDS

Academic Staff-Renewable

313205-AS