Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center Position Description

Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center Position Description

               

Position Title:                                     Director of DCAC Research Institute

Department:                                      Research

Reports To:                                         Chief Program Officer

Exemption Status:                           Exempt

Updated:                                             May 6, 2013

General Description

Reporting to the Chief Program Officer and serving as an integral member of the client services team, the Director of the DCAC Research Institute will be responsible for defining the clinical strategy and management of all clinical studies being conducted by the DCAC Research Institute. The Director will manage operational and logistical tasks of clinical development to ensure efficient execution of studies within established budgets and timelines, ensuring compliance with all appropriate regulations. S/he will coordinate the efforts of internal and external resources to ensure research plan optimization. This person will be responsible for writing and submitting research data for peer reviewed publications and disseminating outcomes to the larger public by conducting lectures and public reviews of research findings.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

•             Set strategic direction and lead national research initiatives focused on CAC’s.

•             Manage clinical research and operations including design and initiation of studies to optimize research value through national site selection and data portability.

•             Assist in training the clinical sites to the protocol.

•             Work with study sites to ensure expedient study recruitment.

•             Author and/or work with others to develop publications based on the results of studies.

•             Provide updates and status reports to senior management on a regular basis; report on performance against plan.

•             Manage the budget for research studies.  Ensure overall operation is within the approved budget and timeline.

•             Develop and implement SOPs for research studies and related activities.

•             Develop and maintain professional relationships with academic and community-based researchers, agency directors and investigators to assure accurate data collection. 

•             Interface with partners within and outside of DCAC including Child Protective Services, Police Departments, District Attorney’s Office, Children’s Medical Centers, National Children’s Alliance, CACTX.

•             Manage Internal Review Board and assessment of evaluation of research with human subjects and government systems.

•             Oversee compliance with regulatory bodies governing research studies.

•             Represent DCAC at major annual conferences

Qualifications and Skills

•             Ph.D. in Psychology or related field required.

•             5-10 years of experience in the social service field with at least three years of hands-on managerial experience running research studies and managing teams.

•             Experience with all aspects of management of large research studies from inception to completion.

•             Strong knowledge of human subjects research regulations.

•             Previous research study site management experience.

•             Knowledge of and experience in experimental and quasi-experimental design.

•             Basic understanding of statistics and statistical methods.

•             Demonstrated experience and/or competence in data analysis and report writing

•             Knowledge and experience with Excel and SPSS software packages.

•             Strong project planning, leadership, negotiation and presentation skills as well as an ability to contribute creative yet practical solutions to problems.

•             Extraordinary research management skills and expertise in searching medical literature and databases for clinical and technical information.

•             Ability to multi-task and manage several projects in parallel, paying attention to detail.

•             Ability to forge cross-functional working relationships with internal teams and external project partners.

•             Ability to be proactive in identifying issues and hurdles that may handicap the effective implementation of the studies and resolve the issues in a timely fashion.

•             Superior writing skills and ability to effectively communicate with technical and non-technical people.

•             Ability to work in a team environment.

•             Must demonstrate/live our organization’s core values: put the child first in all that we do, operate as a seamless team, work with a servant’s heart.

This job description is not intended to be all inclusive.  DCAC reserves the right to revise or change job duties as the need arises.  This job description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment.

Please submit resume and letter of interest to alind@dcac.org