Job Summary/Basic Function:

Teachers College, Columbia University is seeking a full-time Research Program Manager to work closely with the Vice Dean for Research to strengthen and expand the College’s research initiatives. The Research Program Manager will assist the Vice Dean for Research to implement the vision and strategy for research at Teachers College, support faculty and student researchers, coordinate projects and activities to enhance the research infrastructure, and disseminate information about funding opportunities, the portfolio of funded research projects, and the accomplishments of faculty researchers and students. Candidates should be mission-driven, detail-oriented, clear and responsive communicators, and able to work effectively with a diverse group of faculty, students, and staff.

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Operations Management

• Contribute to the coordination and function of the office, including, creating and maintaining a schedule of projects, events, and activities for each academic year, overseeing daily operations, managing the budget, and setting priorities for projects.
• Assist with outreach, engagement, and regular communication with faculty, students, and staff.
• Assist with management of the internal funding opportunities for faculty and students, including distribution of the call for proposals, receipt and acknowledgement of applications, and review logistics.
• Assist in the development and dissemination of information about policies and procedures to strengthen research at the College and grow the research portfolio.
• Assist in risk mitigation, identification, tracking, management, and resolution of urgent and important issues related to grant making, grants management, and human subjects’ research.
• Provide meeting support for Research Infrastructure Improvement Committee meetings and other working group meetings with faculty students, and staff.
• Organize and promote research community engagement activities; assist in planning and implementing programs that foster inter-disciplinary collaboration and partnerships between faculty to carry out initiatives that support the research priorities and mission of the College.
• Assist in the development, coordination, and facilitation of trainings and workshops to build capacity for large-scale, collaborative research projects.
• Serve as a data champion, including collecting and summarizing data for reports, briefs, and presentations.
• Track success metrics for the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) and the College’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and provide regular updates, detailed reports, and recommendations to the Vice Dean for Research (VDR).
• Review and summarize monthly reports from the Office of Sponsored Programs and provide updates to the VDR to monitor grant submissions, grant awards, and workflow.
• Gather information and collect data from the IRB office to inform efforts to strengthen the research infrastructure.
• Assist in the preparation of quarterly and annual reports about the College’s research portfolio.
• May recruit, train, and supervise student workers, ensuring effective support for project tasks and activities.

Budget Analysis, Management, and reporting

• Manage the research office budget, including monitoring expenditures on a regular basis, preparing financial reports, and maintaining budget records for annual projects and activities. Produce financial summaries to the VDR.
• Assist with budget forecasting and budget planning for each fiscal year.
• Monitor expenditures to ensure that expenses are within established fiscal and administrative guidelines.
• Monitor budget awards and expenditures for internal faculty awards, student awards, and other internal funding opportunities, and provide timely updates and reports to awardees.
• Develop and maintain a system to track technical assistance requests and proposal preparation support requests from faculty researchers and payments for grant writing and grant reviewer awards.
• Purchase equipment and supplies needed for the office.

Communications, Writing, and Outreach

• Supports the office of the VDR’s communications functions including newsletters, reports, infographics, and website/social media posts and updates.
• Respond to internal and external requests for information.
• Update and maintain existing content on the research at TC website and work with OSP and the IRB office to align the online presence and dissemination of information about research at the College.
• Track data analytics for the research newsletter, website content, and social media posts and online engagement, and provide regular updates, reports, and recommendations to the VDR.
• Monitor the VDR delegate email box, respond to messages, and flag messages that require a response from the VDR.
• Write and distribute project-related messages, such as memos and status updates about funding opportunities and technical assistance for faculty and students.
• Create, edit, and format documents, slide decks, and informational materials for engagement activities and outreach events with faculty, students, staff, and other stakeholders (e.g., funders, practitioners, policy makers).
• Provide administrative and programmatic support for research activities, including networking sessions, data presentations, and other events and meetings.
• Develop social media strategies to disseminate information about research at TC initiatives.
• Post content and monitor metrics on social media platforms.

Needs Assessment, Database Development, Management, and Analysis

• Collect and analyze data to inform program evaluation, create reports, and identify trends to support research objectives.
• Conduct regular needs assessment of faculty and student researchers to identify data storage, data management, and data analysis requirements for research projects and develops effective strategies to meet those needs. Communicate needs assessment findings and recommendations to the VDR and the Teachers College Information Technology office.
• Gather information from key stakeholders on a regular basis, including developing, administering and summarizing survey results, facilitating focus groups, and preparing draft and final reports; and presenting findings.
• Create and maintain searchable databases of information about research at the College. Design, implement, and manage databases to store, organize, and retrieve data efficiently.
• Develop training materials and implement training sessions to disseminate information to faculty researchers and staff about the research databases.
• Monitor database performance and use: Regularly analyze database performance and use by faculty researchers, identify areas for improvement, and implement necessary optimizations to ensure optimal system performance and use.
• Data analysis and reporting: Extract and analyze data to identify trends, patterns, and insights. Generate reports and present findings to the VDR and other key stakeholders to support data-informed decision-making.

Special Projects

• Organize special initiatives and events under supervision of the Vice Dean for Research.
• Attend meetings and special events.
• Serve as a resource to other staff and members of the TC community.
• Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in education or psychology or the equivalent in education, training and experience.
• Experience conducting qualitative and quantitative research.
• Experience building and monitoring budgets. Ability to gather, analyze and summarize fiscal data and information.
• Knowledge and experience in technical writing and presentation development.
• Ability to anticipate problems and deliver innovative, thoughtful, and timely solutions to meet program goals and objectives.
• Very strong organizational skills, analytical and problem-solving abilities, and attention to detail.
• Possess excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and external partners.
• Demonstrated experience managing social media accounts for business purposes.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
• Extensive experience with survey tools such as Qualtrics and Google Forms.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in education or psychology.
• Experience in proposal development, including adherence to sponsor guidelines and solicitation requirements.
• Experience with peer review of research grants and contracts.
• Experience with data governance, data security, and compliance best practices.
• Familiarity with human subjects’ research requirements and procedures.
• Experience translating research into practice and policy.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Solid understanding of database creation and management practices.
• Knowledge of and experience with software applications, including Canva, PowerBI, and project management tools.
• Proficiency in data analysis and reporting tools.
• Strong communication and presentation skills to effectively convey complex data-related concepts and insights to non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate projects independently and work constructively as part of a team.
• Ability to work with flexibility on several tasks simultaneously and meet various concurrent deadlines.

Salary Range:

$60,000 - $74,600

Work Modality:

Hybrid