Implementation science (IS) is a relatively new field with exciting opportunities for growth and innovation focused on methods to promote the adoption and integration of evidence-based practices, interventions, and policies into routine healthcare and public health settings. The HIV Implementation Science Coordination Initiative (ISCI) is the national coordinating and technical support center for Centers for AIDS Research/AIDS Research Centers research-practice partnerships funded as part of the Ending the HIV Epidemic plan. ISCI provides high-quality IS coordination, consultation and data management for NIH-funded Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) implementation research teams and creates opportunities to share generalizable knowledge to help end the HIV epidemic in the United States. ISCI identifies and disseminates best practices in HIV implementation research, while providing training, and resources to support academic researchers and practice-based partners.

Position Description: The Project Director will lead project and personnel management for ISCI, overseeing complex multi-investigator projects across multiple institutions and supervising several research staff. This role involves developing and managing project plans with defined timelines, deliverables, and resources, while identifying opportunities for growth, assessing potential impacts, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to implement innovative solutions. The ideal candidate is an experienced leader with expertise in project management of complex, multi-investigator projects across multiple institutions, experience supervising multiple staff, strong written and oral communication skills, effective time management capabilities, and ability to work independently.

The average target hiring range for this position will be between $80,000 - $95,000 per year. Final offered salary will be determined by the applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Project and Personnel Management

- Develops and implements comprehensive project plans, including timelines and deliverables.

- Assists in the development and execution of new initiatives, leads strategic planning efforts to ensure alignment with project goals and objectives.

- Identifies opportunities for project growth, assesses potential impacts, and collaborates with cross-functional teams to implement innovative solutions.

- Leads and coordinates multiple teams, ensuring effective communication and collaboration across the project.

- Trains, directs, assigns duties to, and supervises research staff and/or fellows.

- Allocates and manages project resources, including personnel, budget, and materials, to ensure optimal project performance.

- Acts as the primary contact for stakeholders (sponsoring agencies and collaborators), providing regular updates on project progress and addressing any issues or concerns.

- Maintains project documentation, including project plans, progress reports, and final reports.

- Ensures that all project activities adhere to quality standards and regulatory requirements.

- Evaluates project outcomes and processes to identify areas for improvement and implement best practices.

Administration

- Analyzes, evaluates and interprets data to determine relevance to research.

- Prepares results and may lead and co-author scientific papers for presentation and publication and disseminate information via seminars, lectures, etc.

- Creates data for use in grant submission and develops new proposals for research including obtaining financial support.

- Ensures that all study documents associated with current local, state, and federal regulatory guidelines, requirements, laws and research protocols are completed in a timely manner.

Finance

- May create and/or manage research study budget which may include deciding on and approving expenditures of funds based on budget.

- Monitors accounts.

- Ensures appropriate allocation and compliance.

Miscellaneous

- Performs other duties as assigned.

Position Details: This is a full-time position based on the Chicago campus of Northwestern University.

- Master's or doctoral degree in social/behavioral science (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology), public health, humanities, or related field

- At least 5 years of experience with managing complex projects that involve multiple principal investigators, sites, institutions, and/or public health practice settings.

- Experience in project management and supervising multiple staff is required.

- Experience using project management software.

- Experience using Microsoft Office 365 and basic computer programs (e.g., Teams, Sharepoint, OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe, Google, etc.)

- Must complete NU's IRB CITI training before interacting with any participants and must re-certify every 3 years.

Minimum Competencies (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

- Strong project coordination skills and the ability to prioritize tasks.

- Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to adhere to instructions/procedures.

- Good communication skills; demonstrated effective spoken and written communication.

- Good time management skills; efficient and resourceful in problem-solving.

- Demonstrated ability to take ownership of the work, possessing initiative, good follow-through; ability to work without supervision.

Preferred Competencies (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

- Familiarity with implementation science concepts (e.g., models and frameworks, determinants, outcomes, strategies, study designs).

- Familiarity with HIV prevention and care research.