Director of Community Research Services

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute (UI) is the primary applied research and public service arm of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Its mission is to meet the community research and technical support needs of the state’s urban and developing areas. A primary geographic focus of the Institute’s activities is the Charlotte Region, the 14-county area surrounding the City of Charlotte, the largest city in the Carolinas.

Overview: Director of Community Research Services assists in the administration of UI research and directs its day-to-day management. This position has significant social research and managerial components, requires ongoing community relationship development, and requires a broad knowledge of research topics, methodologies, analytic, and visualization/dissemination techniques. A Master’s degree and at least 7 years of experience in community-based research are required.

Responsibilities: Director of Community Research Services serves as the day-to-day manager of the UI research team and has primary responsibility for the management of ongoing tasks that enable the UI to provide research for/with the Charlotte, NC region, including evaluation services, neighborhood and regional indicators work, and other engaged and applied research efforts. The Director is also responsible for directing projects related to her/his social science research expertise. This position is responsible for managing and mentoring at least three junior research staff members and possibly additional staff members or students as the UI grows.

Qualifications: Required

• Master’s degree in the social sciences
• A minimum of seven years of experience in social science research
• Project management experience, including the development and oversight of project budgets
• Grant Writing experience, preferably for research-related grants
• Supervisory Experience, preferably mentoring novice and junior researchers
• Experience in coordinating and managing social science research projects, data collection and management, statistical and qualitative analysis, and reporting
• Strong organizational as well as oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills
• Experience with large databases at the national, state, and/or local levels
• Experience in facilitating partnerships and meetings with community members, government officials, and other stakeholders
• Ability to work independently with minimal direct supervision
• Proficiency in SAS, SPSS, R, or STATA Preferred
• PhD degree with 5 years of experience in social science research.
• Program management experience.
• Experience with GIS, survey development, and database software.

Preferred

• PhD degree with 5 years of experience in social science research.
• Program management experience.
• Experience with GIS, survey development, and database software.