Project Coordinator (Bilingual - Spanish and English) Center for Child & Family Policy, Sanford Sch

Duke University:

Duke University was created in 1924 through an indenture of trust by James Buchanan Duke. Today, Duke is regarded as one of America’s leading research universities. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke is positioned in the heart of the Research Triangle, which is ranked annually as one of the best places in the country to work and live. Duke has more than 15,000 students who study and conduct research in its 10 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. With about 40,000 employees, Duke is the third largest private employer in North Carolina, and it now has international programs in more than 150 countries.

Be You. Be Bold. Choose Duke.

Be You.

At Duke, we celebrate individuality and the unique perspectives that each member of our community brings. As the Project Coordinator, you’ll support two longitudinal evaluations of innovative interventions designed to improve the health and well-being of children and their families. You’ll work in collaboration with interdisciplinary teams and community partners to advance impactful research that strengthens families and supports early childhood development.

You’ll contribute to two key initiatives:

Family Connects – ABC (75%)

Although numerous evidence-based early childhood home visiting intervention programs have been implemented at small scale in community settings to reduce maltreatment and promote early relational health, no home visiting intervention has demonstrated population impact to lower child maltreatment rates. Most programs take a long-term, intensive approach serving self-selected high-risk families (secondary prevention), while only a few programs utilize a brief universal approach to support all families prior to any maltreatment exposure (primary prevention). Implemented in isolation, both approaches face significant barriers to population impact. To address these barriers while leveraging the strengths of each approach, this study will draw families from the entire population of births in a community using an empirically supported light-touch, universal program (Family Connects; FC) to screen and recruit eligible families for an intensive, longer-term home visiting program (Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up; ABC). The goal is to determine the impact of this collaborative approach on parental sensitivity, parental functioning, child functioning, and child maltreatment.

Community Navigation (25%)

During some of the most critical years of child development, prenatally through age three, families spend significant time and resources navigating a fragmented system of care. Some families can get needed resources for their children, while others cannot for a variety of reasons.  Community Navigation charts a new vision that will offer all families universal screening to connect them to the right resources at the right time through a series of universal, light-touch engagements beginning prenatally and continuing through age 5. The goal is to engage all pregnant persons, learn about their strengths and needs for support, and, when needs are identified, connect families to matched community resources for longer-term support.

In collaboration with colleagues in Guilford County, the Center for Child and Family Policy (CCFP) is overseeing a randomized control trial involving 800 Durham County families to assess the implementation and impact of prenatal and postnatal Community Navigation. The goal is to determine the efficacy of the model in improving multiple domains of child and family well-being, including connections to community resources and services, parenting and parent mental health, child social-emotional and behavioral development, and kindergarten readiness.

Be Bold.

Make an impact by supporting rigorous research and advancing innovative solutions for children and families.

What You’ll Do:

The Project Coordinator will support impact evaluation for both studies in multiple ways, including collaborating with Project Investigators and key personnel in planning and conducting research and evaluation activities; drafting research protocols, code books, and measures/tools; managing ClinicalTrials.gov and IRB protocols; supervising and training staff and students involved in data collection; scheduling and conducting English- and Spanish-language interviews and assessments with study families; identifying questions or challenges to implementing this process and solutions to these challenges; and developing documentation for consent, data sharing, and follow-up contacts.

Work Performed

Project Collaboration (30%)

•             Collaborate with Project PIs, research staff, and key personnel from community-based organizations in planning and conducting research and evaluation activities.

•             Coordinate with and train personnel from community-based organizations responsible for data collection activities to ensure compliance with protocols and timelines as applicable.

•             Work in close collaboration with project statisticians and PIs related to data needs/issues, the development of data analyses/reporting plans.

Data Collection & Assessments (25%)

•             Organize and conduct data collection, including scheduling visits, obtaining consent to participate, conducting participant interviews per protocol, administering standardized assessments, and recording interview responses when required.

Data Management & Quality Control (15%)

•             Manage, review and clean project data regularly, identify issues, recommend corrective action with internal staff and/or external partners as needed.

•             Develop, manage, and train stakeholders on the use of project databases (e.g., REDCap).

•             Assess interviewer fidelity and reliability in administering in-home parent-child interaction tasks and assessments of child development.

Reporting & Progress Tracking (10%)

•             Draft research protocols, code books, and measures/tools across projects.

•             Develop and implement systems to monitor and report on interview completion progress

 Supervision & Training (15%)

•             Supervise project staff and students involved in data collection and entry as applicable.

Compliance & Protocol Management (5%)

•             Maintain up-to-date IRB protocols and submit amendments as needed.

•             Manage ClinicalTrials.gov submissions and amendments as needed.

Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein.

What You’ll Bring

Education

Work requires communication and analytical skills normally acquired through a 4-year college education.

Experience

Work requires a general knowledge of research methods, procedures, and activities normally acquired through 1 year of social science research experience.

Requirements

•             Bilingual in English and Spanish required.

•             Requires experience in project or administrative supervision.

•             Preference for prior experience working on research studies and/or randomized controlled trials.

•             The successful candidate will possess leadership skills, a willingness to take initiative, to be proactive, and to work independently as well as in teams.

•             Ability to communicate clearly and professionally with a range of community stakeholders.

•             Local travel required.

•             Must be available to work some nights and weekends.

•             Proven ability to engage and build relationships with parents and children.

•             Must be willing to collaborate with other staff members and be readily accessible to communicate with other team members both during and outside of regular work hours.

•             Must demonstrate strong organizational skills.

Choose Duke.

Join a mission-driven institution dedicated to advancing child and family well-being through research, innovation, and community partnership. At Duke, your work will directly contribute to improving lives and building stronger communities.

Ready to Make a Difference?

Apply now and help us build a stronger, healthier future for children and families.