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The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (PBSCI) within the UW School of Medicine is the third largest clinical department with 285 full-time faculty members, 280 clinical faculty members, and over 300 staff. Department faculty provide clinical services in 5 hospitals, 14 primary care locations, and several outpatient sites in addition to telepsychiatry consultations to more than 150 clinics in Washington and beyond. As the only academic psychiatry department serving the five state WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho), the Department’s highly competitive residency training program is largely responsible for developing the mental health workforce in the Pacific Northwest. The Department’s robust research portfolio totals $35 million in grants and contracts per year for projects ranging from clinical neurosciences to treatment development to health policy and population health. The Department is recognized as an international leader in developing, testing, and implementing Collaborative Care, an integrated care model increasingly seen as a solution for population-based mental health care. Other areas of excellence include Addictions, Autism, High Risk Youth, Neurosciences, and Trauma, and the Department is developing innovative new programs in Technology and Mental Health, Global Mental Health, Maternal and Child Mental Health, and Targeted Intervention Development.

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is recruiting for a Research Manager.

POSITION PURPOSE
This leadership position will apply advanced level knowledge and skills to independently coordinate the UW Suicide Care Research Center (SCRC), a NIMH funded multidisciplinary center intended to serve as an incubator for innovative research and transdisciplinary collaborations to improve suicide specific healthcare for adolescents and young adults in outpatient medical settings and related projects in the UW Center for Suicide Prevention and Recovery (CSPAR). We are at a crucial point in the development of care for patients who struggle with thoughts of suicide. Stepped up mandates for suicide care have come from the Joint Commission and system change recommendations from the national Zero Suicide programs. Substantial expansion of suicide screening and assessment as well as safety planning has resulted from these efforts, but treatment has lagged behind. Meanwhile, too many patients disclose they are suicidal to health care providers who aren’t prepared to offer them treatment. Patients and families are typically referred to the emergency department (ED) even when an outpatient intervention is better suited to their immediate needs. This approach results in overwhelmed systems and negative experiences for patients and providers. In his proclamation for National Mental Health Awareness Month 2021, President Biden emphasized “My Administration is committed to advancing suicide prevention best practices and improving non-punitive crisis response,” which is exactly what our centers aim to do. The SCRC/CSPAR manage multiple concurrent clinical research focused on developing and testing novel suicide assessment and interventions, including risk detection as well as psychotherapeutic and digital health interventions (Learn more here.) Studies are largely funded through NIH or other federal sources but may also include industry and/or philanthropic sponsors. They may include investigator initiated clinical trials, multicenter clinical trials, longitudinal cohort studies, efficacy trials and effectiveness trials, survey studies, user centered design and pilot projects. The position identifies and manages research staff as well as any graduate students and post doctoral fellows affiliated with the centers. This position holds responsibilities for ensuring the grant aims, protocols, and deadlines are met across the numerous research projects at SCRC and CSPAR. This position will manage timelines and budgets, facilitate communication across all projects, with the director and center faculty, and multiple center cores and advisory committees. The main purpose of this position is to ensure that clinical research commitments are met on time and on budget and that the program maintains a reputation for excellence in all areas.

Position Complexities:
This is a leadership position that will be required to use independent judgment and to represent the faculty PI in diverse situations. Position will have significant responsibility for strategic planning and insuring program goals are met so successful project management experience is critical. The position will function independently, supervising study staff, managing a wide range of activities, and identifying when issues need to be escalated to the center director, core director or study PI for input. Engagement with culturally and otherwise diverse clinics, patients, and families is a focus of the centers with the goal of engaging marginalized outpatient medical staff, providers, leadership, patients and families in the co-design of suicide care interventions and then to engage marginalized patients and families in the research studies evaluating these interventions. Study assessments will be translated and study interventions will be coordinated with interpreter services to engage participants speaking the top three non-English languages spoken in Seattle – Spanish, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese. To achieve these ends, the position is responsible for interfacing with numerous PIs, faculty members and staff across the SCRC and CSPAR centers to ensure overall goals are met and deliverables are on track.

Position Dimensions and Impact to the University:
Position will have responsibility for establishing and maintaining positive and effective relationships with a wide range of collaborators, colleagues, funders, faculty, staff, community partners and research subjects. Position will play a critical role in assisting with the development of proposals for sponsored research. Position will represent the university in diverse settings, including national meetings, and will influence the perception of the university to community partners, funders and collaborators. Through clinical elements of the position, this position plays a critical role in the ongoing implementation and oversight of clinical trials.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Research Operations Management (35%)

Identify and plan for project timelines, milestones, deliverables across the research and training activities of SCRC and CSPAR, organize center staff and faculty to achieve them, and provide periodic status reports to PI and other key personnel re: progress and strategies to address obstacles.

Serve as liaison between the SCRC/CSPAR leadership, study investigators across SCRC and CSPAR, the research staff teams, center trainees, SCRC cores and advisory boards, UW Medicine/Seattle Childrens/community partners, research partners and funding agencies.

Assist with obtaining NDAs, MOUs, DUAs, MTAs and other contractual agreements.

Clinical Trials Management (25%)

Collaborate with study principal investigators to implement procedures, protocols, designs, methods, tools, materials, etc. for NIMH funded SCRC and multiple concurrent clinical research trials using Good Clinical Practice guidelines.

Identify problems, propose solutions, and implement those solutions following consultation with the PI.

Ensure ongoing compliance by CSPAR and SCRC staff and trainees with all rules regulations regarding the conduct of research.

Ensure the audit readiness and ensure files are maintained and stored in a manner & timeframe that meets regulatory requirements.

Supervise space allocation, equipment procurement, and software availability & licensing.

Ensure data quality, storage, and reporting are as agreed or collaborate with director to resolve issues.

Budget management (15%)

Monitor research budgets to ensure expenditures are allowable and allocable.

Coordinate with the budget manager (who will have primary responsibility for establishing, monitoring, and managing the budgets) to create and maintain spending projections to ensure that research activities will be completed on time and within funding provided.

Proactively identify budget issues, develop resolution plan with PI and implement plans.

Coordinate dissemination of CSPAR & SCRC knowledge and products (15%)

Ensure the SCRC and CSPAR websites are complete, correct, and up-to-date including contracting.

Manage staff working on websites as well as contracts with websites developers to assure complete, accurate and ontime work.

Assure the training schedule for SCRC and CSPAR clinical and research trainings and events are on schedule and on budget including managing the timelines and assuring approval for continuing education.

Research Study Design and Reporting (10%)

Participate in developing research designs, data collection methods, and strategies for data management.

Participate in writing research grant proposals, including independently writing sections as assigned by the PI.

Participate in the analysis, interpretation and reporting of study findings in diverse settings/formats, including posters, presentations and publications.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Recruit, train, and manage SCRC or CSPAR staff or coordinate with the director or research staff to do so (5+ FTE).

Recruit, train, and manage psychology undergraduate students (1-3 per quarter) working for credit (Psych 499) in the lab or coordinate with research staff to do so.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Master’s Degree in Psychology, Public Health, Social Work or similar research-related field.

One year work related experience.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Demonstrated ability to develop project plans/schedules and motivate team to meet deadlines.

Significant project management experience or progressively responsible experience in a related position including regulatory and compliance responsibilities.

Exceptional analytical skills to evaluate the importance and urgency of problems and to develop potential solutions- Excellent demonstrated interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.

Demonstrated ability to analyze complex and non-routine issues requiring innovative solutions.

Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a dynamic organizational and technological environment.

Demonstrated ability to interpret and apply complex policies and regulations.

Demonstrated financial analysis skills, including preparing and presenting financial and quantitative analyses, financial projections and budgets.

Experience with tracking database software, such as MS Access, REDCap, SQL, MS Excel and similar.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience in health care organizations.

Experience in or demonstrated commitment to suicide prevention - Experience in behavioral health settings or with behavioral health assessment and interventions.

In-depth knowledge of clinical research contracts and grants, clinical trials, protocols, FDA regulations, and post-award compliance with federal funding.

Clinical trial management expertise including managing a team using Good Clinical Practice guidelines.

Demonstrated ability to develop recruitment strategies in complex environments with diverse subject pools, independently identifying recruitment leads, implementing new strategies, and continually adjusting strategies to meet current recruitment goals.

Application Process: The application process may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment, you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.