Specialist Series/Project Coordinator

Department of Psychology and Social Behavior
University of California, Irvine 

The Department of Psychology and Social Behavior at the University of California, Irvine invites applications for a non-tenure track appointment as a Research Specialist. (The position will be in the Specialist series with rank and step determined based on candidate's qualifications and experience.)  The position will be 100% time, starting as soon as possible.

The position is funded by a research project that seeks to identify a novel method of assessing psychiatric patients’ risk of harming themselves or becoming involved in violence after hospital discharge.  The goal is to improve clinical decision-making and thereby prevent self-harm and violence.  The project involves recruiting a sample of approximately 500 adult patients with co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders and interviewing them while they are hospitalized.  After they are discharged, they are located in the community and interviewed 10- and 20- weeks later, along with a friend or family member who knows them well.

 The candidate will serve as Project Coordinator, a pivotal member of the research team. The successful candidate must have experience in clinical assessment and/or treatment (psychology, social work, or related field) and in working directly with individuals with serious mental illness.  A PhD is preferred but not required.  The successful candidate must also have experience in research interviewing, data collection, and administration and organization.  Experience in coordinating research and supervising interviewers is preferred, but not required.  A flexible schedule (availability on some evenings and weekends) and access to reliable transportation (a car for community interviews) is required.  The successful candidate will commit to coordinating the project for its duration (up to four years).

The Project Coordinator’s responsibilities are both administrative and clinical.  First, he or she will directly supervise the research team and manage data from multiple hospitals.  Responsibilities include coordination of interviewers’ schedules, quality assurance of team interviews and scoring reliability, maintenance of tracking databases, management of IRB submissions, and assistance with preparation and submission of reports.  If desired, he/she will also prepare presentations and articles to help disseminate the findings.  Second, the Project Coordinator will be responsible for carrying his or her own caseload of patients.  Responsibilities include participant recruitment, interviews, and retention/tracking in the community.

Applicants should submit a letter of interest, a curriculum vitae, representative preprints/reprints, and names of 3 referees to Prof. Jennifer Skeem, Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, 4322 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway, University of California, Irvine, 92697-7085 or to skeem@uci.edu .  Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and a hire will be made as soon as possible.  To ensure consideration, application files must be complete by March 30, 2011.

The University of California, Irvine is an equal opportunity employer committed to excellence through diversity.