Research Engagement Specialist, DiRECT

JOB CLASSIFICATION: Health Project Coordinator
DEPT/DIVISION: Surgery/Cancer Control
Job ID: 229400
Apply Online: https://www.rochester.edu/human-resources/careers/

Summary:
Under the direction of the Chair of Health Equity Research and principal investigators, with latitude for independent judgement, the Research Engagement Specialist serves as senior professional creating and directing processes and strategies for engaging human subjects in research. This position will support all research investigators working with the University of Rochester National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Research Base. The individual in this position will: develop individualized recruitment and retention plans for NCORP research projects, monitor project accrual numbers, work with NCORP sites to troubleshoot recruitment, implement recruitment marketing campaigns, and develop recruitment and training materials. They will coordinate and maintain a high level of communication between NCORP investigators, NCORP Research Base staff, and NCORP site staff to ensure that project deliverables are met. They will lead reporting and dissemination of findings from recruitment initiatives; prepare reports and other products including manuscripts, abstracts and posters for academic/scholarly outlets; and interface with other NCORP Research Bases to promote best practices for recruitment.
Responsibilities:
Monitor recruitment data from multisite clinical research projects 30%
• Working alongside the NCORP Information Technology team, develop and manage a platform for assessing recruitment data from national trials
• Provide investigators across national sites, as well as within the Research Base, with up-to-date reports about recruitment to their trials
• Develop new processes to identify trials that are not meeting recruitment goals, as well as national sites that are not meeting recruitment goals, and alert investigators about performance
• Learn and maintain working knowledge of software for the purpose of monitoring recruitment, including Microsoft Excel, Access, REDCap, SAS, SPSS, and web development software
• Working alongside the NCORP Biostatistics team, develop, create, and analyze ad hoc reports of recruitment data for scientific publication and presentation; review and evaluate recruitment data for statistical analysis; and work with Biostatistics team to resolve any discrepancies or problems
• Attend and present updates at weekly study management team meetings
Develop and troubleshoot recruitment plans for multisite clinical projects 30%
• Working alongside principal investigators, develop tailored recruitment plans for active studies
• Working alongside staff at national sites, develop recruitment plans for active studies that are tailored to each site, as appropriate
• Develop tailored recruitment plans for specific minority and underserved communities and ensure diverse samples are recruited to active studies
• Train and develop research staff at national sites on recruitment plans, including best practices for approaching patients and for working with minority and underserved patients
• Develop processes to identify recruitment plans in need of further tailoring and adjustment during the conduct of a research study
• Interface with community-based resources (e.g., the UR Community Cancer Action Council) to review and adapt recruitment plans in response to community feedback
• Provide consultation support to investigators writing grants on recruitment and retention plans
Develop recruitment materials for studies 20%
• Support principal investigators in developing tailored recruitment materials for studies, e.g., pamphlets, flyers, tearaways, videos, Facebook and other social media posts
• Manage and oversee shipment of recruitment materials to national sites, monitor use of recruitment materials by national sites, troubleshoot issues as needed
• Manage social media recruitment materials, monitor use of social media posts, and identify new venues to use for recruitment. Ensure collaboration with institutional marketing departments to ensure consistency
• Interface with community-based resources (e.g., the UR Community Cancer Action Council) to review and adapt recruitment materials in response to community feedback
Maintain ClinicalTrials.gov and other website postings for studies 10%
• Support principal investigators and the Biostatistics team in managing ClinicalTrials.gov study postings, as well as posting about studies to other websites (e.g., ResearchMatch.org)
• Review requested changes to posts, convey feedback to investigators and study coordinators, help to make necessary changes, and prepare final postings for approval
• Monitor posts for needed updates
• Working alongside the Biostatistics team, post final results of studies onto the websites as needed
• Design and develop individual and group training for coordinators and other website users; update training materials; and provide operational support to other website users
Other: 10%
• Collaborate with other key individuals and groups involved with recruitment and retention activities, including the Center for Community Health, the CTSI Research Help Desk, Research Privacy Officer and eRecord Research Steering Committee, Patient Engagement Advisory Committee, Office of Clinical Research and the Health Literacy Integration Committee
• Participate in monthly Health Research Recruitment Advisory committee meetings and monthly Recruitment Innovation Meetings
• Serve as site auditor, primarily reviewing selected patient cases to ensure compliance with protocol; assist Lead Auditor in compiling information gathered during the audit for the final report to the NCI
• Provide coordinator support and backup for studies assigned to other Research Base coordinators as needed
• Perform other duties and projects as assigned

Requirements:
• Position requires a Bachelor's degree in health or social science field and at least 3 years of clinical trials experience or a combination of education and experience.
• Knowledge of computer databases, spreadsheets and statistics
• Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and communication skills, including writing skills.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and project management skills.
• Ability to work both independently and within a collaborative team.
• Knowledge of computer databases, word processing, spreadsheets and graphics packages are important.
The University of Rochester is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion. The University believes that a diverse workforce and inclusive workplace culture enhances the performance of our organization and our ability to fulfill our important missions. The University is committed to fostering and supporting a workplace culture inclusive of people regardless of their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, marital status, age, physical abilities, political affiliation, religious beliefs or any other non-merit fact, so that all employees feel included, equal valued and supported.

EOE Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Disabled