Portfolio Director, Health Lab at University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois

Job Description:

Department
UL Urban Health Lab

About the Department
The Health Lab's mission is to partner with civic and community leaders to identify, rigorously evaluate and help scale programs and policies that improve health outcomes, particularly for low-income and disadvantaged urban residents. To accomplish our mission, we seek to identify and engage vulnerable people so they can access services and opportunities that will improve their safety, health and vitality. We work closely with partners, including persons with lived experiences, to learn directly from them about their challenges. We evaluate interventions that seek to address these challenges. We advise our partners using data-driven results. We are deeply committed to understanding the impacts of policies, programs and interventions. Like the needs of those we seek to serve, our partnerships are vast. While these partners represent many communities and community-based organizations, they also include medical and social service providers, emergency service providers, members of the corrections, policing and other law enforcement communities. We believe that two key obstacles prevent cities from mobilizing and coordinating their rich resources across sectors. First, cities lack evidence about the multi-sector impact of their efforts. Second, cities lack coordination mechanisms and incentives to collaborate across sectors. The Health Lab dedicates our work and our resources to these two issues. Our primary goal is to generate high-quality evidence about interventions that can sustainably improve urban health and be widely scaled. The Portfolio: The University of Chicago Health Lab is partnering with the City of Chicago, local service providers, and advocacy organizations, to launch the Chicago Integrated Response (CIR) project, which aims to improve emergency response services to individuals and families in behavioral health crises. Through a mixed-method approach we hope to (1) better understand how Chicago's emergency response systems interact with and serve individuals in behavioral health crises, (2) identify challenges to emergency responders, and (3) to recommend feasible processes and interventions to improve mental health services and first-response. These findings will complement the development of a predictive tool to help dispatchers more efficiently identify 911 calls with a mental health component. Though the initial project will be focused on Chicago, our aim is that this work could provide a model and evidence that could bring impact not only in Chicago but also in other cities struggling to better serve vulnerable populations, and create safer neighborhoods. In turn, the Labs are focused on building a transparent model to share with other communities and cities that are grappling with similar problems.

Job Summary
The job uses best practices and knowledge of non-technical (not information technology or construction related) projects from conception to completion. Assembles teams and develops detailed work plans, schedules, project estimates, resource plans, and status reports while being the point of contact for those projects.

Responsibilities
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Organize and execute a work plan for the portfolio that sets intermediate deadlines and identifies key milestones and critical interdependencies between workstreams.
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Develop and manage Institutional Review Board protocols and data sharing agreements with various partners.
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Manage the various grants that fund the projects (both federal and philanthropic), including monitoring the budget, writing and submitting grant reports, managing key stakeholder relationships when asked, ensuring compliance with data sharing agreements and legal requirements of the grant.
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Contribute to, and be able to lead, the development of scientific content and research proposals. Work with the Senior Research Analysts and Principal Investigator to produce high quality deliverables.
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Ensure that all portfolio milestones are achieved, including writing and submitting grant reports.
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Manage up to 2-3 project staff, including part-time interns.
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Support special projects and initiatives that help grow the consciousness of research staff on emergency response-related topics such as Lunch'N'Learns, documentary screenings, partner roundtables, etc.
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When needed, support the Executive Director and other leadership in building strategic partnerships and spearhead special projects and initiatives with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and community organizations.
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Is responsible for tracking progress, conducting analysis, as well as preparing for and facilitating project meetings.
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Acts as a resource for a project team and provides analytical guidance. Interprets complex project issues and provides analytical guidance to a project team.
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Coordinates the successful integration of vendor tasks and tracks and reviews vendor deliverables.
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Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
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Work Experience:Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.
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Certifications:
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Preferred Qualifications:

Education:
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Bachelor's degree in public policy, social sciences, business, statistics or a closely related field
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A master's degree or PhD.

Experience:
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Knowledge of the emergency response ecosystem in Chicago or another major city is .
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A minimum of ten years of full-time work experience in a professional setting, including at least three years of experiencing managing full-time employees. A combination of education and experience will be considered.
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Strong project management skills including demonstrated success navigating various stakeholder interests to produce a common goal. Knowledge of or experience working with high needs or vulnerable populations.
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Previous experience managing a quantitative research study and managing a federal research grant.
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Demonstrated ability to manage a large portfolio of projects with multiple partners.

Preferred Competencies
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Outstanding interpersonal skills and the ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with a broad array of partners.
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Expertise in all aspects of the research design, methods, and evaluation of research projects in the area of health policy or expertise in advanced statistics/machine learning/predictive analytics required. Expertise in both.
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Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment. Demonstrated ability to self-manage, work well within a team, and manage across levels and units.
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Being a self-starter and taking the initiative to move projects forward.
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Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex ideas in a simple and straightforward way.
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Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment.
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Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
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Understanding of research; ability to effectively communicate research and mixed-methods approaches to both technical partners and non-technical audiences.
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Knowledge of urban policy, social policy, health policy, and crime policy.

Application Documents
- Resume (required)
- Cover Letter (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUSTbe uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Resume/CV of the application.

Job Family
Administration & Management

Role Impact
Individual Contributor

FLSA Status
Exempt

Pay Frequency
Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours
37.5

Benefits Eligible
Yes

Drug Test Required
No

Health Screen Required
No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
No

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age,