Research Coordinator

RESEARCH COORDINATOR

ABOUT LPHI

The Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) is a statewide, non-profit organization that has been promoting the health and well-being of Louisianians since 1997. Our 100+ employees work alongside 500+ partner organizations at the local, state, and national levels to leverage our broad expertise in public health to achieve our mission of ensuring that everyone has fair and just opportunities to be healthy and well. 

Our strategic plan priority areas include Racial Justice and Health Equity, Partnerships and Collaboration, A Healthier Louisiana, and A Thriving Organization. To learn more, visit lphi.org.

Why is this a great job? (From the hiring manager) This position provides the opportunity to apply a variety of administrative, analytical, methodological, writing skills to support research activities with local and national partners through the REACHnet Clinical Research Network.  REACHnet is a partnership of health systems, academic centers, and public health organizations that constitute an innovative network for conducting efficient, multi-site research. Our mission is to enable research that addresses healthcare questions that are important to patients and clinicians- and for research findings to inform more effective healthcare decision-making and improve population health. The Research Coordinator will support the team’s analysts and researchers in conducting research, surveillance, and quality improvement initiatives. The Research Coordinator can expand and implement their skills related to project management, research conduct, and data analysis. 

POSITION DETAILS

Job Title: Research Coordinator
Salary: $50,000 - $59,800

• Salary is based on various factors unique to each candidate, including skill set, experience, qualifications, and other job-related reasons.

Work Schedule: 40-hour work week

• LPHI offers traditional (M-F, 8 am-5 pm), flexible (for example, M-F 10 am-7pm), and compressed work schedules (for example, M-Th 8 am-7 pm). Schedule details finalized between employee and manager. 

Location: This is a Louisiana-based, hybrid position with occasional (<10%) travel required

• LPHI maintains an office in New Orleans if the employee prefers to be 100% in-office
• Preferable for the employee to reside in the Greater New Orleans Area during the time of employment.

Team: Health Services Research (HSR)

Reports To: Analyst III

Supervises: Not applicable

Primary Relationships: The Research Coordinator will primarily work with the Health Services Research (HSR) team’s senior-level analysts and external partners to support daily analyst operations and projects. The coordinator will also work closely with HSR project managers, and occasionally support direct requests from LPHI’s Associate Director of Informatics and Chief Data & Strategy Officer.

Benefits: 

•  LPHI contributes 7% of pre-tax salary to employee 401k per pay period regardless of employee contribution, after six continuous months of employment
• 100% paid premiums for employee health (Core plan), dental, long- and short-term disability, term life insurance beginning on the first day of the month following full-time employment
• 100% paid Employee Assistance Program
• 100% paid parking at 601 Tchoupitoulas Parking Garage
• Traditional, flexible, or compressed work schedules
• Resources committed to professional development
• Holidays, Vacation and Sick Days:
  • 15+ paid holidays per year that includes Thanksgiving Break and Winter Break 10 vacation days accrued per year, years 0-2
    • 15 vacation days accrued per year, years 3-5
    • 20 vacation days accrued per year, year 6+ 
  • 3 personal days
  • 1 floating holiday (employee’s choice)
  • 12 sick days

*Benefits are subject to change

Funding Source: 100% HSR

ABOUT THE POSITION

The successful candidate will thrive in a team environment, can proactively anticipate, and manage challenges, be a self-starter with strong abilities to manage multiple responsibilities and prioritize appropriately. Day-to-day responsibilities may include managing schedules and meetings, taking meeting minutes, identifying, and prioritizing items for attention, documentation management, and program activity coordination. 

LPHI’s Health Services Research portfolio works with health systems, academic institutions, health plans, and community partners to operate the Research Action for Health Network (REACHnet), one of 8 Clinical Research Networks (CRNs) nationwide in PCORnet®. REACHnet has partner health systems in Louisiana, Texas, and California. The REACHnet Coordinating Center at LPHI maintains a data infrastructure for these health systems which includes electronic health records for more than 10 million patients standardized to the PCORnet Common Data Model. REACHnet improves the efficiency of multi-site research through its innovative health informatics, governance and regulatory, and partner engagement infrastructures. The Health Services Research portfolio also implements numerous multi-site research initiatives with local and national partners, including interventional trials, observational studies, public health surveillance, and community engagement projects.

The Research Coordinator is responsible for supporting research, surveillance, and quality improvement initiatives for REACHnet by performing scientific and project coordination functions. Integral to this role will be conducting literature reviews, supporting query work, and meeting coordination. This position provides the opportunity to apply a variety of analytical, methodological, writing, and management skills to support research activities. The successful applicant will collaborate with LPHI staff and local and national partners in the conduct of research and surveillance projects leveraging clinical health data, including state and national chronic disease surveillance, health services research, quality improvement, and projects connecting clinical and social data.

LPHI is headquartered in New Orleans, with employees based throughout the state. This position is New Orleans-based (office/remote hybrid).

Primary Duties and Responsibilities 

Support Operations of REACHnet Coordinating Center 

• Coordinate meetings with REACHnet data partners, including scheduling, agenda dissemination, minutes, and follow up about action items.
• Support facilitation of internal HSR Analyst meetings, including scheduling, minutes, and follow up with teammates about action items. 
• Promote continuous improvement by proposing, developing, and implementing efficiencies to enhance processes.
• Support REACHnet team and external partners with coordination and tracking of IRB protocols related to the REACHnet data infrastructure.
• Support Data Quality Analyst in working with data partners to enhance the PCORnet Common Data Model by developing and maintaining standardized project plans, assisting with the build and review of data quality reports and synthesizing information for dissemination to internal and external teams.
• Engage in professional development activities to improve job-related skills and knowledge.

Support Implementation of Health Services Research projects

• Anticipate project support needs, potential roadblocks, and proactively collaborate with team members to ensure tasks are completed.
• Contribute to dissemination products such as final reports, briefs, manuscripts, website content, and presentations, including but not limited to: writing, formatting, citation management, creation of tables and figures, data visualizations.
• Conduct literature reviews and develop background and significance narratives for research and/or surveillance initiatives.
• Assist with tasks to fulfill regulatory requirements for research projects, including writing study protocols, completing and submitting IRB documentation, and ensuring compliance with protocol.
• Track projects’ activities and progress and fulfill reporting requirements for milestones and deliverables to partners and/or funders.
• Lead coordination activities and support for specific studies and projects, including:
  • Updating project plans, and other project tools.
  • Developing communications materials, including e-mails to partners, website updates, information briefs, and more.
  • Scheduling and facilitating meetings.
  • Support document management efforts by creating document library and file layout. Ensure version control of project and team documents.
• Effectively work with various teammates on multiple projects simultaneously.

Analytical Support for REACHnet and HSR Projects

• Support HSR analyst team in developing analytical queries to facilitate population health research by preparing, organizing, and maintaining clinical code lists for common diseases and conditions.
• Maintain licenses for coding libraries.
• Access and organize data from publicly available data systems (e.g., Census data).
• Execute distributed queries on clinical data, review results, troubleshoot errors and/or data quality issues.
• With direction from the HSR Data Quality Lead, investigate data quality issues in clinical data and collaborate with partners to identify and implement feasible solutions.
• Create and present data visualizations using Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and other formats that are understandable by non-technical audiences and/or appropriately tailored for specific audiences.

Proposal and partnership development

• Support development of proposals and applications for funding opportunities in research, surveillance, and/or partner engagement projects
• Contribute to the building and maintaining of relationships with external partners 

ABOUT YOU

Position Qualifications

Required

• A bachelor's degree in either Public Health, Social Sciences, Health Sciences, or a related field.
• At least one year of professional experience in a relevant area, which may include internships or equivalent practical training.
• Experience working on a research team/project.
• Proficiency in using Microsoft Office products (e.g. Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills with experience working with individuals and groups of diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to think proactively, be a self-starter, and function both independently and as a team. 
• Basic knowledge of research concepts, including epidemiological study designs, sampling and data collection approaches, analytical methods, and partner engagement.
• Familiarity or limited experience with SAS, R, and/or Python.

Preferred

• Experience working in partnership with community partners, health systems, and/or academic institutions.
• Familiarity with electronic health record and/or claims data.
• Familiarity with the concept of relational databases.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities 

• Strong organizational skills required.
• Ability to collaborate effectively and build strong, positive relationships with colleagues and partners, both internal and external to LPHI.
• Exceptional emotional intelligence, including interpersonal skills and experience working with individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to multiple complex projects simultaneously.
• Ability to organize, manage, and summarize data using spreadsheets (i.e., Excel).
• Ability to think proactively and function independently and must be able to work well in a team.
• Ability to maintain a highly detail-oriented approach while maintaining an appreciation of the long-term goals and objectives of the project.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver with excellent quality and impact.
• Ability to apply systems thinking and act strategically.
• Ability to model and inspire authentic leadership. 
• Commitment to public health and achieving health equity.
• Editing and revision skills.
• Proven and excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to utilize virtual meeting platforms, including but not limited to Microsoft Teams and Zoom to participate and coordinate meetings and activities in a virtual environment.
• Exercise good judgment with respect to priorities and effective use of the team’s time.
• Demonstrated learning orientation; ability to learn new subject areas quickly.
• Ability to champion and manage change.

Physical and Mental Requirements:

• Ability to remain in a stationary position for extended periods (sitting or standing). 
• Ability to operate a keyboard with repetitive motion. 
• Ability to operate a computer and other office equipment.
• Ability to communicate effectively with external and internal team members. 

Working Conditions:

• This position is based in an office or home office setting.
• Occasional travel may be required for training or meetings.
• Usual workday hours or flexible schedules can be considered. 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Statement: Louisiana Public Health Institute is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at HumanResources@lphi.org. 

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement: Louisiana Public Health Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race (including hair texture and natural hair styles), color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and religious grooming practices), sex (including pregnancy, perceived pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity (including transgender identity, status and transitioning), gender expression and sex stereotyping, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, legally protected medical condition or information (including genetic information), family care or medical leave status, military caregiver status, military status, veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, enrollment in a public assistance program, engaging in protected communications regarding employee wages, requesting a reasonable accommodation on the basis of disability or bona fide religious belief or practice, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any of these factors.

*As with all positions at LPHI, this position is funded through grant and/or contract funding, which is renewed under the provisions of the grantor of the contract. Positions are contingent upon the continuation of grant/contract funding.