Career Center

The University of Washington (UW) is proud to be one of the nation’s premier educational and research institutions. Our people are the most important asset in our pursuit of achieving excellence in education, research, and community service. Our staff not only enjoys outstanding benefits and professional growth opportunities, but also an environment noted for diversity, community involvement, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.

At the University of Washington, diversity is integral to excellence. We value and honor diverse experiences and perspectives, strive to create welcoming and respectful learning environments, and promote access, opportunity and justice for all.

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 temporary 50% FTE Research Coordinator.

Position Purpose:
Maintains study protocols (e.g., IRB, standard operating procedures) and organizes systems for tracking study research operations.  Completes day-to-day research tasks, including supporting the recruitment of participants from medical settings, communicating with members of the research team, clinicians, and research partners.  Tracks the progress of each research participant in a clinical trial with up to 30 participants. Completes data analytic tasks as needed, including obtaining quantitative measures and qualitative data from research interviews.  Reviews literature by searching for publications and summarizing articles.  Completes tasks and tracks their own progress independently, with daily email check-ins and weekly meetings with the faculty supervisor.

Position Complexities:
The research coordinator requires a strong ability to work independently, including by tracking and completing all necessary operations for running an established research study independently, with weekly consultation from the principal investigator. Must be able to independently identify and troubleshoot through clinical and research challenges that arise when working with patients with complex psychiatric problems. Must be able to communicate with patients who have complex psychiatric problems.

Position Dimensions and Impact to the University:
This position will oversee the successful completion of a grant-funded research project that will provide scientific and clinical benefits to UW and the field of Psychiatry in general.  The work will support research conducted through UW Medicine.

Responsibilities:
- 50% completing day-to-day research operations, including: developing protocols and maintaining an organized system for tracking study research operations; completing day-to-day research tasks including participant recruitment, data collection, data entry, data cleaning, and tracking the progress of all research participants; independently tracking all research tasks to ensure completion of tasks with strict deadlines; weekly meetings with faculty supervisor to provide progress updates and troubleshoot problems; daily communication with faculty supervisor; weekly participation in seminars and meetings with other research collaborators.
- 15% helping the PI design phases of the research project to ensure participants remain engaged.
- 10% helping the PI design study methodology including methods that improve recruitment.
- 10% helping the PI identify and define research problems that may arise during the project.
- 10% analyzing results including weekly recruitment rates.
- 5% presenting research in publishable form (e.g., searching for and summarizing research articles).

Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of two years of related work experience.  Must have experience coordinating at least one other research project involving human participants in health-related research.  Must have skills, knowledge, and experience necessary for completing clinical research studies efficiently, on time, and with high quality. Excellent communication skills verbally and in writing, including cross-cultural communication. Must be self-directed and have excellent project management and organizational skills. Must be able to work independently for the majority of their time (will often work at a different site from the faculty supervisor, and will report to supervisor weekly via in-person or Zoom meetings and will communicate daily with supervisor via email).  Must have excellent computer skills, including Adobe, Excel, OneDrive, Outlook (email and calendar), PowerPoint, Word, and Zoom. Ability to communicate professionally with other research staff and faculty and with patients who often have significant psychiatric issues. Excellent judgment and ability to analyze and respond to complex and non-routine issues that require innovative solutions

Desired Qualifications:
Master’s degree in related field. Fluency in analysis and coding with statistical software packages (e.g., R). Experience with REDCap databases. Interest and experience working in mental health and addictions research or clinical settings. Experience writing and revising IRB applications.  Experience publishing research findings

Application Process:
The application process for UW positions 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.