Community Health Research Program Manager

UW School of Medicine and Public Health; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 74,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Office of Community Health within the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health seeks an experienced Research Program Manager to lead a diverse portfolio of community-centered health initiatives across Wisconsin.

The role provides strategic oversight of multiple projects and funding sources, ensuring timelines, budgets, and stakeholder expectations are met.

Qualifications

• Experience in community engaged research/outreach within public health
• Experience supervising program staff in health projects
• Experience collaborating with team members, collaborators, and community stakeholders
• Experience with complex funding portfolios and budget management

Responsibilities

• Develops policies, procedures, and institutional agreements on behalf of the program.
• Plans and directs the day-to-day operational activities of one or multiple research programs or units according to established objectives.
• Serves as a unit liaison and subject matter expert among internal and external stakeholder groups, collaborates across disciplines and functional areas, promotes the accomplishments and developments of scholars and research initiatives.
• Exercises supervisory authority for at least 2.0 FTE employees.
• Assists in the development, coordination, and facilitation of trainings and workshops for internal and external audiences to disseminate research program developments and information.
• Plans, develops, and implements processes and protocols to support research aims.
• Monitors program budgets and approves unit expenditures

Skills

Project management

Attention to detail

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Current Employees

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Job Category

Academic Staff

Employment Type

Regular

Job Profile

Research Program Manager

Job Summary

The Office of Community Health within the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health seeks an experienced Research Program Manager to lead and coordinate a diverse portfolio of community-centered health initiatives that advance health and well-being across Wisconsin, as well as play a key role in building up DFMCH’s community engaged research profile. Working closely with faculty, staff, community partners, and healthcare providers, this role will provide strategic oversight of multiple interconnected projects and funding sources, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, timelines, budgets, and stakeholder expectations are all met. The ideal candidate is a collaborative leader with strong research program management, communication, and relationship-building skills, who can effectively navigate complex environments, manage competing priorities, leverage data to inform decision-making, and foster partnerships that support meaningful community impact to the benefit of the communities we serve.

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.

This position has been identified as a position of trust with access to vulnerable populations. The selected candidate will be required to pass an initial caregiver check to be eligible for employment under the Wisconsin Caregiver Law and every four years.

Candidates who demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities will be given first consideration

• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects (within an overall program)
• Ability to consistently maintain a high level of attention to detail and demonstrate organizational skills
• Ability to communicate effectively (verbal and written) with a keen sense of responsive, professional business communication

Key Job Responsibilities

• Develops policies, procedures, and institutional agreements on behalf of the program - 5%
• Plans and directs the day-to-day operational activities of one or multiple research programs or units according to established research objectives in alignment with strategic plans and initiatives - 30%
• Serves as a unit liaison and subject matter expert among internal and external stakeholder groups, collaborates across disciplines and functional areas, provides program information, and promotes the accomplishments and developments of scholars and research initiatives - 10%
• Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employee - 20%
• Assists in the development, coordination, and facilitation of trainings and workshops for internal and external audiences to disseminate research program developments and information - 10%
• Plans, develops, and implements processes and protocols to support research aims - 10%
• Monitors program budget(s) and approves unit expenditures - 15%

Department

School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Office of Family Medicine and Community Health

The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) at the University of Wisconsin is a leading clinical department within the School of Medicine and Public Health. DFMCH is dedicated to advancing patient care, education, and research. Our 18 clinics provide primary care to more than 170,000 patients, yielding over 375,000 patient visits annually. Each year, we train more than 160 residents (at sponsored and academic partner sites) and 300 medical students. Learn more: https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/.

Compensation

The starting salary for the position is $82,000 annually but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. For more information, refer to the campus benefits webpage and SMPH Faculty /Academic Staff Benefits Flyer 2026.

Required Qualifications

• Experience in community engaged research and/or outreach within public/community health
• Experience in supervising program staff in health projects
• Experience collaborating with team members, collaborators, and community stakeholders
• Experience with complex funding portfolios and budget management

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in higher education, research, government, healthcare, or other complex shared governance environments
• Experience in supervising staff in health projects
• Experience in overseeing multiple portfolios including sponsored projects from federal and foundational partners
• Experience in working with diverse communities to improve community health
• Experience in working with healthcare professionals to improve patient outcomes through community partnerships

Education

Bachelors Degree preferred

Contact Information

Karl Wichman, [e-mail], 608-263-4532

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Institutional Statement on Diversity

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

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