Research Associate I - Health Sciences Research Project - Chicago Loop Hybrid Office

National Opinion Research Center - NORC; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 50,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental and vision insurance

Retirement plan (403(b))

Paid time off

Parental leave

Tuition assistance

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Job summary

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a Research Associate I within the Health Sciences Research Department to support diverse research projects. The role involves design, data collection, study management systems testing, and developing training materials.

It requires collaboration with a range of team members and occasional travel for site visits. The position is hybrid, based in the Chicago Loop or Washington, DC office, with a minimum of six in-office days per month.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a social science-related field is required.
• Experience or coursework in qualitative and/or quantitative methods is required.
• Strong writing, analytic, and organizational skills are essential.
• Experience with standard statistical software is beneficial (R, Python).
• Ability to work in a hybrid setting and travel for site visits as needed.

Responsibilities

• Provide general support to research projects and tasks in design, data collection, and analysis.
• Assist with training materials, user guides, and documentation for systems.
• Maintain project documentation, track deliverables and deadlines.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and translate processes into clear content.
• Support proposals, meeting notes, and summaries; conduct background literature reviews.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Critical thinking

Analytical ability

Written communication

Independent and collaborative work

Proficiency with Microsoft 365 (Teams,

Education

Bachelor's degree in health policy, public health, public administration, sociology, or related field

Tools

R

Python

Absorb/Articulate

Job description

JOB SUMMARY:

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a Research Associate I to join the Health Sciences Research Department. This Research Associate I will be responsible for providing general support to research projects. Research Associates are responsible for project support and completing tasks related to research design, data collection, study management systems design and testing, monitoring, cleaning, analysis and delivery; assisting Task Leads and/or the Project Manager in keeping tasks on track; developing instruments for quantitative and/or qualitative data collection; planning and conducting a wide range of data collection activities; and contributing to the preparation of trainings, proposals, reports, and presentations.

The role will be supporting a large-scale, long-term NIH funded research initiative designed to advance precision medicine by building one of the most comprehensive and diverse health databases in the United States. The initiative aims to collect multiple types of health information on participants, including electronic health records, surveys, genomic data, physical measurements, biospecimens, environmental information, and data from wearable technologies. NORC supports rigorous data collection methods through systems development and participant and partner support for this initiative.

Location: This is a hybrid role based in our Chicago Loop or Washington, DC, office, with a minimum of six days per month in the office.

Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future.

DEPARTMENT:

NORC's Health Sciences staff produce rich data on health care priorities including the use of innovative survey methods, the use of electronic clinical data in research, and the applications and effectiveness of health information technology.

NORC's Health Sciences staff work closely with colleagues across the organization to offer program, policy, and research solutions. Our work is guided by a commitment to long-lasting partnerships, transparency, and high-quality, nonpartisan research that improves health and health care for all people.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Project responsibilities

• Support activities through documentation and administrative coordination.
• Taking supporting role on key tasks related to research design, data collection and analysis while helping the Project Manager keep tasks on track
• Maintain project documentation, processes, and data-related records.
• Track deliverables, deadlines, and action items.
• Collaborate with technical and non-technical team members.
• Develop training materials for internal users of technical systems.
• Create user guides, job aids, and other instructional resources.
• Translate technical processes into clear, easy-to-understand content.
• Maintain and update training documentation as systems and processes evolve.
• Track attendance, completion rates, and training records using learning management systems (LMS).
• Leverage AI tools to enhance training materials, improving learner engagement, readability, and accessibility.
• Conduct background research including literature reviews, environmental scans, draft memos, summaries, and sections of reports under direction of more senior staff
• Serve as a liaison with other departments (e.g., TSSO, Statistics, IT, etc.) to execute project plans.

Additional duties

• Provide general support on proposals and projects related to health research.
• Takes meeting notes and prepares meeting summaries.
• Supports proposal development efforts through coordination of document preparation and reproduction.

REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Bachelor's degree in health policy, public health, public administration, sociology, or other social science-related field.
• 6 months of research experience (internships included) in social sciences with qualitative and/or quantitative methods and analysis required.
• Outstanding interpersonal, critical reasoning, analytic, and writing skills.
• Strong problem-solving capabilities.
• Demonstrated attentiveness to detailed tasks, strong organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to meet multiple requirements simultaneously, and to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft 365 applications, including MS Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive.
• Experience conducting analysis using standard statistical software packages (e.g., R, Python) is beneficial.
• Experience with Absorb/Articulate is beneficial.
• Occasional travel for site visits and meetings may be required.
• This is a hybrid role based in our Chicago Loop or Washington, DC office, with a minimum of six days per month in the office.
• Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

The pay range for this position is $56,000.

This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC's comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
• Dental and vision insurance
• A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
• Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
• Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

NORC is committed to equity and transparency in its pay practices. We publish salary ranges and benefit information for every job. The listed hiring range reflects what we, in good faith, expect to pay at the time of posting, though actual compensation may vary and may be adjusted over time. A candidate's placement within the range depends on factors such as competencies, education, qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and organizational needs.

WHAT WE DO:

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

WHO WE ARE:

For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we're known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the work their work is making on a global scale.

EEO STATEMENT:

NORC is an equal opportunity employer. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, and other legally protected characteristics.