Research Program Specialist

University of Southern California; Los Angeles, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 56,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

The USC Schaeffer Institute invites applications for a Research Program Specialist to provide high-level administrative leadership for the USC Mann Department of Pharmaceutical & Health Economics. This role supports the Institute leadership team, its growing modeling research program, and student engagement, with a focus on processes, deadlines, and collaborative operations.

Reporting to the Director of Operations, the specialist helps shape priorities, coordinates complex schedules, manages

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in a related field.
• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience in administration or program support.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate administrative functions for the modeling research program and other initiatives.
• Assist program leadership with analysis, research, and presentations.
• Manage deadlines, grants, projects, and timelines to ensure milestones are met.
• Support reporting, budget tracking, grant submissions, and compliance processes.
• Coordinate and contribute to research studies and grant-related activities.
• Lead and support department operations, meetings, and events as needed.

Education

Bachelor’s degree

2 years of relevant experience

Job description

Position Description

The Schaeffer Institute is seeking a Research Program Specialist to provide high-level administrative leadership for the USC Mann Department of Pharmaceutical & Health Economics, and to take on new programmatic support for the Institute leadership team and its growing modeling research program. Working with established and up-and-coming scholars, the Research Program Specialist will develop and spearhead new procedures and processes to support an in-demand research team and their work with sophisticated data and modeling tools developed at the Institute. The Research Program Specialist will assist in program development and ensure that deadlines and milestones are met. The position will report to the Schaeffer Institute Director of Operations (in coordination with respective departmental leadership), who will help oversee the portfolio of work and ensure a collaborative and creative work environment across teams. The right candidate will contribute ideas, identify opportunities, and help shape priorities to ensure leadership and program success. This position offers a unique opportunity in the substantive work of a policy research center and an important academic department. The right candidate will have administrative expertise, high attention to detail, and enthusiasm for supporting a robust research agenda, faculty activities, and student engagement.

The Schaeffer Institute serves a varied group of internal and external constituents—including students, academics, executives, philanthropists, and leading policymakers and staffers—across the political spectrum. Demonstrated experience working with leading faculty and scholars to support research goals is a plus.

Research Program Leadership

• Coordinate administrative functions for the modeling research program and other research initiatives as directed by Schaeffer leadership, including acting as a point of contact, responding to requests and inquiries, and managing program content.
• Assist program leadership and key stakeholders with anaylsis, research, and presentations.
• Manage program deadlines; coordinating and tracking grants, projects, and timelines to ensure deliverables and milestones are met.
• Support reporting and proposal development, including budget tracking, grant submissions, and compliance processes.
• Coordinate and contribute to research studies, proposals, and grant-related research activities.
• Contribute to administrative leadership team meetings and support to Schaeffer academic and policy programming as time allows.

Department Leadership

• Oversee Department Chair’s administrative duties by managing calendars, coordinating meetings, preparing course materials, and assisting with day-to-day departmental operations for leading faculty.
• Organize departmental events, including conferences, seminars, special events and faculty meetings by managing logistics, vendor communications, facilities, catering, guest accommodations, and event execution.
• Collaborate with the USC Mann communications department to maintain and update the department website, ensuring accurate content, multimedia displays, and compliance with program policies.
• Execute two full-cycle faculty recruitment searches by arranging candidate travel, accommodations, campus itineraries, interview schedules, and job talks; contributing to the successful hiring of two junior faculty members.
• Lead academic program services and activities including course scheduling, student recruitment initiatives, student summer programs, graduate program’s brown bag series, prospective student visit days, and new student orientation.
• Support graduate students’ academic progress by coordinating dissertation defenses, including scheduling, room reservations, logistics, technology setup, and day-of-event coordination to ensure successful execution.
• Act as the liaison between graduate students and the GAO, facilitating effective communication and ensuring students receive accurate information and support throughout their time in the program.
• Manage department faculty, students, and Schaeffer Center member travel, travel reimbursements.
• Process journal publication fees, manuscript edits, and purchase research materials while ensuring compliance with university policies and procedures.

Minimum Education

Bachelor’s degree

Minimum Experience

2 years of relevant experience

Minimum Education: Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education

Minimum Experience: Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum experience

Minimum Field of Expertise

Related experience with specialized research and/or programs (e.g., counseling, teaching). Ability to analyze and evaluate data, and present findings. Excellent interpersonal and written and oral communication skills, able to problem solve and lead conflict resolutions. Ability to interpret and apply policies/analyses/trends.

Compensation

Commensurate with experience and qualifications.

The hourly rate range for this position is $40.95 - $46.28.

Position Type

Position is 100% FTE. Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time. Full time, fixed term position through June 30, 2029 (with the possibility of renewal) with a hybrid work arrangement.

Work Arrangement

Expected to work onsite 2-3 days per week at USC University Park Campus in Los Angeles, CA.

About the USC Schaeffer Institute

The USC Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service develops evidence-based solutions to address the nation’s most pressing policy issues. It serves as a policy laboratory to develop and test ideas generated by the USC academic community, fosters civic engagement, and provides a forum to reach federal policymakers. Established by an historic gift from Leonard D. Schaeffer in 2024, the USC Schaeffer Institute includes four flagship centers: the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, the Center for Economic and Social Research, the Center for Civic Society and the Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service. The Schaeffer Institute is home to more than 150 scholars and staff, including three Nobel Laureates and seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Schaeffer experts have testified before numerous Congressional committees and are regularly sought out by media outlets—including the New York Times, NPR, Stat, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post—to provide insight on policy issues. The Institute has offices at USC in Los Angeles and at the USC Capital Campus in Washington, DC.

About the Center for Civic Society at the Schaeffer Institute

The Center for Civic Society aims to assess, strengthen and promote democratic values around the world through research, civic engagement and global dialogue. Chaired by Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and led by Anna Saavedra, the Center for Civic Society was launched in 2026 and is dedicated to bridging political, social and economic divides through evidence-based research that informs and promotes better public policy.

About the Sol Price School of Public Policy

Ranked among the foremost schools of public policy in the nation, the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy generates uncommon knowledge for the common good. The school is composed of overlapping disciplines that generate innovative approaches to critical issues ranging from health-care policy to homelessness, and sustainability to congestion – to name a few. A wide-ranging curriculum, including extensive experiential learning, prepares our graduates to navigate problems that demand multi-layered solutions driven by critical, informed thinking. The Price School, founded in 1929, is anchored by four departments: Public Policy and Management, Health Policy and Management, Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development, and Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis. The School’s rigorous academic programs provide students with the knowledge and distinctive opportunities to make meaningful contributions to their professions. Integrating classroom instruction with real-world experience and led by some of the world’s most renowned faculty in their fields, our students establish a clear pathway to successful careers. Our academic programs are augmented by numerous research centers, institutes and initiatives that provide additional research expertise and experiences, notable among them are: The Judith and John Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public; The Center for Philanthropy and Public Policy; The USC Lusk Center for Real Estate; The METRANS Transportation Consortium; The Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics; and The Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy. Together, they account for over $100 million in externally funded research grants and contracts. Together, these departments and research enterprises provide unmatched breadth and depth to tackle an enormous range of challenges facing our country and the world. Price graduates hold leadership positions across diverse sectors – public, private, and nonprofit – championing the advancement of the common good. They come from around the world and from a variety of cultures and socio-economic backgrounds to create a rich intellectual environment that celebrates, supports and benefits from a variety of backgrounds and opinions.

Equal Opportunity & Diversity

USC is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or USC policy.

USC observes affirmative action obligations consistent with state and federal law.

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We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities.

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Contact Information

For questions about access or requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, contact USC Human Resources by phone at [phone], or by email at [e-mail]. Inquiries will be treated as confidential to the extent permitted by law.