Research Assistant II, Immigrant and Refugee Health Center

Research Assistant II, Immigrant and Refugee Health Center

Location: Boston, MA

Schedule: 40 hours per week

POSITION SUMMARY:

For 25 years, the mission of the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights (BCRHHR) has been to provide holistic health care coordinated with social services and legal aid for asylum seekers, refugees, survivors of torture, and their families. BCRHHR is part of the Boston Medical Center (BMC) Immigrant and Refugee Health Center (IRHC), which extends this mission of offering a comprehensive medical home to immigrant and refugee patients at BMC.

This research position serves the common research/data collection needs of BCRHHR and the BMC IRHC. Under the supervision of the BCRHHR Principal Investigator and IRHC Program Director, the Research Assistant II (RA2) will provide research support to multiple clinical studies undertaken by both programs.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Responsible for the administrative aspects of the research study, including: managing program records and handling communication needs of the program.
• Provides assistance in the development of reports, presentations, and data analysis. Assists in data collection and provides feedback on study's progress.
• Recruits subjects to participate in the study by using approved methodologies, such as, reaching to healthcare providers for referrals, visiting clinics, sending mailouts, using approved advertisements, etc.
• Conducts the enrollment of study participants, including explaining research procedures, and obtaining informed consent of subjects and/or their families.
• Schedules appointments of study participants; conducts reminder phone calls and/or sends mailouts.
• Reviews the data collection forms for each enrollee for completion and quality; checks work of junior staff performing data entry to ensure timely and accurate entry.
• Provides technical guidance to junior staff.
• Obtains and distributes payment vouchers for participant reimbursements/participation.
• Perform administrative duties associated with the study's Data Monitoring and Safety Board, tracking and reporting adverse events and collecting data specified by the DSMB.
• Responsible for all other administrative duties related to research activities.
• Prepares and maintains Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals and correspondence, including amendments and renewals as necessary.
• Conducts literature searches.
• Assists Investigators with manuscript and presentation preparation and research.
• Participates in staff meetings/initiatives including appropriate quality improvement and education activities, or if unable to attend non-mandatory activities, accepts responsibility to review meeting minutes and becomes knowledgeable of issues discussed.
• Makes independent judgements of suitability of potential participants for clinical trials.
• Develops and implements patent recruitment strategies. Recommends changes to protocols and evaluates data.
• Oversees work of research assistants.
• Conforms to hospital standards of performance and conduct, including those pertaining to patient rights, so that the best possible customer service and patient care may be provided.
• Utilizes hospital's behavioral standards as the basis for decision making and to facilitate the hospital's goals and mission.
• Follows established hospital infection control and safety procedures.

OTHER DUTIES:

Training and orienting new research assistants and other staff

May serve as team leader or supervisor in a smaller lab

Perform other duties as needed.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor's degree is required. Major in a field related to the research highly preferred.
• Master's Degree is preferred. With a Master's Degree, no work experience is required.

EXPERIENCE:

• 2-5 years of experience and have demonstrated sound independent judgement and competencies in research methodologies.
• Experience with recruiting subjects, with an understanding of the ethical and technical conduct of research.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Excellent English communication (oral and written) and interpersonal skills.
• Bilingual or multi-lingual skills (beyond that of English) appropriate to the patient population served is a plus.
• Cultural sensitivity and comfort with a wide range of social, racial and ethnic populations.
• Works very independently with limited supervision.
• Knowledge of management programs.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, and Access and PowerPoint. Experience with statistical analysis tools a plus. Ability to perform basic data management tasks (coding, data entry, data cleaning, retrieval). Experience using quantitative data analysis software helpful (e.g., SPSS, SAS, Minitab).
• Ability to perform basic data analysis and reporting (in words, numbers and graphics). Able to resolve technical problems and interpret acceptability of data results.

SPECIAL WORKING CONDITIONS:

May require flexibility to work weekends and evenings

JOB BENEFITS:

• Competitive pay
• Tuition reimbursement and tuition remission programs
• Highly subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance options
• Career Advancement/Professional Development: Access a wealth of ongoing training and development opportunities that will not only enhance your skills but also expand your knowledge base especially for individuals pursuing careers in medicine or biomedical research.
• Pioneering Research: Engage in groundbreaking research projects that are driving the forefront of biomedical science.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT:

As the primary teaching hospital for Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and BU schools of public health and dentistry, intellectual rigor shapes our inquiries. Our research is led by a belief that skin color, zip code, and financial circumstances shouldn't dictate health.

Boston Medical Center is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. If you need accommodation for any part of the application process because of a medical condition or disability, please send an e-mail to View email address on click.appcast.io or call View phone number on click.appcast.io to let us know the nature of your request.

Compensation Range:

$38,000.00- $53,500.00

This range offers an estimate based on the minimum job qualifications. However, our approach to determining base pay is comprehensive, and a broad range of factors is considered when making an offer. This includes education, experience, skills, and certifications/licensures as they directly relate to position requirements; as well as business/organizational needs, internal equity, and market-competitiveness. In addition, BMCHS offers generous total compensation that includes, but is not limited to, benefits (medical, dental, vision, pharmacy), discretionary annual bonuses and merit increases, Flexible Spending Accounts, 403(b) savings matches, paid time off, career advancement opportunities, and resources to support employee and family well-being.

NOTE: This range is based on Boston-area data, and is subject to modification based on geographic location.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans

According to the FTC, there has been a rise in employment offer scams. Our current job openings are listed on our website and applications are received only through our website. We do not ask or require downloads of any applications, or "apps" job offers are not extended over text messages or social media platforms. We do not ask individuals to purchase equipment for or prior to employment.