Community-Based Health Research Lead

Job Description

Job Description

The Community-Based Health Research Lead will initiate and oversee the roll out of community-based research within Liberation Programs Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to serving people who struggle with substance use disorders. This individual will establish a community-based research department within Liberation Programs Inc., and conduct community-based research that strengthens Liberation Programs' understanding of and capacity to reach and better serve, populations at highest risk of overdose, homelessness, and disconnection from healthcare and social care systems. Through community outreach and direct engagement, this research position will add capacity to the organization and also to the region. Observing and interacting with vulnerable adults, this individual will design and implement community-based qualitative research, to generate insights into barriers to care, overdose risk environments, and gaps within treatment, housing, and public health systems. The role will also collaborate with internal services to assist in creating an organizational strategy by translating community-informed insights into program improvements, policy recommendations, and grant-supported initiatives. In Stamford and Norwalk, the services offered by Liberation Programs Outreach services also engage with a high percentage of Hispanic/Latin population who currently form a major group that require a better understanding to address service gaps. 

Based primarily at Liberation Programs' Stamford Outpatient Clinic (Pollack Place), this research lead will develop a sustained community presence for individuals accessing methadone treatment, harm reduction services, experiencing homelessness, and participating in community outreach programs, while functioning as the organization's primary specialist in community-based research, cultural strategy, and structural health analysis. 

This position constitutes a specialty occupation requiring the theoretical and applied knowledge from a bachelor's degree in anthropology, medical anthropology, public health, cultural anthropology, or a closely related social science field, combined with a master's degree in medical anthropology, public health anthropology, Latin American studies with concentration in social science research methods, or a closely related interdisciplinary discipline integrating structural health analysis and cultural competency frameworks, or an equivalent combination of graduate-level education and demonstrated specialized professional experience in ethnographic research, harm reduction, drug policy, communicable disease prevention, and structural health analysis. Bilingual status, English/Spanish is also required. 

Its duties demand the integrated application of ethnographic methodology, structural competency analysis, risk reduction and overdose prevention, , drug policy expertise, and community-based participatory research, a combination of competences that is specific to graduate-level social science training and that distinguishes this role from generalist outreach, case management, or public health coordination positions.

The position combines community-embedded ethnographic fieldwork with organizational strategy support, operating across three interconnected functions: 

- As a community-based researcher, the Analyst designs and implements qualitative research protocols to generate knowledge about overdose risk environments, structural and cultural barriers to care, service gaps, and the lived experiences of populations served, translating field observations into actionable program insights, policy recommendations, and grant-supported initiatives. 

- As an embedded member of the Outreach Team, the Analyst maintains direct contact with hard-to-reach populations through culturally informed, low-barrier engagement activities across clinic, community, and partner settings, applying advanced cross-cultural and bilingual competencies to reach individuals not currently accessing services. 

- As a cultural strategy and training specialist, the Analyst develops culturally responsive interventions, trains organizational staff and community partners on structural determinants of health and risk reduction and overdose prevention practices, and designs service integration strategies that improve coordination across treatment, housing, and public health systems.