Research Specialist I

Job Title

Research Specialist I

Agency

Texas A&M Agrilife Research

Department

Dallas

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

Dallas, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

About Texas A&M AgriLife

Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the following Texas A&M University System members:

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
• Texas A&M AgriLife Research
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University
• Texas A&M Forest Service
• Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

As the nation’s largest most comprehensive agriculture program, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, environments and the Texas economy through education, research, extension and service.

Click here to learn more about how you can be a part of AgriLife and make a difference in the world!

Position Information

Texas A&M AgriLife’s Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA) Healthy Living program, based at the AgriLife Center at Dallas, seeks a experienced Research Specialist I to work in close collaboration and coordination with the Healthy Living team, led by IHA Associate director, Dr. Rebecca Seguin-Fowler, whose work focuses on community-based research to address and ameliorate health disparities. The Research Specialist I will provide Dr. Seguin-Fowler and the Healthy Living research team with project-related, technical, and administrative support, and will be based at the AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas (Dallas Center).

Texas A&M AgriLife is an organization that supports healthy living for all Texans, through the research of targeted agricultural practices that yield nutritious food sources, outreach programs that train community members on growing their own food, and preservation of natural resources via eco-friendly means, all while following practices that lead to a stronger Texas economy. Overseen by the Office of the Vice Chancellor and Dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M AgriLife includes the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M Forest Service, and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA) is the world’s first academic institute to bring together precision nutrition, responsive agriculture, and social and behavioral research to reduce diet-related chronic disease in a way that considers environmental and economic effects. The IHA comprises three focus areas—healthy living, precision nutrition, and responsive agriculture—and unites experts from various fields such as agriculture, nutrition, behavioral sciences, social sciences, life sciences, engineering, data and computation science, and economics.

Healthy Living programs implement, evaluate, and disseminate scientific solutions, applicable to all Texans, for improved public health. The Healthy Living Team works on a broad portfolio of extramurally funded, community-engaged research and active collaborations with community partners, cooperative extension, and many academic and nonprofit organizations throughout Texas and beyond. We aim to understand the means of building communities around healthy living and about facilitating the delivery of current, accurate, evidence-based programs, guidelines, and information that supports healthier living for Texans. Areas of particular interest to Healthy Living include health disparities, food access, food systems, food and nutrition insecurity, dietary patterns and behaviors. diet/food intervention and program development and evaluation; physical activity behaviors and intervention development; policy system and environmental change; citizen science and community engaged research; and mHealth technologies for monitoring, assessment, and interventions.

The IHA’s Healthy Living program is housed at the Texas A&M AgriLife Center at Dallas, which focuses on scientific research, public outreach, and education programs. The Center is a regional hub for all Texas A&M AgriLife activity. It is one of 13 AgriLife Centers across the state - each focusing on issues specific to their region. Initiatives at Dallas hinge on healthy living, urban agriculture and forestry, and water and land resource management.

Responsibilities:

• Work closely with Healthy Living team to coordinate and support efforts related to Associate Director’s portfolio of community-engaged research studies and projects.
• Assists in preparing grant applications and writing proposals to funding agencies, coordinating project scheduling and other research project management needs.
• Plans and prepares reports, scientific presentations, manuals, and publications.
• Assists research team with developing and managing online tools, including Qualtrics, to collect data, perform data analysis, and technical evaluation of research projects and results.
• Assists research team with study recruitment, data collection, and project-related field work.
• Manages research-related schedules, travel, correspondence, purchasing, invoicing, and reimbursements.; supports planning and documentation for meetings and events; and liaises with external partners and internal teams.
• Other research-related, technical, and administrative tasks as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field (e.g., public health, nutrition, exercise science, health communication, health administration, etc.).
• Four years of related experience.
• Ability to take initiative, work independently, multitask, work cooperatively with others, and manage priorities and tasks as assigned.
• Professional demeanor; demonstrated ability to manage and safeguard confidential information with the utmost discretion and professionalism, ensuring sensitive data is handled securely and in compliance with privacy policies.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Outstanding planning and organizational skills.
• Knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation applications, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, etc.
• Fluent in Spanish and English, verbal and written.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Project management experience, including project planning and evaluation, task management, resource allocation, and budget management.
• Research background, including experience with community-engaged research and evaluation projects, specifically data collection and/or experience with behavioral implementation of intervention studies.
• Experience with scientific writing, including proposal preparation and writing, developing written reports, and editing manuscripts and documents.
• Experience conducting human subjects research and working on research grants.
• Experience supporting interventions and related research studies in the following areas: underserved populations; minority and urban health; food systems; community-based health behavior interventions; and/or the integration of technology into community outreach and research.
• Knowledge and understanding of the mission and role of the Land Grant University System, including community-campus partnership and the Extension system.

What You Need to Know

Salary: Compensation for this position is commensurate based on the selected candidate’s qualifications.

Why Work at Texas A&M AgriLife?

When you choose to work for Texas A&M AgriLife, you become part of an organization that is an established leader in agriculture and life sciences with a wide range of capabilities to meet the needs of our statewide, national, and international constituents.

In addition, Texas A&M AgriLife offers a comprehensive benefit packing including the following:

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums 
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife

Applicant Instructions

Applications received by Texas A&M AgriLife must either have all job application data entered or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to prepopulate the online application.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer.