Research Assistant (Peer Recovery)

The Talent Acquisition department hires qualified candidates to fill positions which contribute to the overall strategic success of Howard University. Hiring staff “for fit” makes significant contributions to Howard University’s overall mission.

At Howard University, we prioritize well-being and professional growth.

Here is what we offer: 

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus mental health support
• Work-Life Balance: PTO, paid holidays, flexible work arrangements
• Financial Wellness: Competitive salary, 403(b) with company match 
• Professional Development: Ongoing training, tuition reimbursement, and career advancement paths
• Additional Perks: Wellness programs, commuter benefits, and a vibrant company culture

Join Howard University and thrive with us! 

https://hr.howard.edu/benefits-wellness

BASIC FUNCTION:

Under the supervision of the Principal Investigator and site Project Manager, the Research Assistant will conduct interviews and assessments and administer questionnaires; conducting outreach, education, and engagement activities to identify and recruit study participants; collect, gather, or organize data from different sources (including, for example, electronic medical records or public or other data sources); maintain research databases and files; perform or assist in literature searches; perform general administrative tasks; participate with the research team in conducting basic data analyses and preparing reports, including progress reports  and provide recovery guiding.  This specific position will involve supporting the clinical trials and clinical demonstration projects, other clinical research and program development activities, and will work closely with other team members including addiction medicine specialists who will prescribe medications to treat opioid use disorder in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

No direct reports but, may provide technical supervision to junior staff or students.

NATURE AND SCOPE:

Interact with patients, families, University and Hospital staff, community-based organizations and the general public.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Recruits subjects to participate in research studies; assesses potential participants for eligibility; enrolls study participants, including explaining research procedures & protocols and obtaining informed consent of subjects and/or their families.
• Responsible for a) recruiting study participants; b) tracking and maintaining contact with study participants after enrollment; and c) maintaining high rates of retention in research follow-up assessments.
• Schedules appointments of study participants; contacts participants to remind them about appointments.
• Participates in and successfully completes clinical research and IRB training requirements.
• Assist in the submission of IRB applications.
• Administers questionnaires, conducts interviews and assessments following established protocols, and assists study participants in navigating through questionnaires.
• Performs a variety of data management procedures (e.g., data entry, producing basic reports, data cleaning, database maintenance).
• Provide manual-guided individual counseling (Recovery Guiding) to participants assigned to BT-MOUD
• Use active learning approaches to engage participants in learning about opioid use disorder, MOUD with buprenorphine, the role of MOUD in treatment and recovery, and the role of behavioral change in recovery.
• Engage participants in developing and implementing behavioral change plans, making use of tools from the Recovery Guiding toolkit to help participants develop short-term, achievable, critical goals and objectives (including, for example, returning for treatment appointments and adhering to prescribed MOUD) and to develop with the participant specific Recovery Plan Agreements to achieve the objectives.
• Codes qualitative interviews using codebooks and NVIVO database. Utilizes databases (e.g., Excel) to track research activities and to record data.
• Aids in the development of reports, grants, presentations, and data analysis. Assists with manuscript and grant preparation and research.
• Engages in outreach, education, and participant recruitment activities at community and social service agencies, such as food distribution sites, needle and syringe exchange programs, health clinics, hospital emergency departments, and health fairs or other community events.
• Maintains logs of and documents outreach, engagement, recruitment, and follow-up activities.
• Monitor with the participant the participant’s progress implementing the plans and achieving the objectives and work with the participant to revise the plans as needed to increase success in accomplishing the objectives.
• Attends all required training and meetings of the research team, as instructed by Principal Investigator or Project Manager.
• Provide manual-guided individual counseling (Recovery Guiding) to participants assigned to BT-MOUD.
• Participate in and successfully complete initial training and certification, including workshops and provision of Recovery Guiding under close supervision. 
• Meets regularly with study team to track and manage community outreach, engagement, recruitment, and follow-up activities and to address recruitment and data retention issues.
• May be assigned to attend local or national meetings and conferences to discuss peer outreach activities recovery guiding and disseminate research results.
• Understands and adheres to confidentiality and privacy protections for persons with opioid or other substance use and for study participants and maintains appropriate professional boundaries.
• Maintains established departmental policies and procedures, objectives, quality assurance programs, safety, environmental and infection control standards. 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.
• Conforms to College of Medicine and hospital standards of performance and conduct, including those pertaining to patient rights, so that the best possible service and patient care may be provided.

CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Professional demeanor, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, attention to detail, reliability, and ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Must have the ability to take initiative and handle multiple priorities and tasks. Ability to communicate effectively (listen and build trust) and interact with respect and non­judgmentally with people of different genders, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, ethnic, language and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multi-disciplinary team to manage community engagement recruitment and other project tasks.
• Knowledgeable about local high overdose or drug use risk areas and about organizations of places that would facilitate outreach and recruitment of persons with opioid use disorder in a broad range of community settings, for participation in treatment and in the study.
• Comfortable about and capable of going to, working in, and engaging and recruiting for participation in the study persons with untreated opioid use disorder in a broad variety of community settings and locations, including high drug use areas.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (i.e. MS Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook) and web browsers. Experience with database management tools and statistical software (e.g., NVIVO, SPSS, SAS) is a plus.
• Coursework in data collection and research methodology.
• Must successfully complete training in human subjects research certification.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelors' degree required. Master's degree preferred. 1-3years of research experience is preferred. Experience in behavioral health (addiction or mental health), public health and/or clinical studies is preferred.

Compliance Salary Range Disclosure

Expected Salary Range: $55,000 - $60,000