Director, Research Management

Department

UL Inclusive Economy Lab

About the Department

We partner with policymakers, community-based organizations and others to identify their most urgent and pressing challenges, co-generate evidence about what works, and translate findings into policy changes that end intergenerational poverty. By identifying barriers to social mobility and racial equity and highlighting the programs and policies that have the most positive impact, our work creates aims to create greater economic opportunity. We specialize in evaluating programs with the potential to improve lives in four main areas:

Job Summary

The job leads and provides expertise to the development of programs for scientific research facilities. Uses considerable on-the-job experience to ensure compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies. Works independently to write articles, reports and manuscripts, and presents research findings at meetings and/or conferences.

Responsibilities

• Oversee research initiatives from scoping and design through implementation, analysis, and dissemination.
• Partner with senior leadership to prioritize and sequence projects based on strategic importance and capacity.
• Ensure project plans, milestones, and deliverables are clearly defined, tracked, and regularly updated.
• Manage and develop a team of 5–7 research management staff.
• Assign staff to projects and activities based on skill sets, professional goals, and competencies.
• Ensure consistent project onboarding, training, coaching, and accountability systems for research management staff.
• Design and lead twice-monthly research management team days focused on skill building, alignment, and continuous improvement.
• Foster a high-performance, equity-centered culture grounded in collaboration, ownership, and learning.
• Lead implementation and ongoing optimization of Bridge .
• Sustain and strengthen practices aligned with the standards of the Project Management Institute (PMI), ensuring disciplined and scalable project management systems.
• Lead project management trainings for research staff to ensure shared language, tools, and expectations.
• Establish and enforce consistent project documentation and reporting practices.
• Oversee IEL’s project risk management framework, including regular risk surveys and structured debriefs.
• Ensure all projects adopt consistent risk identification, mitigation planning, and post-project learning processes.
• Continuously improve workflows, templates, and processes to increase efficiency and reduce conflict.
• Provides expertise to researchers on compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives and mandates.
• Provides expertise to researchers and research support staff. Oversees activities related to data collection and analysis
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualification

Experience:

• Managing complex projects, with numerous stakeholders.
• Building trusting relationships with leaders across multiple levels of an organization
• First generation college students and those with lived experience in communities experiencing poverty and disinvestment are encouraged to apply.

Preferred Competencies

• Ability to engage thoughtfully with issues related to race, identity, and equity and work across differences.
• Demonstrated experience working with communities that have experienced segregation and disinvestment.
• Interest in finding and testing innovative policy solutions.
• Content expertise in workforce development, quality jobs and inclusive hiring
• Knowledge of research design and social policy evaluation.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

Job Family

Research

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

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FLSA Status

Exempt

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Pay Range

$97,750.00 - $126,500.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

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