Senior Project Administrator

Posting Summary

The Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs ( WRI ) at Rutgers–Camden has been a long-standing and trusted regional community partner for over 25 years. WRI honors former Senator Rand’s dedication to Southern New Jersey and exists to produce and highlight community-focused research and evaluation leading to sound public policy and practice in the region. With that as a foundation, WRI convenes and engages stakeholders in making the connections across research, policy, and practice in support of Camden City and Southern New Jersey residents.

Using social science research methods, WRI specializes in transforming data into actionable information across a variety of areas, including workforce development, education, transportation, and public/population health. WRI reinforces and amplifies Rutgers’ research, teaching, and service goals by connecting the multidisciplinary expertise of faculty to regional problems, developing research and professional skills in students, and linking the resources of higher education to communities in Southern New Jersey.

The Senior Project Administrator is a position at the Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs ( WRI ) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – Camden Campus. This is an exciting opportunity to join an influential organization with a mission of improving lives across the region and contributing significantly toward that mission. Under the general direction of the Associate Director of Research, this position is responsible for the development, coordination, and management of complex research and evaluation projects in the communities of Southern New Jersey and New Jersey.

The Senior Project Administrator will serve as the Principal Investigator (PI) on mostly large (and at times, smaller) contracts and grants and as a project coordinator on additional large or small projects in a variety of content areas, e.g. opioids/substance use, food insecurity, and education. They will lead WRI research teams and provide oversight and direction across each phase of the research project, including proposal drafting, project design, data collection, data analysis, reporting, and dissemination.

They will serve as relationship managers for a variety of research partners and funders, including foundations, State and local agencies, and community-based organizations. The responsibilities associated with this position include the selection of appropriate research methodologies, collaborating effectively with WRI research team members, maintaining compliance with all Rutgers University and Federal research guidelines and regulations, managing timelines and budgets, and mentoring and supervising student research assistants.

The Senior Project Administrator will play a key role in public engagement efforts by regularly representing WRI in meetings and various public and networking events across Southern New Jersey and the State. This position is also responsible for effectively communicating research findings to a myriad of audiences, including community members, community partners, policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders in academia. This will take the form of research presentations, panels, webinars, forums, etc.

They will also regularly contribute to conversations around written research translation and dissemination efforts and lead large and small writing projects, e.g, research reports, briefs, fact sheets, etc. This position requires extensive experience leading community-focused research projects, exceptional public speaking and writing skills, project leadership and management expertise, and a keen orientation toward team collaboration. This is a grant funded position contingent upon the availability of funds to support it.

Ranked #46 in U.S. News & World Report ’s list of Best Public Colleges and Universities, Rutgers University–Camden is a diverse, research-intensive campus of approximately 6,100 students at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels and 1,100 faculty and staff members. Located in Camden, N.J., directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, the university is uniquely…