Research Program Coordinator

Research Program Coordinator

Milwaukee, WI
• Full Time
• JR

This research administrative position is based in the Department of Social Work, Helen Bader School of Social Welfare. The position directly reports to Dr. Melinda Kavanaugh, Professor of Social Work. Major activities include managing the research and grant portfolio and the newly developed Young Carer Center administration, including budgets, travel, community engagement and student supervision. Work is performed fully onsite at UWM's main campus.

• Manage budgeting, including tracking and submitting expenses and preparing financial reports
• Oversee day to day center administrative functions to ensure smooth operations
• Support grant writing and proposal development efforts; including gathering materials, drafting sections, and coordinatizing submission requirements
• Manage grant post-award activities, including budget tracking, compliance, deliverables and sponsorship reporting
• Prepare and submit IRB applications, amendments, renewals, and required reporting
• Coordinate travel arrangements for research projects
• Prepare briefing materials, background documents, and data summaries ahead of meetings, presentations, and partner engagements
• Maintain the center's master calendar, ensuring alignment of events, grant timelines, reporting deadlines, and director commitments

• Serve as the primary administrator for workday processes (procurement, reimbursement, onboarding, time approvals)
• Lead the preparation and submission of the center's annual report
• Coordinate materials for the centers six-year comprehensive review
• Maintain systems for tracking all publications, presentation, scholarly outputs, and engagements

• Field and triage speaking engagement inquiries for the Center Director
• Coordinate closely with the Center Director's affiliated foundation to ensure alignment of mission, messaging, and activities, fostering a collaborative approach to shared initiatives and external engagement
• Support & coordinate center-related communications, marketing, and public facing activities
• Support the Director in preparing slides, talking points, and materials for public speaking engagements, trainings, or media opportunities
• Coordinate public-facing activities-such as webinars, virtual events, symposiums, and informational sessions-to elevate the center's visibility, share research, and maintain ongoing relevance in the community and field
• Attend local events relevant to the center's work
• Travel approximately 15% of the time for conferences, partner meetings, and representation at events

• Provide supervision and task coordination for students

• Coordinates the daily activities and contracts related to one or more research program(s)
• Serves as a unit liaison and subject matter expert among internal and external stakeholder groups, collaborates across disciplines and functional areas, provides program information, and promotes the accomplishments and developments of scholars and research initiatives
• Assists in the development, coordination, and facilitation of trainings and workshops for internal and external audiences to disseminate research program developments and information
• Plans, develops, and implements processes and protocols to support research aims
• Monitors program budget(s) and approves unit expenditures
• Develops policies, procedures, and institutional agreements on behalf of the program

Accredited by the CSWE, the Social Work Department is housed in the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare in the College of Community Engagement and Professions. The Department confers BSW and MSW degrees, and with the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, jointly offers a PhD degree in Social Welfare. The doctoral program prepares students for leadership roles such as university faculty, program evaluators, and policy analysts.

The MSW program, which offers both online and in‑person curricular options, emphasizes generalist practice. In addition, students can complete accredited programming in substance abuse…