Research Project Specialist

Job Posting Title:

Research Project Specialist

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Hiring Department:

Special Education

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt from FLSA

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Earliest Start Date:

Nov 30, 2026

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Sep 30, 2027

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Location:

Texas

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Job Details:

Purpose

The purpose of this position is to coordinate research project operations within NDC, with primary responsibility for the Deafverse Career Connections study. The position supports effective site engagement, participant coordination, data collection, implementation, documentation, and consistent research processes.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of coordination for participating research sites and partners, maintaining relationships, coordinating communication and scheduling, supporting site readiness, and providing ongoing implementation support.
• Facilitate participant recruitment and study logistics, including recruitment and enrollment, consent and assent processes, scheduling, participant communication, incentives, accessibility needs, and related study activities.
• Facilitate data collection activities, working closely with research staff and GRAs to ensure data collection is timely, accessible, complete, and consistent with approved research protocols.
• Facilitate intervention and research implementation across participating sites, including facilitator preparation and support, implementation schedules, participation and dosage tracking, fidelity documentation, troubleshooting, and communication with project leadership.
• Support participatory research and stakeholder engagement activities, including co-design sessions, youth and stakeholder advisory activities, cognitive interviews, usability testing, and other approaches that incorporate deaf participants and community perspectives into research and development.
• Support development and refinement of research, intervention, and implementation materials, including facilitator resources, protocols, site guidance, data collection tools, and other materials needed to support consistent and accessible project implementation.
• Maintain project management and research documentation systems, including work plans, timelines, milestone tracking, site records, study documentation, procedures, and follow-up across the research team; identify operational risks and support consistent research workflows across NDC projects.
• Contribute to broader NDC research team activities, including research planning, documentation, accessibility, reporting, presentations, dissemination, and other project coordination needs as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in education, social science, rehabilitation, psychology, public health, research administration, program coordination, or a related field.
• Three or more years of experience coordinating research studies, educational programs, intervention projects, or other complex multi-site activities.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating participants, sites, partners, or data collection activities.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple timelines, stakeholders, and deliverables simultaneously.
• Experience working with deaf people and deaf communities.
• Strong interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating closely with a multidisciplinary research team.
• Proficiency in American Sign Language.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or advanced graduate studies.
• Five or more years of experience coordinating research studies, intervention development projects, or other complex research or program activities.
• Experience with human subjects research, participant recruitment, consent and assent procedures, data collection, or implementation research.
• Experience working with schools, vocational rehabilitation programs, transition programs, or youth-serving organizations.
• Familiarity with participatory research, co-design, mixed-methods research, implementation science, or intervention development.
• Experience coordinating accessible research activities with deaf youth.
• Familiarity with career development, transition, or employment-related programming.
• Experience working on a federally funded research project.

Salary Range

$65,000 - $75,000

Working Conditions

• Typical office environment

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.