Description

The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is looking to add a talented Director of Higher Education Research to its team.

Position Summary

The Director of Higher Education Research is a key member of the research team for ADEA which focuses on producing educational research products for the Association and its membership. This position is housed in the Office of Educational Services and is supervised by the Senior Vice President, Policy and Education Research. The Director of Higher Education Research requires an understanding of higher education research, specifically, as it relates to research associated with the health professions. An ability to lead research projects and produce products that presents data in various forms, including visually and storytelling is essential to meeting membership needs.

As a key member of the Office of Educational Services (OES) research team, you will actively support the research programmatic activities of ADEA by executing higher education research activities. Major activities include but are not limited to leading several of the ADEA higher education research projects. The Director of Higher Education Research will also be responsible for serving as a content expert, assisting in verification processes with other projects within the division and identifying other research areas for growth and/or expansion. Key research projects for the Director of Higher Education Research are the annual ADEA Dental School Faculty Census and the biennial ADEA Allied Dental Program Directors Survey. The current research products of these projects include:

1. Annual ADEA Faculty Census

• spreadsheet-based national faculty compensation report
• spreadsheet-based faculty compensation report for each participating dental school
• faculty open positions and lost positions interactive visual report
• Journal of Dental Education association report
• faculty demographic interactive visual report

2. Biennial ADEA Allied Dental Program Directors Survey

• spreadsheet-based report
• summary report
• online storyboard of the summary report
• Journal of Dental Education association report

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the annual ADEA Dental School Faculty Census and the biennial ADEA Allied Dental Program Directors Survey.
• Manage all aspects of these higher education research projects from establishing and implementing project timelines, update of the surveys/ data collection tool, conducting the data collection, processing, validation, analysis, to report writing, creation and coding of spreadsheet-based reports, or creation of interactive visual reports.
• Manage the approval process for these projects through the Institutional Review Board (IRB), an ethical review board that ensures that human subjects’ rights are protected while participating in a research study.
• Work with ADEA members directly to ensure updated contacts for the distribution of the data collection tools for the projects they manage, the submission of the data in an efficient manner, the correction of missing/incorrectly input data, and a high response rate.
• Work collaboratively with the ADEA Vice President, Allied Dental Education and Faculty Development on the project focused on allied dental education, including but not limited to tasks such as timelines of projects, changes to survey questionnaire, survey distribution process, technical assistance during the survey distribution, the resulting reports and the communication materials for the release of the products of the projects.
• Manage the rounds of review of the data collection tools, instruction materials, projects products, and communication materials with supervisor, colleagues and ADEA members.
• Work with colleagues in the Office of Communications and Marketing on the design of the managed projects and the release strategy.
• Present results of projects at different events and meetings as requested.
• Develop the data documentation for these higher education research projects, in collaboration with the ADEA Senior Director of Data Analytics and the SVP for Policy and Education Research.
• Respond to ADEA members’ and ADEA colleagues’ requests as they relate to higher education research and data.
• Validate the results of other projects developed by the OES research team.
• Communicate timely any issues encountered and provides suggestions for solutions.
• Manage the communication and interactions necessary for efficient project management with supervisor, Chief of Educational Services, colleagues, communication department colleagues, school representatives, and administrative leadership at dental education programs.
• Work with colleagues across ADEA on tasks and projects, as necessary.
• Follow data privacy policies and comply with data protection regulations.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• A master’s degree and six years of higher education research experience; or a Ph.D. degree and four years of relevant experience. Higher education research experience in dental education/medical education preferred.
• Expertise in survey design, methodology and strategies to increase survey response rates, in other data collection methods, and data processing.
• Experience with survey software such as Qualtrics or similar platform, including extensive logic implementation through embedded fields and survey flow, implementation of quota requirements, display and skip logic as well as loop and merge, setting up email and contact list triggers.
• SPSS, Python, and SQL proficiency.
• Working knowledge of statistics and ETL techniques.
• Experience developing different type of reports (written, spreadsheet based, automated, visual and interactive) based on storytelling with data for different audiences.
• Experience in working with a multitude of internal and external stakeholders, with different timelines, expectations and roles.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines, with demonstrated project management skills. Strong project management and planning skills are essential. 
• Ability to exchange ideas, facts and technical information clearly and concisely with others.
• Attention to detail and meticulous focus on sensitive and time sensitive materials and activities.
• Ability to work effectively in a diverse team environment and the ability to collaborate well with others from different backgrounds.
• Ability to work at ADEA’s DC office on a hybrid basis three days per week and as needed.

In addition to a rewarding and purposeful mission, ADEA offers you a collaborative team environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits, including health, vision, dental and life insurance, wellness benefits, a 35-hour work week with a hybrid work schedule, generous paid leave and a 403(b) retirement plan with 10% employer contribution. Our office is conveniently located across from the Washington Convention Center, near shopping, restaurants and the Red and Green Line Metro Stations. For more information and to apply online, visit www.adea.org.

Our mission is to develop an inclusive, future-ready oral health workforce prepared to improve the health of all people and communities through leadership, education, and collaboration.

As The Voice of Academic Oral Health, ADEA is the sole national organization representing academic dentistry. Our members include all 80 U.S. and Canadian dental schools, more than 800 allied and advanced dental education programs, more than 55 corporations and approximately 15,000 individuals.

Our activities encompass a wide range of research, advocacy, faculty and leadership development, meetings, news and publications, including the peer-reviewed Journal of Dental Education. We also offer the dental education application services ADEA AADSAS, ADEA PASS, ADEA DHCAS and ADEA CAAPID.

ADEA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Association’s EEO policy prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin or ancestry, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, child birth or related medical conditions, family responsibilities, genetic information, political affiliation, matriculation, veteran status, union affiliation, disability, credit information, status as a victim or family member of a victim of domestic violence, a sexual offense, or stalking, or any other legally- protected characteristic in accordance with federal or local law (the Protected Categories). EEO applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, training and development, promotion, termination, compensation, and benefits.