Older Adult Research Specialist

Summary

Job Summary

The Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences has a position for a part-time Older Adult Research Specialist (OARS) with expertise in conducting community outreach and engagement in community-based settings to support recruitment in research. Responsibilities include identifying barriers to participant recruitment and developing strategies to overcome those barriers for a study on hypertension and hearing loss.

This position will involve planning, delivering, evaluating, and disseminating methods to recruit racially diverse participants to an NIH-funded study. These populations include older adults, racial/ethnic minoritized populations and medically underserved (e.g., low-income, uninsured, underinsured). The role will include developing materials such as guidelines to enhance researchers’ ability to identify communication issues that affect research study participant knowledge of and attitudes about research. This role will include engagement with the community and pre-screening of potential study participants in person or remotely.

This is a hybrid position with responsibilities to be performed remotely (e.g., team meetings, research team trainings) and in-person (e.g., meetings, events), as agreed to by the Principal Investigator and consistent with the university’s remote work policies and procedures.

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

Located in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences offers a broad range of student training in ASL, speech & hearing sciences, clinical practice, and research. SLHS offers an undergraduate major, an undergraduate minor, a master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology, a doctorate of audiology, and a Ph.D. program, among others.

Responsibilities

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

• The primary purpose of this role is to study recruitment, especially amongst African American adults with and without hypertension.
• Apply expertise in community outreach, engagement, and education to recruit a diverse group of research participants for a study on hearing loss and hypertension.
• Recommend feasible and effective ways to improve study recruitment using a variety of accessible and meaningful engagement strategies.
• Create materials for community outreach and engagement events.
• Participate in project specific meetings, and other community-based events as needed/assigned.
• Assist with program evaluation to support ongoing quality and process improvement; to guide next steps, including new approaches, marketing and other community-facing materials.
• Provide training to study teams upon request.
• Provide education to underrepresented patients and community-at-large about the importance and types of hearing loss.
• Recommend and carry out feasible and effective strategies to improve recruitment.
• Create materials for study recruitment.
• Participate in project specific meetings and community-based events as needed/assigned.
• Identify, communicate with, and visit community organizations that serve African Americans and work with organizations to recruit individuals for study participation.
• Pre-screen interested persons (by phone, Zoom, or in person) for study eligibility.
• Describe the purpose, risk, benefits, assessments, and other study information to interested persons.
• Provide education to underrepresented patients and community-at-large about the importance of hearing health and its potential associations with chronic health conditions such as hypertension.
  
  

What We Can Offer

The hiring range for this position is $25-$30 per hour.

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits , including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder .

Be Statements

Be ambitious. Be pioneering. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• A bachelor’s degree in marketing, health-related field, public health, public administration, social/behavioral sciences, physical sciences, nursing, healthcare, finance, accounting, business administration, business, or a directly related field from an accredited institution.
  
  

What You Will Need

• Knowledge and understanding of federal regulations guiding the ethical conduct of research.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and orally.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees at all levels throughout the institution.
• Outstanding customer service skills.
• Demonstrated commitment and leadership ability to advance diversity and inclusion.
• Knowledge of basic human anatomy, physiology, medical terminology.
• Ability to interpret and master complex research protocol information.
• Attention to detail - the ability to demonstrate thoroughness and accuracy when accomplishing a task.
• Connection and collaboration - the ability to establish rapport, create and maintain a relationship of trust and build collaborative relationships.
• Coordination - strong organizational capabilities.
• Creativity - ability to think outside the box when addressing problems and identifying solutions, while still being cognizant of relevant regulations and considerations of feasibility (what may be practical).
• Critical thinking skills - ability to make reasoned judgments that are logical and well-thought out.
• Empathy - ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
• Flexibility and adaptability - ability to adapt to changing job demands and priorities; ability to “switch gears” to meet different job demands.
• Maturity/professionalism - ability to respond to situations in an appropriate manner; behaving and knowing when to act according to the circumstances. Self-directed - ability to show initiative, work autonomously and to organize oneself.
• Team player - ability to work in and thrive within a team environment.
• Tech savviness - ability to navigate comfortably and proficiently with different software and applications such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint; Zoom; Microsoft Teams.
  
  

What We Would Like You To Have

• Two (2) years of clinical research or related experience.
• Completed Health Navigation and Older Adult Research Specialist training available through the Multi-disciplinary Center on Aging at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
  
  

Special Instructions

To Apply, Please Submit The Following Materials

• Current resume/CV.
• Cover letter addressed to the Search Committee briefly describing your qualifications, professional goals, and specific interest in this position.
• (Optional) If you are selected as the finalist, your degree will be verified by the CU Boulder Campus Human Resources department using an approved online vendor. If your degree was obtained outside of the United States, please submit an English-translated version (if applicable) as an Optional attachment.
  
  

During the application process you will need to enter contact information for a reference. We will request a letter of recommendation and additional materials, if needed, as the search progresses.

Review of applications will begin immediately and remain open until April 10th, 2025.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email.

In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.