Research Assistant II Non-Lab

Location: Boston, MA, us Department: Social and Behavioral Sciences Employment Type: {'id': 'permanent', 'label': 'Full-time'}

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Job Description

Job Summary

The Center for Work, Health, and Well-being (the Center), in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, conducts research and disseminates research findings related to workplace practices, policies, and programs that protect and promote worker safety, health, and well-being. The Center is a CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) Total Worker Health® Center of Excellence. This Research Assistant (RA) reports directly to the Center Associate Director, Dr. Susan Peters, who is also the Co-Principal Investigator of the Residential Staff Health and Advancement Program for Excellence in Care (Re-SHAPE) project. The Re-SHAPE project is a Center affiliated study.

This position will provide essential support and contributions to the Re-SHAPE project, an intervention study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) that aims to improve the well-being and retention of workers in residential addiction treatment facilities by adapting and implementing an evidence-based participatory organizational intervention. The central premise of this study is that addressing stressful working conditions within residential addiction treatment centers will improve workforce retention and patient care, with effects mediated by improved worker well-being, thereby enhancing the availability, quality, and continuity of care for patients. The research team will implement an evidence-based, participatory organizational intervention that provides training, an intervention toolkit, and technical assistance to implement a continual improvement process in which a worker-manager committee identifies stressful working conditions and then develops and implements action plans to address high-priority concerns. The project is a partnership of multiple academic institutions – Boston College, Harvard University, Washington University in St. Louis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology – and the Workforce Development Unit of the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. This Research Assistant position is funded through the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Center for Work, Health, and Well-being Emerging Issues program.

From September 2026 through August 2027, the study team will be piloting the intervention and associated data collection procedures at three residential addiction treatment facilities in eastern and central Massachusetts. The RA’s primary role will be to assist the Boston College-based project manager with intervention delivery and data collection. The RA will assist with finalizing recruitment materials and data collection materials (process tracking forms, data collection tools and protocols). Once the pilot period begins in October 2026, the work will involve close collaboration with the project manager  who will be delivering the intervention. The RA will set up meetings with facilities, travel to facilities alongside the project manager, attend committee meetings at intervention facilities and take notes, help manage survey and process data collection, serve as an alternate interventionist if the project manager is unavailable, provide technical assistance to facilities who are receiving the intervention, and assist with other project-related tasks as needed. The RA will also help adjust intervention materials and data collection tools, as needed, throughout the intervention pilot period.

Job-Specific Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Research Tasks

Participate as a member of the study team to pilot the intervention and associated data collection procedures at residential addiction treatment facilities

Develop required materials for the pilot study

Assist with preparing, adjusting, and finalizing intervention data collection materials (process tracking forms, data collection tools and protocols)

Assist the project manager with intervention delivery and data collection

Help manage survey, administrative, and process data collection, data entry, and data management

Update the intervention manual and resources throughout the pilot

Assist with finalizing intervention materials as a result of the pilot study for a full trial.

Assist with post pilot interviews and focus groups, qualitative data collection, qualitative data management, and coding of transcripts

Assist with literature reviews for papers and citation management

Assist with other project-related tasks as needed

Administrative Tasks

Coordinate and schedule meetings with study sites and other study stakeholders

Travel to intervention sites based in Massachusetts for intervention activities and data collection

Provide logistical and administrative support to the study team

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